Wilson's path through higher education was unusually long and fragmented, interrupted first by serious illness and later by institutional barriers that delayed her pursuit of advanced study for more than two decades.
University studies In 1901, at the age of 20, Wilson enrolled at
Victoria College, a federated college of the
University of Toronto, where she studied
modern languages and
history. Her original intention was to become a teacher, one of the few professional careers widely regarded as socially acceptable for educated women in the early twentieth century. During her final year of study, after several years at the university, Wilson became seriously ill with
anemia. The illness forced her to withdraw from the university before completing her degree.
Completion of degree After a prolonged period of recovery, Wilson began working in 1907, at the age of 25, as an assistant at the Museum of Mineralogy at the
University of Toronto. The position introduced her to scientific collections and research environments and marked the beginning of her transition toward scientific work. Two years later, in 1909, she joined the
Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), which was then headquartered in the
Victoria Memorial Museum in
Ottawa. There she worked in the invertebrate palaeontology section under the supervision of palaeontologist
Percy Raymond. Raymond encouraged Wilson to complete her university studies while continuing her work at the Survey. Wilson resumed her studies and eventually completed her degree at the University of Toronto in 1911, at the age of 29.
Attempts at doctoral study Wilson's growing scientific work made her eligible to pursue doctoral studies in 1915, when she was 34 years old. She repeatedly requested leave from the Geological Survey of Canada in order to undertake advanced study, but her requests were denied, even though similar leave was granted to male scientists. Beginning in 1920 her supervisor, geologist Edward M. Kindle, supported her efforts to pursue further education, though other leaders within the Survey remained opposed. Wilson later wrote that although various explanations had been offered for the refusals, she believed the fundamental reason was that granting her leave would make a woman eligible for the highest scientific positions within the Survey. For nearly a decade Wilson continued to seek permission to pursue further study. In 1924, at the age of 43, she was finally granted leave, but without salary, which required her to seek outside funding in order to continue her studies. After several years of applications she was awarded a scholarship from the
Canadian Federation of University Women in 1926, when she was 45 years old. The scholarship helped support her continuing academic work despite the institutional barriers she had faced. ==Career==