A university college is a federated or affiliated academic university institution of a larger public university (often referred to as the "parent" campus). Federated and affiliated colleges have existed in Ontario, Canada, for over a century.David Trick, Affiliated and Federated Universities as Sources of University Differentiation (Toronto: Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, 2015). The establishment of these institutions came from Christian religious groups. There are a total of 24 such university colleges in Ontario, with 10 primarily offering secular programs and 14 primarily offering theological programs.
University colleges share a number of characteristics:
Focus on undergraduate studies in the liberal arts and post-degree professional programs in the helping professions (i.e. social work, teaching, etc.) Experiential learning opportunities and student life rooted in altruism and social justice Residence for students who wish to live on campus A smaller campus community within a greater campus community (this experience is often advertised as the "best of both worlds") Small class sizes Student services and resources exclusively for those students for whom the university college is their home campus, referred to as "co-registration" due to simultaneous access to services of parent campus
Affiliated versus federated university colleges "Affiliated" and "federated" are often used interchangeably when describing a university college, but they have somewhat different legal relationship with the parent campus. For example, affiliated university colleges typically suspend their degree-granting powers so their students are able to officially earn their degree from the “parent” institution. A federated university college differs in that, although it is a type of affiliation, it is where "two or more institutions come together to create a new university that is recognized by civic authorities and is eligible for government funding" (MacDonald, 2016).
List of Ontario university colleges +Ontario affiliated and federated University College Institutions Primarily Offering Secular Degree ProgramsPublic UniversityFederated and affiliated institutionYear of federation or affiliationReligious heritageUniversity of Ottawa / Université d’OttawaSaint Paul University / Université Saint-Paul1965CatholicUniversity of TorontoUniversity of St. Michael's College1910CatholicUniversity of Trinity College1904AnglicanVictoria University1890UnitedUniversity of WaterlooConrad Grebel University College1963MennoniteRenison University College1960AnglicanSt. Jerome's University1959CatholicUnited College1961United (fully secular since 2005)Western UniversityHuron University College1878AnglicanKing's University College1954Catholic
+Affiliated and Federated Institutions Primarily Offering Theological ProgramsPublic university Affiliated or federated institution Year of affiliation or federation Religious heritageBrock UniversityConcordia Lutheran Theological Seminary1976LutheranMcMaster UniversityMcMaster Divinity College1957BaptistQueen’s UniversityQueen’s School of Religion1912UnitedUniversity of TorontoEmmanuel College1925UnitedKnox College1890PresbyterianRegis College1978CatholicSt. Augustine’s Seminary1978CatholicToronto School of Theology1979MultipleWycliffe College1885AnglicanUniversity of WindsorAssumption University1919 (Western), 1963 (Windsor)CatholicCanterbury College1957 (Assumption), 1963 (Windsor)AnglicanIona College1963UnitedWestern UniversitySt. Peter’s Seminary1912CatholicWilfrid Laurier UniversityMartin Luther University College1914Lutheran Note: Some theological institutions are affiliated with another affiliated institution, which in turn is affiliated with a publicly supported university.
Former affiliated university colleges in Ontario A number of university colleges were affiliated with Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne until 2021 financial crisis: Huntington University was affiliated from 1960. Thorneloe University was affiliated from 1963. Université de Hearst was affiliated with the University of Sudbury in 1957, and then Laurentian from 1963. University of Sudbury / Université de Sudbury was affiliated from 1960.
Former University colleges in Ontario
Brescia University College was affiliated with Western University until its closure in 2024. Dominican University College was affiliated with Carleton University from 2012 until its closure in 2024.
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