Graduate Studies - History and Structure

Graduate studies at WLU began in 1964 with the initiation of Master of Arts programs in geography and in romance languages. In 1966, the first students were admitted to a Master of Social Work program and to an MA program in psychology. Subsequently, MA programs were initiated in history (1968), political science (1970), religion and culture (1970), economics (1992), English (1993), communication studies (2007), cultural analysis and social theory (2007), philosophy (2007), sociology (2007) and ancient Mediterranean cultures (2008). The MES program was initiated in 1992, the MMT program in 2002, the Master of International Public Policy (MIPP) in 2007, and the Master of Finance degree in 2008. MSc programs were initiated in psychology (2002), mathematics (2005), kinesiology (2006), integrative biology (2007), chemistry (2008), geography (2008), and management (2008). In 1976, the School of Business and Economics began to offer an MBA program, and in 1987 the first doctoral program at WLU was initiated by the Faculty of Social Work, followed by a PhD program in geography (1992), in history (1995), in philosophy (2000), in theatre and literary studies in English (2001), in psychology (2003), in religious studies (2004), in management (2005) and in global governance (2007). The first program at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary began in 1970, and in 1994 a DMin program was initiated. Waterloo Lutheran Seminary now also offers two diploma programs, a Master of Divinity, a Master of Theological Studies and a Master of Theology.

The Faculty of Graduate Studies was renamed the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in 2009.