Royal Roads University caters primarily to mature students by offering applied and professional programs and by delivering teaching models suited to working people. Royal Roads accepts transfer credits from colleges and universities across the country and around the world. A flexible admission policy recognizes formal and informal learning. With a focus on small classes and group projects, RRU aims to build a network of contacts for students and have them work closely together to achieve common goals.

This aim is echoed in the small-group residencies and the on-campus portion of blended online courses. “Royal Roads’ approach to learning affords us the ability to do things differently, and our values of caring, creativity and courage, which are tested each and every day as we continue to move through the pandemic, guide us in the ways we think, act and respond,” says president Philip Steenkamp.

Students can choose from 10 undergraduate degree-completion programs (i.e., third- and fourth-year programs; RRU offers first- and second-year undergrad courses only to international students), 22 master’s programs, more than 40 graduate certificates and diplomas, and two applied doctoral programs, in social sciences and business administration. This year, the school will launch a master of arts in executive and organizational coaching. The campus, set on a former coal baron’s estate within the Hatley Park National Historic Site, is surrounded by gardens and forest and is a 20-minute drive to Victoria.