University of Victoria

The University of Victoria was first established in 1903 as Victoria College, an affiliated college of McGill University. Between 1903 and 1915, Victoria College offered first- and second-year McGill courses in the arts and sciences, administered locally by the Victoria School Board and sharing facilities with Victoria High School. In 1915, with the opening of the University of British Columbia, the college suspended operations until 1920 when it was reborn in affiliation with UBC. From 1921 to 1944, Victoria College provided courses in first- and second-year arts and sciences from Craigdarroch Castle. After WWII, returning servicemen pushed enrolment from 250 to 600 students. In 1946, the college moved from Craigdarroch to the Lansdowne campus of the Provincial Normal School. The Normal School joined Victoria College in 1956 as its Faculty of Education. The 284-acre Gordon Head campus was acquired through cooperation with the Department of National Defence and the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1961, the college awarded its first bachelor's degrees while still affiliated with UBC. The university gained full autonomy on July 1, 1963, as the University of Victoria. The campus was designed in part by American architectural firm Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons, who had previously completed major buildings at Stanford University and UC Berkeley. The academic portions of the campus are located inside the Ring Road, forming a perfect circle 600 meters in diameter.