Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, Canada

Overview

History, Affiliations & Rankings

Established in 1970, Thompson Rivers University (TRU) is a public research university, primarily offering vocational training, undergraduate and graduate degrees. In 1978, the region of Cariboo in British Columbia was officially designated as a College with corporate status under the Provincial Institutes Act and the British Columbia Colleges, to gain its own independent board for the school to create the Open-Learning Institute (OLI), which would later become TRU-Open Learning. Thompson Rivers University is affiliated with the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC), The International Association of Universities (IAU), The Canadian Virtual University, Canada West Universities Athletic Association, and The Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE). TRU is known to be one of the top-ranked universities in Canada.

Infrastructure, Campus & Courses

The main campus is spread across a total of 250-acre of land in Kamloops, overlooking the junction of the North and South Thompson rivers, from where the University adopted its name. The campus has 40 acres of gardens and provides on-campus housing for over 880 students. As one of the famous research universities, TRU houses several famous buildings like the Arts and Education (A&E) building, The Brown Family House of Learning building (TRU's second library and a learning commons), The Industrial Training and Technology Centre (ITTC) and the newly constructed Nursing and Population Health (NPH) building, right behind the library. 

TRU offers over 140 on-campus programs and 60 open learning programs in fields like Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Adventure, School of Business and Economics, Faculty of Student Development,  Faculty of Education and Social Work, Culinary Arts and Tourism, School of Nursing, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Science, and School of Trades and Technology. The most sought after courses are Accounting, Business, Communication, Computing, Chemical Biology, Economics & Political Studies, Entrepreneurship, Finance and Engineering.

Accomplishments & Alumni

TRU creates partnerships with industry on many levels—for philanthropy, research, even campus infrastructure. Industrial leadership in the community supports key events for the institution such as the TRU Foundation Gala, and many other initiatives that raise funds for student awards. Notable Alumni include, Lorne Cardinal (Canadian stage, television and film actor), Steven Galloway (Canadian novelist and a former professor at the University of British Columbia), Corryn Cecile Brown (Canadian curler from British Columbia), Ta'Quan Zimmerman (American professional basketball player) and Kayla Moleschi (Canadian rugby union player).

Student Diversity & Visiting Companies

TRU has a list of International Partners, because of which over 26,000 students are studying on the campus or through distance and online learning.  It also provides its students with academic research, extracurricular activities for community services. With a community of over 1500+ International Alumni, TRU caters to students from over 70+ countries. Top employers include Interior Health Authority, Fraser Health Authority, Teck Resources Limited, CIBC, TD, Walmart and Scotia Bank.

Covid-19 Response

At TRU, leaders are continuously working towards making its campus safe for all its students, staff, and faculty members. It is also planning and preparing to enhance their face-to-face classes and not compromise with their education standards. Here are the latest Covid-19 updates put forward by the university, as of February 22, 2021:

• Funding and assistance are available for students affected by the global pandemic.

• Students are expected to be on campus only if their courses include a face-to-face component.

• For the Spring/Summer 2021 term, the number of face-to-face courses will be increased gradually although the majority of the students will learn remotely. For the Fall 2021 term, the goal is to bring all enrolled students back to campus.

• For the upcoming terms, most courses that are delivered virtually will be a combination of virtual meetings and assignments of work.

• At this time, only those international students with approval in principle or final study permit approval will be able to register for courses.

• The university's Covid-19 readiness plan has been approved by the government, thereby letting the university reopen and welcome international students to campus. However, the entry of an international student will solely depend on the decision of a CBSA office.