McKinnon Gym

University of Victoria

Former names	Victoria College, British Columbia
Motto	"יְהִי אוֹר" (Hebrew) "multitudo sapientium sanitas orbis" (Latin)
Motto in English	"Let there be light" "A multitude of the wise is the health of the world"
Type	Public
Established	1903
Endowment	$394 million (2016)
Chancellor	Shelagh Rogers
President	Jamie Cassels, QC
Provost	Dr. Valerie Kuehne, PhD
Academic staff	874 faculty
Administrative staff	5,156 employees
Students	21,696
Undergraduates	18,389
Postgraduates	3,307
Location	Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Campus	Urban, 163 hectares (403 acres)
Colours	Red      Gold      Blue
Athletics	U Sports, CWUAA, NAIA
Nickname	Vikes
Affiliations	AUCC, IAU, CUSID, CBIE, CUP
Mascot	Thunder
Website	www.uvic.ca

The University of Victoria ('Victoria University', 'UVic', or simply 'Old Blue') is a large public research university located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The University of Victoria, founded in 1903, is the oldest university in British Columbia and began as Victoria College, an affiliated branch of McGill University. The University of Victoria is a non-denominational institution which is mostly centred around the leafy suburbs of Oak Bay. The university consists of more than 21,000 students, including many post-graduate and doctoral candidates.

The University of Victoria is one of the most international universities in Canada, attracting students from around the world. Since the university's founding, many future political leaders, Olympic medalists, and heads of government in Canada have passed through the university's halls, including Rona Ambrose, Fin Donnelly, and George Abbott. The University of Victoria has partnered with high-ranking institutions around the world, including Sciences Po, University of London, University of Washington, Hong Kong University, Utrecht University, and the National University of Singapore. The University of Victoria has also produced several Rhodes Scholars and Gates Scholars in recent years, while its alumni and faculty have worked on Nobel Prize winning research teams.