What is Collegiate Way International?

​Collegiate Way International (CWI) is a world-wide association of university colleges. It was founded in Durham, UK in 2014. Its mission is to support university colleges around the world and promote the collegiate way of interdisciplinary scholarship, academic integrity, civic awareness and humility.

The initial Collegiate Way conference brought together over 80 participants from over 8 countries united in a shared vision for higher education. At the conference's conclusion it was decided that the organisation should continue to lobby for the importance of the collegiate system internationally, offer a free online resource and organize a scholarly conference every two years to share best practices.

In 2016, selected, peer-reviewed proceedings from the first conference were published in the volume The Collegiate Way: University Education in a Collegiate Context.

Later in 2016, the second Collegiate Way International conference was held in Canberra at the Australian National University.  Paired with the annual University Colleges Australia conference this event saw over 120 participants and was an unqualified success. 

The third Collegiate Way International Conference took place at Rice University in Houston, Texas in February 2019 where over 60 delegates from 7 countries reaffirmed the mission of the organization.  

Following the COVID "pivot" that the world experienced, the fourth Collegiate Way International Conference was held online.  It was hosted by Trent University, one of Canada's top undergraduate universities in May 2022. In spite of time zone differences and Zoom fatigue, participants joined us from over 20 different institutions in seven countries.

Preparations are now underway for the fifth Collegiate Way International Conference to take place at New Zealand's oldest university, the University of Otago, in 2025.

Currently, individual membership is free and interested persons should contact the Chair of CWI.

CWI is managed by a Chair and an international advisory board. Dr. Michael Eamon, Principal of Catharine Parr Traill College at Trent University in Canada, was elected to a fourth term as Chair in May 2022.