Six of the 10 universities - Atlantic School of Theology, Dalhousie University, Mount Saint Vincent University, the NSCAD University, Saint Mary's University, and the University of King's College - are located in the Halifax Regional Municipality, which is the capital of Nova Scotia and the largest urban area in the Atlantic Canada region. The oldest university in the province is the University of King's College, established in 1789, and the newest university is Cape Breton University, established in 1974. In 2012-2013, Nova Scotia had 45, 504 full-time and 9, 510 part-time students enrolled in the province's colleges and universities.
Several universities in Nova Scotia have strong religious connections. The University of King's College, first founded in Windsor, holds the distinction of being the first college with university powers in British North America, at a time when Upper Canada had no government of its own. It has always remained under the control of the Church of England. Dalhousie University, first known as Dalhousie College, was established in Halifax in 1820 with the help of the Presbyterian Church, and Acadia University was founded by Baptists. Catholics formed both Saint Mary's University and Saint Francis Xavier University.