Glendon College

Glendon College is a public liberal arts college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Formally the federated bilingual campus of York University, it is one of the school's nine colleges and 11 faculties with 100 full-time faculty members and a student population of about 2,100. Founded as the first permanent establishment of York University, the school began academic operation under the mentorship of the University of Toronto in September 1960. Under the York University Act 1959 legislation, York was once an affiliated institution of the University of Toronto, where the first cohort of faculty and students originally utilized the Falconer Hall building (now part of the Faculty of Law) as a temporary home before relocating north of the St. George campus to Glendon Hall — an estate that was willed by Edward Rogers Wood for post-secondary purposes.

In 1962, a landlot grant was offered by the Province of Ontario to build a new university, which eventually ceased the bilateral partnership between the two schools. York University became an independent institution; however, Glendon refused to transfer to the main Keele Campus, as the University of Toronto had no interest in reacquiring or maintaining the donated Wood property. Murray G. Ross and diplomat Escott Reid, who mutually proposed a novel plan for the college to educate students for fields in civil service, governance and academia, were appointed president and principal in 1959 and 1965, respectively. In 1966, Glendon was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson with the objective of "helping its students develop an informed and active interest in public affairs; by encouraging them to become committed to improving the community in which they live; the country of which they are citizens; and the world which they occupy."

Glendon College's undergraduate curriculum emphasizes languages, communication, international affairs, and public policy. Due to this, the Government of Ontario declared Glendon the country's first "Centre of Excellence for French language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education," in collaboration with Collège Boréal. Because of Glendon's bilingual nature, the campus received partial designation as an institution offering French services under the province's French Language Services Act.

Language skill assessments are given to new students to determine the level needed to take to fulfil Glendon's second-language requirement. Students who attain higher levels can either take advanced-level language instruction in their second language, or a discipline course taught solely in their second language. In addition, a variety of non-credit classes and programmes are offered by the college to students, faculty and the general public including introductory courses in foreign languages (Arabic, Cantonese, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Persian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Tibetan); indigenous languages in Inuktitut and Ojibway; and professional development courses in English and French. Students also have the opportunity to take other language courses available through the Languages, Literature and Linguistics department at York University.

This bilingual approach to university education is said to be unique in Canada, because all students within Glendon College are required to study both English and French. Canada's other bilingual post-secondary institutions, including portions of Concordia University, Laurentian University, University of Alberta (Faculté St-Jean), and the University of Ottawa, often educate students in one language or the other. Although each one offers students the option of a fully bilingual education, Glendon is the only institution in Canada where all anglophone and francophone students are required to take at least one compulsory class in their second language, regardless of their initial ability in the language.

In December 2025, Ontario Heritage Trust unveiled a Provincial Plaque at Glendon College commemorating the 100th anniversary of Glendon Hall and recognizing its pivotal role in advancing bilingual education across Canada.

Glendon is a primarily undergraduate institution where academics are rooted in the liberal arts tradition, although the college mainly specializes in the social sciences and humanities. Glendon offers Bachelor of Arts (BA, Internatational Bachelor of Arts (iBA), Bacehlor of Science (BSc), Bachelor of Education (BEd), honours and specialize honours degress, with bilingual, single-language, and double-major options across the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Glendon has a unique concurrent and consecutive Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) focused specifically on preparing teachers for French immersion, extended French and core French teaching positions in anglophone schools. Recently, Glendon initiated its first BSc/iBSc degrees in psychology and biology, a new BA/iBA degree in communications, and a business administration and international studies dual degree (BBA/iBA) in partnership with the EMLYON Business School in France.

There are also concurrent/consecutive certificate programs in a variety of fields (teaching English as an international language (D-TEIL), law and social thought, rédaction professionnelle (offered in French only), refugee and migration studies, sexuality studies, Spanish/English – English-Spanish translation, and technical and professional communication).