University of Victoria

Victoria, Canada • Founded 1963 • QS 2027 #370 =

Updated Sep 2026 · Source: uvic.ca

Table of Contents

About the university
Location & Contact info
Admissions, students & campus
Faculties & schools
Programs you can study
Scholarships you can apply for
How to apply, step by step
Common questions answered
Top universities in Canada
Universities in the same network
Similar faculties nearby
Where else to study this subject
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Overview

Acronyms: UVic

Founded: 1963

Institution Type: University

Control Type: Public

Entity Type: Non-profit

Rankings:

QS World University Rankings 2027 #370 = Times Higher Education 2026 #301-350 ARWU (Shanghai) 2026 #301-400 CWTS Leiden 2025 #207 SCImago 2026 #639

Motto: Multitudo sapoentum sanitas orbis

Colours: Red, gold and blue

Mascot: Thunder the Viking

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The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university in Victoria, British Columbia, on Canada's Vancouver Island.

Established in 1963 as the successor to Victoria College (founded 1903), it enrols more than 22,000 undergraduate and graduate students across ten faculties and the Division of Continuing Studies, from business and engineering to law, fine arts and ocean sciences. UVic is known for its co-operative education program, its strengths in climate, ocean and Indigenous-focused research, and a park-like campus bordered by Garry oak meadows a short bus ride from downtown Victoria.

Shanghai's 2025 subject rankings place it first in Canada for oceanography and atmospheric science, and the 2025 Leiden Ranking rates it first in Canada for international research collaboration. Students live in a mild West Coast climate with on-campus residences available, and while September is the main entry point, January (Spring) and May (Summer) intakes are open for a subset of prograMs.

Location & Contact

Below are University of Victoria's address, location, and primary contact channels.

Address: PO Box 1700

Postal Code: V8W 2Y2

Phone: +1 (250) 721 7211

Fax: +1 (250) 721 7212

Website: https://www.uvic.ca/

Social Media:

Academic Details

University of Victoria's academic profile in numbers is listed below.

Academic Year: Winter Session September–April (two terms), plus a May–August Summer Session; graduate program fees are charged in installments in September, January and May

Recognition: Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills of British Columbia

Admission Requirements: Undergraduate entry, domestic applicants (Canadian citizens and permanent residents). Year 1 admission rests on secondary-school graduation. BC and Yukon applicants need approved English 11, Foundations of Mathematics 11 or Pre-calculus 11, an approved science 11 and an approved social studies 11/12, then English Studies 12 or English First Peoples 12 at 73% or higher plus three approved academic grade-12 courses. Ontario applicants need English 4U at 73% or higher plus five further 4U/4M courses, and every other province has its own equivalent list on the program page. Faculties add prerequisites: Computer Science and Engineering also require Pre-calculus 12 at 77% (Engineering adds Chemistry 11 and Physics 11), Commerce requires Pre-calculus 12 at 73%, and Kinesiology requires Pre-calculus 12 at 70% with two approved science 12 courses. UVic's estimated entry averages, worked out on the required grade-12 courses, vary widely by program: about 73% in Visual Arts and Music (BMus), 80% in Humanities subjects and Commerce, 81-82% in Computer Science, Psychology and Sociology, 85% in Biology, Chemistry and Engineering, 90% in Teacher Education (Elementary Curriculum) and 92% in Kinesiology. These are estimates drawn from recent cycles, and meeting a minimum never guarantees an offer. Transfer applicants from a BC college normally need "C" (2.00 on UVic's 9-point scale) across their most recent 12 UVic units/24 credits, "A-" (7.00) after one full year of a diploma, or "B" (5.00) on a completed diploma; selective programs set higher bars, and a certificate on its own is not an admission basis. Undergraduate entry, international applicants. The academic basis is twelve years of schooling plus graduation from a recognised senior secondary school, assessed by curriculum: a full IB diploma with three or more Higher Level subjects and English HL or SL at 3 or better; three A-levels, or two A-levels with two AS-levels, or four AS-levels, each at grade C or better, with English at ordinary or advanced level; a US high-school diploma with 14 or more college-preparatory courses including four English (C+ or better in senior English); Chinese senior secondary graduation with an 80% overall average plus Huikao or Xuekao; CISCE or CBSE Year 12 results of 75% or better. Estimated entry levels run 26-33 IB points and 3.10-3.80 unweighted GPA depending on the program, with SAT 1250 or ACT 26 optional (UVic codes 0989 for SAT and TOEFL, 5327 for ACT). International transfer applicants need "B" (5.00) over the most recent 12 UVic units after one full year of a bachelor's degree. English language requirement (domestic and international applicants alike). No test is needed if you completed four years of full-time English-medium study in Canada or another recognised English-speaking country, or one of UVic's other published academic routes. Otherwise the undergraduate minimums are: IELTS Academic 6.5 with no band under 6.0; TOEFL iBT 88 with no section under 20, or an overall 4.5 with no section under 4.0; CAEL 70 with no section under 60; Duolingo English Test 120 with no subscore under 110; PTE Academic 65 with no skill under 60; Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency 180 with no skill under 170; or the four-skill MET at 64. Conditional admission, offered in Business, Engineering and Computer Science, Fine Arts, Art History and Visual Studies, Music (BA), Humanities, Science and Social Sciences, accepts IELTS 6.0 (no band under 5.5), TOEFL iBT 79 (no section under 17) or an overall 4.0 (no section under 3.5), CAEL 60 (no section under 50), Duolingo 110 (no subscore under 100), PTE Academic 54 (no skill under 50), or MET 58 (no skill under 53). Scores must be under two years old and sent to UVic by the testing organisation. Graduate entry uses different minimums. A master's normally needs a four-year bachelor's degree and the equivalent of a "B" average over the last two years; a doctorate needs an acceptable master's degree or an "A-" average across the last two years of a bachelor's. Departments may set higher standards. Graduate English minimums match the undergraduate table for IELTS (6.5, no section under 6.0), CAEL 70, PTE 65, MET 64 and Cambridge 180, but TOEFL iBT is 90 with no section under 20 for tests sat before 21 January 2026 and an overall 4.5 with no section under 4.0 from that date onward. How to apply. Undergraduate applications go through EducationPlannerBC; the fee is $89.50 when every transcript is Canadian and $184.00 when any transcript comes from outside Canada. Deadlines are annual fixed dates and identical for Canadian and international applicants: most degree programs close 31 January for September entry, while January entry (30 September) and Summer entry (31 March) are limited to a subset of programs. Graduate applicants apply to the individual program, which publishes its own entry points and deadlines.

Total Students: 22,000

Academic Staff Range: 800-899

Campus Setting: Suburban

Memberships & Networks

Universities Canada (UC) Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) Canadian University Society for Intercollegiate Debate (CUSID) Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) Canadian University Press (CUP)

Academic Structures

The academic units through which University of Victoria delivers teaching are listed below.

Unit 12 items

Division of Continuing Studies
Division of Medical Sciences
Faculty of Business
Faculty of Education
Faculty of Engineering
Faculty of Fine Arts
Faculty of Graduate Studies
Faculty of Human and Social Development
Faculty of Humanities
Faculty of Law
Faculty of Science
Faculty of Social Sciences

Programs Offered

University of Victoria's programme list, with search and degree-level grouping.

366 programmes on record. Each level below shows a sample. Compare these on the programs page All programs in Canada

Bachelor's Degree 106 programmes

Anthropology: Bachelor of Arts Degree (BA)

Social & Cultural Studies · 4 years · On-campus · English

Local tuition: CAD 6,500/total

The Anthropology program page states a Canadian-high-school estimated admission average of 82% or higher, calculated across the required grade-12 subjects, and notes that meeting the minimum never guarantees a place. BC...

University of Victoria

Overview

Location & Contact

Academic Details

Academic Structures

Programs Offered

Bachelor's Degree 106 programmes

Master's Degree 96 programmes

Doctorate 42 programmes

Professional Doctorate 1 programme

Certificate 34 programmes

Diploma 14 programmes

Foundation 7 programmes

Micro-credential 55 programmes

Postgraduate Certificate 8 programmes

Postgraduate Diploma 3 programmes

Scholarships in Canada

How to apply to University of Victoria

Frequently Asked Questions about University of Victoria

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