Cert in Veterinary Assistant is a certificate in Animal Science programme offered by Algonquin College in Ottawa, Canada. The programme runs for 1 year, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English.
At a glance
Degree:Certificate
Field:Animal Science
Duration: 1 year
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
We have no tuition fees on record for this programme yet.
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Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
Overview Turn your interest and passion for animal care and welfare into a career. The one-year, two-semester Veterinary Assistant Ontario College Certificate program provides you with a strong foundation of theory and practical skills necessary to provide quality care and support in veterinary and animal care settings. Areas of study include animal handling and restraint, surgical preparation, common diseases, animal behaviour, laboratory procedures, grooming techniques, business practices, and client services. The development of strong interpersonal and communication skills is emphasized. The program relies on a variety of course delivery formats including traditional in-class labs and lectures, as well as on-line and hybrid courses and off-site labs. The focus is primarily companion animal care, with additional information on large animal, shelter animal and laboratory animal care. Employment opportunities for veterinary assistants are varied and may include veterinary clinics, animal shelter and rescue organizations, wildlife sanctuaries, research facilities, grooming and pet care businesses.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Direct entry requires an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent, or Mature Student status for applicants 19 or older without a high school diploma, assessed through academic achievement testing where required. Program Eligibility asks for Grade 12 English (ENG4C or equivalent), Grade 12 Mathematics (MAP4C or equivalent), and Grade 11 or 12 Biology, each at 65% or higher. Where qualified applicants exceed available places, Algonquin selects on English, mathematics and biology proficiency. Applicants must also meet Algonquin's English-proficiency requirement: IELTS Academic overall band 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each band, TOEFL iBT overall 4.5 with a minimum of 4.5 in each component for tests taken from 21 January 2026, or Duolingo English Test overall 120 with a minimum of 120 in Literacy and no component below 105. Before starting Level 01, admitted students must show proof of tetanus and pre-exposure rabies immunizations, an estimated $600-$800 for the rabies series, and complete WHMIS and Ontario Health and Safety Awareness training.
Application Details
Start Date:Intake terms Algonquin lists for this program, read from its own availability table on 6 September 2026: Spring 2027 (most classes start 10 May 2027). Term start dates come from the Registrar's Important Dates page, which also gives 11 January 2027 for the Winter 2027 term and 10 May 2027 for the Spring 2027 term. Availability changes as seats fill and an intake already under way may be closed, so check the program page before applying. Algonquin's academic year runs September to August.
Application Deadline:DOMESTIC APPLICANTS (Canadian citizens and permanent residents). Algonquin publishes no deadline unique to this program; the dates below are the college-wide Ontario colleges cycle and apply to every full-time day program. Applications go through ontariocolleges.ca, where 1 February is the equal consideration date each cycle: apply by then and your application is assessed alongside every other one received by that date, while applications arriving later are handled first-come, first-served for as long as places remain. For entry in Fall 2027 the ontariocolleges.ca application opened on 26 September 2026, colleges may begin issuing offers on 1 November 2026, the equal consideration date is 1 February 2027 and an offer must be accepted by 1 May 2027. The equal consideration date that governed the Fall 2026, Winter 2027 and Spring 2027 intakes was 1 February 2026 and has already passed, so those three starts are now first-come, first-served while seats last.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS. Apply directly to Algonquin on the International Application Form in its International Application Portal (AC360) rather than through ontariocolleges.ca, with a CAD 135 application fee. There is no single fixed international deadline: Algonquin asks you to confirm the program is open before applying, warns that a program's status can change to waitlisted or closed before an admissions officer reviews the file, and publishes a closing-date sheet for each intake. No Fall 2026 closing date is published for this program on that sheet, so check the program's international availability before applying.
