Martin Luther University College, formerly Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada federated with the nondenominational Wilfrid Laurier University, located in Waterloo, Ontario. History In 1911, the Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary of Eastern Canada opened its doors to students. Waterloo was selected as the location of the seminary for two main reasons, the first being that land was offered by the citizens of Waterloo on the edge of town, and the second being that most of the Lutherans in Canada resided in the Waterloo and Berlin (now known as Kitchener) area. In 1914 the Seminary developed non-theological courses under the name of the Waterloo College School. In 1924 the Waterloo College of Arts was established, offering post-secondary three-year programs. In 1925 the Faculty of Arts, under the name of Waterloo College, affiliated with the University of Western Ontario. The Waterloo College Associate Faculties (WCAF), a semi-autonomous entity within Waterloo College focused on cooperative education in applied sciences, was conceived in the 1950s by the College's president Gerald Hagey. WCAF accepted its first students in 1957, and formally split from Waterloo College in 1959 to become the University of Waterloo. In 1960, Waterloo College ended its affiliation with Western and became a university in its own right: Waterloo Lutheran University. As a church-affiliated institution, Waterloo Lutheran was ineligible for capital funding from the province, and the Lutheran church was in no position to invest heavily in the university. On November 1, 1973, Waterloo Lutheran University dropped its church affiliation and became the secular, public Wilfrid Laurier University. Theological courses continued to be offered by the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, which federated with the public university. Today Wilfrid Laurier University emphasizes liberal arts while the University of Waterloo emphasises science and engineering. Waterloo Lutheran Seminary renamed itself to Martin Luther University College, with an announcement at the Eastern Synod Assembly in Toronto on Saturday, June 23, 2018. The school (Luther, for short) continues to be federated with Laurier. Programs Theological Education Martin Luther University College offers Master of Divinity program for people preparing for the ministry in a variety of churches and Master of Arts in Theology program in two fields: Public Faith and Spirituality, and Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy. Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy is the largest program, and prepares people to work in clinical settings such as counselling agencies. Individuals studying for the diaconal ministry of