[6] The university is regarded for its Foundation Year Program (FYP), an undergraduate curriculum designed to comprehensively study a variety of intellectual developments—past and present—through great books and ideas.

[11] As part of Evacuation Day, Bishop Charles Inglis, the rector of Trinity Church, led the flight of Loyalists to Windsor, Nova Scotia.

[13] The college opened in 1790,[14] and received a royal charter from King George III in 1802,[6] becoming Canada's first English-speaking, degree-granting university.

Even though the University of New Brunswick traces its history to another King's College, this one at Fredericton, established in 1785, it did not initially receive degree-granting powers through a Royal Charter until 1827.

[15] Windsor was chosen as the location of the college, as it was described at the time as "a cherished semi-rural retreat for generations of Nova Scotians.

[1] In the 16th century, the land was taken from the Mi'kmaq by French colonists, who then named the area Pisiguit as part of the colony of Acadia.

The founders of King's College, representing the political and financial elite of these British colonists, had only been in the area since the 1750s, with the construction of Fort Edward and the expulsion of the Acadians, beginning in 1755.

A significant reason for the establishment of King's College was to discourage white, Anglican colonial males from studying in the United States, so as to guard against the influence of American Republicanism and maintain loyalty to the British Crown.

[17] The founding of a College or Seminary of learning on a liberal plan in that province [Nova Scotia] where youth may receive a virtuous education and can be qualified for the learned professions, is, we humbly conceive, a member of great consequence, as it would diffuse religious literature, loyalty, and good morals among His Majesty's subjects there.

If such a seminary is not established the inhabitants will have no means of educating their sons at home, but will be under the but will necessity of sending them for that purpose either to Great Britain…or else some of the states of this continent, where they will soon imbibe principles that are unfavourable to the British Constitution.

Unless we have a seminary here, the youth of Nova Scotia will be sent for their education to the Revolted Colonies—the inevitable consequences would be a corruption of their religious and political principle.

Upon discovering the chalice and paten of St. Peter's Anglican Church (West LaHave, Nova Scotia) were being sold in Halifax, Senator William Johnston Almon purchased them and donated them to the King's College Chapel (1891).

[20][16] The Town of Windsor assert that students at King's College invented ice hockey c. 1800 on Long Pond adjacent to the campus.

(A similar game developed, perhaps independently, in Kingston, Ontario several years later which has led to occasional confusion about the sport's origins.

[citation needed]) The noted Canadian poet Sir Charles G. D. Roberts taught at King's College from 1885 to 1895.

Due to frozen fire hydrants at the time of the event, the blaze could not be put out and a majority of the 28-hectare campus burned to the ground.

Among the provisions were that King's College was to be rebuilt in Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia, and that it was to enter into an association with Dalhousie University.

As consolidation was a way to strengthen a small and financially insecure institution, King's College accepted the funding and relocated to the northwest corner of Dalhousie's Studley Campus, at the intersection of Oxford Street and Coburg Road.

In addition, professional education in the 19th century expanded beyond the traditional fields of theology, law, and medicine — thus, graduate training based on the German model of specialized course work and the completion of a research thesis was introduced at the school.

The academic life of the College carried on during those years elsewhere in Halifax, aided by Dalhousie University and the United Church's Pine Hill Divinity Hall.

The program consisted of six sections from The Ancient World to The Contemporary World, in which students would read the work of major philosophers, poets, historians and scientists, receive lectures from a range of experts in all these areas, write critical papers and engage in small-group discussion and tutorials.

A system of tunnels connects the residences to the other buildings of the campus, a feature particularly common to North American universities.

King's' transformation from a small college catering mainly to local Anglican students into a more intellectually cosmopolitan university with a strong national profile has been a resounding success.

In terms of teaching quality, King's has been placed in the same academic league as top Canadian research universities like McGill and Toronto.

Conservative estimates put the entrance average of first year King's students at 87%, or a strong A in Canadian high school marks.

[27] Since 1972, King's has been offering its Foundation Year Program (FYP) for undergraduate students, an intensive survey course of history, philosophy, and literature in the Western tradition.

Furthermore, the college offers First-Year Interest Groups (FIGs), which are small study groups meant to supplement student learning in the FYP as well as the individual’s academic interests; these are open to students from any program and generally consist of tutorials, study sessions, and social events.

In 2006, Alexandra Hall, traditionally the all-women's residence, was made co-ed for the first time with rooms in the basement alternating between male and female occupants as well as one wing of the first floor becoming all-male.

The following table are the Fall 2023/2024 costs for a domestic student taken from the Dalhousie Online portal 'Student Records - Account Detail by Term."

', Michael Ondaatje on 'Mongrel art: A discussion of literature and its neighbours', Jan Zwicky on 'What Meaning Is and Why It Matters', and Tanya Tagaq on 'Climate, culture, and collaboration', as well as Canadian author Joseph Boyden.