Royal Roads University

ABOUT UNIVERSITY

Royal Roads University (RRU) is a public institution located in Colwood, British Columbia, Canada, with its main campus situated on the historic grounds of Hatley Park National Historic Site on Vancouver Island. Established in June 1995 through the Royal Roads University Act, the university emerged as the successor to the Royal Roads Military College (RRMC), a former Canadian naval and later tri-service military training institution that operated during and after the Second World War before being decommissioned following the Cold War. Royal Roads occupies approximately 260 hectares of leased federal land centered around Hatley Castle, a Scottish baronial mansion designed in 1908 by architect Samuel Maclure for James Dunsmuir, a prominent political leader and Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. Originally intended as a potential residence for the British Royal Family during World War II, Hatley Castle instead became the site of the military college, which trained officers under several institutional names before officially achieving degree-granting status in 1975. Many of its staff remained after the transition to a civilian university, and the campus continues to preserve military heritage through its museums, memorials, and Edwardian gardens. Today, Royal Roads University is recognized as a small but dynamic public university offering more than 70 programs including certificates, diplomas, undergraduate degrees, and graduate degrees, with an enrolment of around 4,100 students and a global alumni community exceeding 34,000. The institution is known for its applied learning approach, interdisciplinary programs, and a strong connection to its historical roots. Hatley Park and the former military college grounds were designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1995, honoring both the Dunsmuir legacy and the significance of RRMC from 1940 to 1995, with a commemorative plaque added in 2000 to recognize the site as an exceptional example of an Edwardian-era garden landscape preserved within a modern academic setting.