The Institute for Christian Studies is a community-supported graduate school in Toronto, Ontario, in the Kuyperian stream of the Reformed tradition.
The Institute for Christian Studies is a community-supported graduate school in the Kuyperian stream of the Reformed tradition. It emphasizes the integrality of faith and intellectual inquiry and describes its approach to scholarship as reformational. The college is located at 59 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2E6, Canada.
ICS welcomed its first students in 1967, with Dr. Henk Hart as its inaugural professor, in a two-storey house on Lyndhurst Avenue, Toronto. The Institute moved to 229 College Street in 1972. In 1983, the Parliament of Ontario authorized ICS to grant a Master of Philosophical Foundations and offer doctoral studies leading to a PhD conferred with the Free University, Amsterdam. In 1992, ICS was authorized to award the Master of Worldview Studies, and in 2005 it secured a Charter to offer its own doctoral degree and a Master of Arts (Philosophy).
ICS is affiliated with the Toronto School of Theology as an affiliate member, which allows faculty and students to share resources and make ecumenical connections with TST member colleges. The college pursues an interdisciplinary approach, working to identify the foundational issues and philosophical underpinnings in the humanities and the social sciences. Its affiliation enables faith-based dialogue between philosophy and theology.
Admission routes include master's level study (Master of Worldview Studies and Master of Arts), part-time study, and special studies for occasional courses. International applicants may use an English language proficiency test route.
Facilities listed by the college include a library, computer access with internet, and ICS email accounts.