West Coast Institute for Studies in Anthroposophy is a private, nonprofit Waldorf teacher training institute in British Columbia, Canada.
The West Coast Institute for Studies in Anthroposophy was founded in 1995 and incorporated under the Society Act in British Columbia in 1998. It is registered as a Charitable Society under the Societies Act of British Columbia, Canada. Its administrative mailing address is PO Box 219, Duncan, BC V9L 3X3, Canada. The institute's purpose is to serve as a Waldorf teacher training institute that provides programs and courses for individuals who wish to learn more about anthroposophy as described by its founder, Rudolf Steiner.
The institute has offered Waldorf Early Childhood educator training since 1996. Dorothy Olsen and Marjorie Thatcher are named as co-founders of the Waldorf Early Childhood Educator program, and Marjorie Thatcher was also a co-founder of the institute with Dorothy Olsen. Dorothy Olsen served as Early Childhood Co-Director for WCI from 1996 to 2011. In 2008, the institute began its first cycle for a Grades Teacher Training Program. Due to increasing demand for teachers, that four-year program was reformatted into a three-year program in 2015, and it closed in 2023.
The institute offers a two-year, part-time Waldorf Early Childhood Educator Training with a Birth to Seven option. It also offers a fourteen-month, part-time option with a Birth to Three focus. Its certificates are accepted by the BC Ministry of Education, Independent Schools Branch, AWSNA, WECAN and IASWECE.
Programs have been held at the Vancouver Waldorf School in North Vancouver for fall and winter sessions, and at the Sunrise Waldorf School on Vancouver Island in Duncan for summer sessions. Facilities listed include the Marjorie Thatcher Early Childhood Library, a Student Portal, Google Workspace for Education and Google Classroom, program lunches and snacks, and homestay private home accommodation.
The institute is registered as having Designated Status with the Private Training Institutions Regulatory Unit (PTIRU), formerly the Private Training Institutions Branch (PTIB), of the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills. As a teacher training institute, it is a full member of WECAN. It was an Associate Member of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) until 2023.