According to the 2017 Ranking Web of Universities, Brescia was ranked 150 in a list of postsecondary institutions in Canada[1]. Brescia was founded in 1919 by the Ursuline Religious of the Diocese of London: Women of Catholic faith whose goals are to achieve social justice, community service and the development of women[2]. Although Brescia has its Catholic roots, it accepts students of all faiths and backgrounds. 

History edit

The Ursuline Sisters named the Roman Catholic college after the Italian city of Brescia where their religious institute was founded. The first class was of seven young women who each paid $50 for tuition.[3] The Ursuline Superior General, Mother Clare Gaukler, bought the land Brescia is on today (1285 Western Road London, Ontario). Construction began in 1923 and opened for classes and residence only in 1925. Brescia Hall was the first building; it was built by contractor Joseph Michael Piggot. Brescia Hall was later renamed "Ursuline Hall". Ursuline College was renamed "Brescia College" in 1963, and in 2001[4] renamed "Brescia University College".

Brescia was known as a liberal arts school and the courses taught were: English, French, Spanish, Philosophy, History, Classics, and Religious Knowledge. Brescia students took other courses such as Science, Mathematics, Political Economy at Western. Over time, Brescia adapted some of the courses (e.g., Philosophy) to be appropriate for Catholic women. In 1936, a Home Economics program was begun, it evolved into what is known today as the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences. In September of 2007, Brescia started the first graduate program.[5]

Programs edit

    • Bachelor of Arts (English, French, Psychology, Sociology, Family Studies, Philosophy and Religious Studies, Community Development, Political Science, Human Ecology and Dimensions of Leadership)
    • Bachelor of Management & Organizational Studies
    • Bachelor of Science (Foods & Nutrition and Human Ecology)
    • Master of Foods and Nutritional Sciences
    • Certificate in Community Development
    • Certificate in Religious Education

Buildings edit

The Mother St. James memorial building (completed in 1963) is the main building on campus. In September 2013, Brescia opened its new residence building and dining pavilion, Clare Hall, which houses just over 300 students and features a state of the art eatery, called the Mercato.[6]


As of 2017-03-18, this article is derived in whole or in part from Wikipedia. The copyright holder has licensed the content in a manner that permits reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL. All relevant terms must be followed. The original text was at "Brescia University College"

  1. ^ "Canada | Ranking Web of Universities". www.webometrics.info. Retrieved 2017-03-26.
  2. ^ "About | Brescia University College". About | Brescia University College. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  3. ^ Brescia University College History
  4. ^ http://www.brescia.uwo.ca/about/brescia/history/chronology.html[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "History". About | Brescia University College. 2014-04-05. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-09-28. Retrieved 2013-09-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)