Indigenous Languages Program

Indigenous languages are the cornerstone of Indigenous knowledges and communities. The Indigenous Languages program at The University of Winnipeg offers students an interdisciplinary education that emphasizes revitalization, planning, and communication of Indigenous languages.

Through core courses in Indigenous language learning and reclamation methods, students develop proficiency in an Indigenous language while also becoming advocates for Indigenous language revitalization. The program provides opportunities for experiential learning to enhance teaching and research experiences.

Graduates of the program will become part of a growing community dedicated to supporting ongoing learning, speaking, researching, and teaching Indigenous languages, contributing to the revitalization of these languages.

Program Structure

This program includes three Certificate options (30 credit hours each), which can lead to a Bachelor of Arts degree with options for a 3-year, 4-year, or honours degree. Additionally, students have the option to pursue an Integrated BEd/BA to prepare for a career in teaching Indigenous languages in K-12 classrooms.

Anishinaabemowin Language Immersion

The Province of Manitoba has allocated $2.3 million to support the development of a new Anishinaabemowin language immersion program for Indigenous students at The University of Winnipeg. This innovative initiative will immerse students in the Anishinaabemowin language, fostering fluency through a comprehensive language environment.

Sample Courses

• Oral Immersion in Michif, Cree, or Ojibwe
  • Focuses on conversational skills, utilizing community language learning methods that emphasize oral conversation.
• Language Revitalization
  • Explores the necessity for language revitalization amidst language endangerment, covering key methodologies such as language healing, language development, and technology.
• Indigenous Languages: Resilience and Identity
  • Investigates the impact of colonization and assimilation on Indigenous languages, incorporating the study of Creator's Laws and Sacred Teachings.

Additional Courses

• Introductory Cree or Ojibwe
• Intermediate Cree or Ojibwe
• Special Topics in Indigenous Languages
• Indigenous Language Mentorship
• Language Policy & Planning
• Indigenous Language Field School

Sample First Year Curriculum

• IL-1408(3) Indigenous Languages: Resilience and Identity
• IS-1101(6) Introductory Cree
• IL-2409(3) AND IL-2410(3) Oral Immersion Michif 1 and 2
• IS-1201(6) Introductory Ojibwe
• IS-1016(3) Introduction to Indigenous Studies: Art, Culture & History
• LING-1001(6) Introduction to Linguistics
• RHET-1101(3) Academic Writing: Humanities
• 9-12 credit hours toward distribution requirements (including Science)

Transition Year Program

The Transition Year Program (TYP) aids Indigenous students in successfully transitioning from their communities to an urban university context. The TYP Coordinator assists in applications, course selection, and registration, and first-year students are paired with mentors for additional support.

Admission Requirements

Students must meet The University of Winnipeg's general admission criteria; no specific high school courses are mandated.

Mature Access Option

Individuals aged 21 or older without a Grade 12 diploma may be considered for admission as mature access students, provided they demonstrate motivation for academic success.

Contacts for Program Coordination

• Dr. Shelley Tulloch, Interdisciplinary Program Coordinator
• Heyuan Chen, Indigenous Languages Project Coordinator

In any case where The University of Winnipeg Academic Calendar and this program description differ, the current Calendar will be authoritative.

The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg) is a vibrant, inclusive, and research-active university located in the heart of downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, with roots dating back to 1871. Home to 9,000 students and more than 60,000 alumni, UWinnipeg offers undergraduate and graduate programs across six faculties in a welcoming campus community known for dedicated, accessible faculty, a strong liberal arts tradition, and a deep commitment to community engagement, truth and reconciliation, and equity.

Situated in one of Canada's most multicultural cities, UWinnipeg reflects the diversity of Winnipeg and actively creates outreach programs to support accessible post-secondary education for students from traditionally under-represented backgrounds, including mature students, Indigenous students, immigrant students, and refugee students.

Mission

The University of Winnipeg is committed to excellence in post-secondary education through undergraduate and selected graduate programs, rooted in the liberal arts and culminating in degrees in Arts, Business and Economics, Education, Kinesiology and Applied Health, Science, and Theology. In pursuit of its mission, UWinnipeg is guided by the knowledge that its primary responsibility is to its students, to whom it strives to offer a community that appreciates, fosters, and promotes values of human dignity, equality, non-discrimination and appreciation of diversity. The university views both accessibility and excellence as equally important goals, and works to make the university as accessible as possible while maintaining high standards of academic quality.

In the practice of scholarly enquiry through both teaching and research, UWinnipeg provides students with breadth and depth of knowledge, the skills to communicate effectively and make informed decisions, an understanding of the ethical problems facing society, and an appreciation of their responsibilities as citizens of the world.

Strategic Mission

To inspire learning, research, and collaboration that empower students, faculty, staff, and partners to positively transform communities and contribute meaningfully to society.

Overarching commitments

• Academic Freedom: upholding the right to explore, challenge, and communicate knowledge without constraint
• Accessibility and Excellence: fostering welcoming learning environments while upholding rigorous academic standards
• Community Engagement: cultivating respectful, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial relationships within and beyond the university
• Advancing Truth and Reconciliation: leading reconciliation by honouring Indigenous knowledge, committing to Indigenous excellence, strengthening Indigenous partnerships, and embedding these values across the university

Strategic Plan 2025–2030: Meeting the Moment

UWinnipeg launched its new strategic plan, Meeting the Moment, in October 2025, developed through 18 months of extensive community consultation. The plan is organised around five pillars:

• Academic Excellence and Innovation: championing innovative, diverse, and inclusive academic environments that equip faculty and students to transform communities in Winnipeg and beyond
• Research and Innovation: exploring new pathways and sparking innovation to create a meaningful future for the university community
• Truth and Reconciliation: becoming a leader in nurturing ethical and collaborative environments that advance Truth and Reconciliation, Indigenisation and Indigenous excellence
• Community and Belonging: building strong, inclusive relationships across campus and beyond
• Sustainability and Stewardship: ensuring the university's long-term capacity to serve its mission across financial, environmental and institutional dimensions

Faculties and academic structure

UWinnipeg offers undergraduate and graduate programs across six faculties:

• Faculty of Arts
• Faculty of Business and Economics
• Faculty of Education
• Gupta Faculty of Kinesiology and Applied Health
• Faculty of Science
• Faculty of Theology

Across these faculties, UWinnipeg offers over 40 undergraduate programs in a variety of three-year, four-year and Honours Bachelor's degree formats. Several programs are unique in Western Canada, including the Bachelor of Arts in Human Rights and the Master's in Development Practice with a focus on Indigenous Development. In 2025, UWinnipeg launched its first doctoral program, the PhD in Bioscience and Policy, marking a new milestone in the university's research trajectory.

Unique programs

• Bachelor of Arts in Human Rights: one of only a small number of standalone Human Rights undergraduate degrees in Canada.
• Master's in Development Practice (Indigenous Development): unique in Western Canada, focusing on community-centred, Indigenous-led development practice
• PhD in Bioscience and Policy (launched 2025): UWinnipeg's first doctoral program, combining biological sciences with policy analysis and application
• Indigenous Studies: a dedicated undergraduate program reflecting UWinnipeg's deep commitment to Indigenous knowledge and reconciliation

History

UWinnipeg's roots extend back to 1871, when Wesley College was founded, followed by Manitoba College. The two colleges merged in 1938 to form United College, which became the University of Winnipeg in 1967. This heritage gives UWinnipeg more than 150 years of continuous operation as an institution of higher learning in Manitoba, rooted from its earliest years in the liberal arts tradition and a commitment to serving the Winnipeg community.

The UW Collegiate

Uniquely among Canadian universities, UWinnipeg operates its own high school on campus: The UW Collegiate, offering Grade 9 through 12 programs to secondary students in an environment of academic freedom, mutual trust and critical thinking. The Collegiate's philosophy emphasises the development of mature, self-directed individuals and provides a direct transition pathway into post-secondary education at the University of Winnipeg. The Collegiate is led by its own Dean and maintains its own distinct academic mission within the broader university community.

Professional, Applied and Continuing Education (PACE)

UWinnipeg's PACE division delivers industry-aligned certificates and diplomas for working professionals, career changers and lifelong learners, with more than 600 full-time and part-time programs, courses and seminars available across business, computing, health, education and other fields. PACE is located in the Buhler Centre and has been serving the professional learning needs of Manitoba since 1972. It includes formal transfer pathways allowing PACE graduates to continue into undergraduate degree programs at the university.

Research

UWinnipeg is a research-active institution that excels in innovative scholarship of discovery and integration. Research priorities include Indigenous studies, the biosciences, environmental science, and the social sciences, with faculty engaged in both disciplinary and interdisciplinary inquiry. The university is committed to knowledge mobilisation: moving research out of the academy and into the community through collaborative partnerships and applied projects. The 2025 launch of the PhD in Bioscience and Policy signals a significant expansion of UWinnipeg's formal research capacity at the doctoral level. Canada Research Chairs and major tri-council funding are active across the university's faculty complement.

Campus and community

UWinnipeg's downtown campus occupies a mix of heritage and modern buildings in the heart of Winnipeg, steps from the Exchange District, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and the vibrant cultural and commercial life of a city of over 800,000 people. Campus facilities include the Duckworth Centre (athletics), the Richardson College for the Environment and Science Complex, the Axworthy Health and RecPlex, the Library and Archives, an Art Gallery and Anthropology Museum, and extensive student services and student life programming.

Student support and accessibility

UWinnipeg is known for the personal connections between students and faculty and a teaching and learning environment that accommodates students from wherever their life paths have brought them. Dedicated support services include:

• Indigenous Student Services: supporting Indigenous students through their academic journey with cultural, academic and personal support
• Student Accessibility Services: ensuring students with disabilities can access the full university experience
• International Student Services: supporting international students from arrival through to graduation
• Career Services and Co-operative Education: connecting students to work-integrated learning and graduate career opportunities
• Student Awards and Financial Aid: including entrance scholarships, in-course awards, bursaries, and emergency funds
• Community Outreach programs: designed to support access for mature, immigrant, refugee and other under-represented student communities

Why University of Winnipeg

1. A university with roots dating back to 1871 and more than 150 years of academic heritage, combining a strong liberal arts tradition with growing research capacity and professional programs
2. A downtown campus at the heart of one of Canada's most diverse and culturally rich cities, steps from major cultural institutions and employer hubs
3. Programs unique in Western Canada including the BA in Human Rights, the Master's in Development Practice (Indigenous Development) and the first-ever PhD in Bioscience and Policy launched in 2025
4. Six faculties spanning Arts, Business and Economics, Education, Kinesiology and Applied Health, Science and Theology, with over 40 undergraduate programs and a growing suite of graduate degrees
5. A strategic plan — Meeting the Moment 2025–2030 — built on Academic Excellence, Research and Innovation, Truth and Reconciliation, Community and Belonging, and Sustainability
6. A high school on campus through The UW Collegiate and professional programs through PACE, making UWinnipeg one of Canada's most complete educational communities
7. A personal, accessible and welcoming campus community of 9,000 students and 60,000+ alumni, known for dedicated faculty and strong community engagement