Waterloo Lutheran Seminary

• Evangelical Lutheran Seminary of Canada

Waterloo Lutheran Seminary (WLS) officially opened on October 30, 1911 in Waterloo, Ontario in a house located on five acres of land donated by the City of Waterloo. The first class consisted of four students and one full-time faculty member, Ottomar Lincke. Lincke would also serve as the first executive officer until 1914. In 1924, Waterloo College was established, providing courses in post-secondary education. The following year, the Seminary and Waterloo College affiliated with the University of Western Ontario (UWO) allowing students to earn an accredited degree. Women were allowed to attend to Waterloo College beginning in 1929.

In 1960 Waterloo College ended its affiliation with the University of Western Ontario and became an independent, degree granting institution called Waterloo Lutheran University that operated alongside the Seminary.

The current Seminary building was dedicated on October 20th, 1963. In 1973 Waterloo Lutheran University became a provincially-funded, secular institution and was renamed Wilfrid Laurier University. The Lutheran Church was no longer responsible for the operating the University but the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary remained a federated college of Wilfrid Laurier University.

In the 1980s, the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary gained full accreditation status in the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. In 1994, a Doctor of Ministry degree was added. The year 2010 saw the creation of the Kanata Centre for Worship and Global Song, which seeks to bridge the cultural gap between developed and less developed countries. Currently, the Seminary offers a variety of diploma, master’s and doctoral programs, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Studies and Global Citizenship.

Waterloo, Ont. (1911- )