Region : British Columbia
City : Langley
Web site : www.twu.ca
Trinity Western University (TWU) is a private Christian liberal arts university in Langley, British Columbia, Canada. It is accredited by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, and is recognized by the United States Department of Education.
Founded in 1962, it enrolls approximately 3,500 students and sits on a suburban-rural 157-acre (64 ha) campus near the historic village of Fort Langley, British Columbia. Trinity Western is Canada's largest privately funded Christian university. It has a broad-based liberal arts, sciences, and professional studies curriculum, offering 45 undergraduatemajors and 17 graduate and post-graduate programs. It has a student to faculty ratio of 16:1 with an average first-year class size of 37 and overall average class size of 15.
Trinity Western is a member of the Royal Society of Canada. Its varsity teams, known as the Spartans, are members of Canadian Interuniversity Sport. According to Universities Canada, the non-profit national organization that represents Canadian universities and colleges, TWU's domestic tuition is the most expensive of any university in Canada.
Trinity Western University is an independent, privately supported institution, offering a liberal arts education. Since its founding in 1962, it has identified as a Christian institution, although it has always been governed independently from any church or religious organization. It is currently administered by a 14-member Board of Governors, to which the President reports. The current president, Robert Kuhn, was the interim president before his inauguration in 2014.
Undergraduates fulfill general education requirements, choose among a wide variety of elective courses, and pursue departmental concentrations and interdisciplinary certificate programs. Students usually take classes through the university's semester system, with three semesters taking place each year. The fall semester lasts from September to December, and the spring semester from January to April. For students wishing to take classes over summer, the university offers several courses on campus as well as travel studies through its summer semester programming, which runs from May to August.
Graduate students take courses through the Faculty of Graduate Studies and ACTS Seminaries. Master's degree programs are available in the humanities, education, linguistics, psychology, business, nursing, and theology.
The university hosts a number of research institutes and centres, including the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute, Gender Studies Institute, Religion, Culture and Conflict Research Group, Septuagint Institute, Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership, Centre for Spiritual Formation in Higher Education, and the Religion in Canada Institute.
Trinity Western's students are from all 10 provinces, 37 U.S. states, and 33 foreign countries. The student body is 72% Canadian, 12% American, and 13% are from overseas. The university employs a faculty of approximately 250 instructors and professors, enabling a student to faculty ratio of 11:1, and an average class size of 25. Over 85% of Trinity Western's professors have doctorates.
Trinity Western University is accredited by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, and is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Trinity Western University is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. Tuition for the 2014-15 academic year was $22,260 CDN, making tuition the most expensive of any Canadian university. Roughly 95% of Trinity Western's incoming and transfer students receive some financial aid in the form of scholarships or grants not including loans. International students pay the same fees as Canadian students.
Trinity Western University is a member of the Royal Society of Canada, the senior national organization for the promotion of learning and research in Canada.
Undergraduate degrees awarded by Trinity Western University include the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Bachelor of Business Administration, Bachelor of Education, and Bachelor of Human Kinetics. There is also a Bachelor of Applied Science in Engineering transfer program in collaboration with the University of British Columbia's engineering department. Honours programs are available in a number of majors.
Undergraduate courses in the humanities are traditionally either seminars or lectures held one- or two-times a week with an additional conversation-based seminar called a "discussion group". To graduate, all students must complete a liberal arts core curriculum known as the "University Core", comprising 18 classes of various subjects. Students have a high degree of latitude in creating a self-structured Core, which allows students to study subjects of interest outside their chosen major. Most of the Core classes at Trinity Western are led by a full-time professor (as opposed to a teaching assistant).
Within the 18 classes, students complete a two-semester English language requirement, along with courses from the fine arts, natural sciences, philosophy, history, sociology, and religious studies departments, two courses of interdisciplinary studies, and up to three physical education courses.
In addition to the Core, students are required to complete an academic major. Trinity Western University grants bachelor's degrees in 45 academic majors, and 56 minors, concentrations, or certificates, with over 1,200 courses from which to choose. Students may choose courses from any of the university's faculties or schools:
Whereas most courses are offered on Trinity Western's main campus in Langley, students may study in Bellingham, Washington; Richmond, British Columbia; or online. Furthermore, many take part in travel studies and exchange programs at partner institutions or universities across the globe. Students are also free to design their own courses with the support of a faculty member or member of the administration.
Trinity Western's international programs offer students the ability to study all over the world for part of the summer, a semester, or a full year.
The School of Kinesiology has sponsored summer travel studies programs at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games in Beijing and in London, respectively. The School of Art, Media + Culture sponsors a summer program in Paris and London, and the School of Business sponsors a summer program in Ottawa and Quebec City. Various other summer programs are offered, such as coral reef biology in Hawaii, Biblical studies in Israel and the West Bank and Johannine literature in Turkey.
Additionally, in conjunction with the CCCU, the university offers 12 semester-long programs through the CCCU's BestSemester initiative. Sponsored programs include African studies in Uganda, filmmaking and film studies in Los Angeles, India studies in Tamil Nadu, Latin American studies in San Jose, Costa Rica, and American studies in Washington, D.C.
Trinity Western's research and exchange partnership with the University of Oxford enables qualifying students to study as a visiting student at Oxford for either a semester or a year. Exchange programs at Spain's University of Salamanca and China's Xiamen University are also available to students. Students may also make their own arrangements with the help of a faculty member to study at other universities in Canada or abroad as visiting students.
The Laurentian Leadership Centre certificate program housed in Ottawa's Booth House, a National Historic Site of Canada, offers the opportunity for third- and fourth-year students to complete a fully credited semester of study while interning at Parliament, or a political group, business, media firm, or NGO in the national capital. Internship placements regularly include the Prime Minister's Office; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of Finance; and the Conservative, Liberal, and New Democratic parties; as well as, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives; Royal Bank's Capital Markets division; CIDA; World Vision; and CPAC. The program is also available to visiting students of other universities.
OMADA Teambuilding is a leadership and team building program housed in the School of Human Kinetics. The program uses experiential education and hands on learning for both TWU students and outside organizations. Started at the university in 1998, the Challenge Course was renamed OMADA Teambuilding in 2009 to better represent the diversity of the programs that were being offered.
Although it is an undergraduate-focused university, Trinity Western offers 17 programs of graduate studies through its Faculty of Graduate Studies. Graduate programs are offered in Education, the Interdisciplinary Humanities, Theology, Linguistics, and Psychology, as well as a graduate Master of Business Administration degree, where students study the science and principles of effective and ethical management. The Faculty of Graduate Studies awards the following degrees:
While the MBA program offers specializations in International Business and Managing a Growing Enterprises, it is also one of only two MBA programs in Canada to offer a non-profit specialization.
Trinity Western also hosts the ACTS Seminaries, a group of seminaries founded when several Christian denominations partnered to establish an institution that would train men and women in the study of theology and for positions as ministers.
In July 2012, the University submitted a proposal to offer a Juris Doctor program. The proposal was put forth to the provincial Ministry of Advanced Education and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, and was approved in December 2013.
Automatic accreditation of graduates from proposed faculty were approved by most of the provincial law societies across Canada, except The Law Society of Upper Canada (Ontario) and the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society. On June 11, 2014, 3,210 of the Law Society of British Columbia's 13,000 members voted in support of a resolution to reverse its decision to grant the faculty accreditation and requested that the province revoke its accreditation of the law program because of the view that it discriminates against unmarried couples and homosexual individuals. 968 members voted against with 8,822 not registering a vote. On September 26, 2014 the governing members of the Law Society decided to hold a binding referendum of their membership to determine whether to revoke Trinity Western's accreditation.
On December 12, 2014, B.C. Advanced Education Minister Amrik Virk revoked the province's approval of the proposed law school at Trinity Western University. In his letter to the school's administration, he expressed the importance of the legal process and encouraged TWU to re-apply when the court cases have been settled.
The impact of the withholding of accreditation by some provincial law societies in light of the National Mobility Agreement is, as yet, unknown.
The university was founded by a committee commissioned by the Evangelical Free Church of America to establish a Christian liberal arts college. As such, the committee's mission has shaped the campus and the university. Trinity Western University has maintained extremely close ties with the broader Christian church, and historically has had close relationships with the Evangelical and Mainline Protestant denominations, as well as with the Mennonite tradition recently. This has also resulted in the university having a significant American influence when compared with other Canadian universities. More than one out of every six students is American.
The university mandates that all students abide by their Community Covenant. The covenant bans sexual relationships outside of a marriage between a woman and a man, as well as behaviour such as hazing, verbal and physical harassment, dishonesty including plagiarism, theft or destruction of another's property, the use of illegal drugs, consuming alcohol on campus, or consuming pornography. A 2015 ruling in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice held that "discrimination inherent in the Community Covenant extends not only to persons, but also to women generally; to those persons of any gender who might prefer, for their own purposes, to live in a common law relationship rather than engage in the institution of marriage; and to those persons who have other religious beliefs... Despite some efforts by TWU to contend that the Community Covenant does not operate in a discriminatory fashion, it is self-evident that it does." The court ruling noted that "failure to adhere to the conduct imposed by the Community Covenant, carries with it serious consequences." The covenant mandates "at a minimum, suspension" for "sexual intimacy involving persons of the same sex."
Professors of the university sign a statement of faith annually. This policy has caused some controversy within academic circles, and was most recently covered in Maclean's. Professors come from varying faith backgrounds.As in line with the students, a mixture of Christian traditions are represented. Orthodox and Hebrew professors are also on staff.
Approximately 80% of undergraduates enrolled self-identify as Christian. There are many Christian clubs, organizations, and ministries on campus. There is no compulsory participation in any religious liturgies. Students and clubs of other religious denominations are welcomed and supported. Nearly every resident hall has a Chaplain in residence. In the morning on every weekday there is Chapel, at which attendance is voluntary, and communion is offered each Friday. Within the university Core, students are required four terms of Religious Studies. One term is allotted to a Survey of the Old Testament, and one to a Survey of the New Testament. Another term must be a class in Religious and Cultural studies.
Catholic Pacific College, formerly Redeemer Pacific College, is the university's constituent Catholic college. CPC's Glover Road Campus is adjacent to TWU. CPC is administered separately of the university, offers classes in Catholic studies and a liberal arts curriculum is taught by a Catholic faculty. Mass is also offered four times weekly.
Trinity Western's motto is Turris Fortis Deus Noster. The Latin motto is translated as "A Mighty Fortress is Our God". The inspiration for the motto came from a famous hymn of the same name written by Martin Luther.
The Coat of Arms of Trinity Western University depicts an Azure shield enshrined with an Or Trinity Cross and an Or B.C. sun. Surrounding the shield are a Pioneer holding a rifle and an Aboriginal Chief wearing a headdress and carrying a talking stick, both of the mid 19th century. The two are standing with the shield on a field of Pacific Dogwoods, the provincial flower of British Columbia. Above the shield are gold and blue banners, and protecting it is the helmet of salvation. Above the banners is Old Fort Langley, on which the Hudson Bay flag is flying. Surrounding the shield is an escroll on which the University motto is written. The Coat of Arms was granted by the Royal College of Arms, and was presented to then-university president R. Neil Snider in 1986 by the Lieutenant Governor of B.C. on behalf of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
A torch symbol is also used prevalently at the university, as the Coat of Arms is reserved to authenticate the highest official University academic and legal documents.
Spartans is the nickname of the varsity teams that compete for Trinity Western University. The name, which comes from the Ancient Greek civilization of Sparta, originated when the university's first intercollegiate team the men's basketball team, began competing in 1964.
Sources : Wikipedia, www.twu.ca
