Education Alternatives in Victoria, British Columbia

The Greater Victoria School District serves the Victoria, BC area. There is one high school located within the city boundaries, Victoria High School, founded in 1876, making it the oldest High School in North America north of San Francisco and west of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Most of the elementary schools in Victoria now offer the popular French immersion programmes in addition to programs in English.

The Victoria area has three public post secondary educational institutions: University of Victoria (UVic), Camosun College, Royal Roads University

University of Victoria is famous for its beautiful gardens, and as of 2006, had about 19,500 students. It attracts many students in part because of its size, its picturesque location, and its cooperative education program, which is the third largest in Canada. UVic is consistently ranked as one of top universities in Canada. Canada's premier magazine, the Maclean's Magazine, has ranked UVic as one of the top three comprehensive universities in the nation for three consecutive years.

UVic is British Columbia's second largest research universities, and is one of Canada's top 20 research institutions. According to ScienceWatch, UVic is nationally ranked first in geoscience, second in space science and education, and third in engineering and mathematics for the period of 2000-2004. The University of Victoria's MBA program is consistently ranked as the top 10 of its kind in the nation. Its Faculty of Law has also ranked first in the country, 8 out of the last 11 years. Currently, they are ranked 4th by Canadian Lawyer Magazine.

Camosun College has two campuses, Lansdowne and Interurban. Lansdowne campus has 4,500 students enrolled in university transfer, college preparatory and access programs as well as career programs in arts, science, business, health and human services. More than 3,900 students attend classes at Interurban campus, enrolled in trades, technology, business or access programs.

Royal Roads University (RRU) is a public university that was established in 1995. It offers applied and professional programs at both the undergraduate and graduate degree level, and the various programs are delivered primarily via the internet, although some are also offered on-campus. Programs of study include business, leadership, environment and sustainability, tourism, information and society, peace and conflict management, and communication and culture.