Queen’s University at Kingston

Queen’s University at Kingston, public, coeducational institution of higher education in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The school was established as Queen’s College, Kingston, by a royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1841. Affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, the college was created to provide education in the sciences and literature as well as training for Presbyterian ministers. The college’s initial funding came from the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the Canadian government, and private donors.

In 1861 the college added a law school, but it lasted only three years and was not restored permanently to the institution until 1957. A medical school was established in 1864. The college first permitted women to attend classes in 1870, but it did not admit them to degree programs until 1878. In 1912 the school’s affiliation with the Presbyterian Church ended, and it became a public institution supported by the province of Ontario.

Queen’s University at Kingston confers bachelor’s, master’s, professional, and doctoral degrees in the arts and sciences, business, engineering, the health professions, education, and law. Research institutes at the university include the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Institute, the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, the Centre for the Study of Public Opinion, and the Network for Research on Crime and Justice. Kingston is a small city on the St. Lawrence River 240 km (150 mi) east of Toronto, Ontario.