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The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in Saanich and Oak Bay within Victoria, British Columbia. The university was founded as Victoria College in 1903, as the affiliate branch of McGill University, and is also credited with the beginnings of the University of British Columbia. A non-denominational institution, it transitioned to its current status as the University of Victoria in 1963. The university's annual enrollment is around 20,000 students. UVic's campus is known for its innovative architecture, beautiful gardens, and mild climate.
Academically, the University of Victoria is noted for its programs in Earth and Ocean Sciences, Fine and Performing Arts, Engineering, and Faculty of Law along with a strong focus on co-operative education. It is the nation's lead institution in the VENUS and NEPTUNE deep-water seafloor observatory projects. It is also home to several interdisciplinary research centres, such as the Pacific Institute of Mathematical Studies, Compute Canada, Canadian Oceans Research Universities, and WestGrid.
The Victoria Vikes (more commonly known as the UVic Vikes or simply the Vikes) represent the university in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) community in a number of competitive sports, as well as through a variety of intercollegiate leagues. The Vikes have especially long and eminent ties to competitive rowing, basketball and rugby.
UVic ranks well in global rankings. It has been the top-ranked comprehensive university in Canada since 2010. In this category, Maclean's magazine ranks UVic either first or second for eight consecutive years. It also ranked first in Canada and 20th internationally in the Times Higher Education’s ranking of schools under 50 years old. In global rankings, UVic is within the Top 200 list, thus, being amongst the top one per cent of universities around the world.[8] It clocked in its highest ranking at 173 globally in 2010 and has since maintained a strong presence in global ranking charts. The university has also been home to more than 40 faculty members who are Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada since it was founded.