Diploma in Community and Justice Services is a diploma in Fire, Justice & Security programme taught at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Canada. The programme runs for 4 semesters, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 7,764 per semester (CAD 1,389 per semester for local students).
This two-year diploma focuses on alternatives to policing and prisons, preparing students to work alongside people and communities on issues such as criminalisation, poverty, housing insecurity, food insecurity and immigration. Teaching combines theory with practical experience, grounded in respect for the dignity of the people involved and an understanding of the historical, political and economic forces behind these social justice issues.
Students build skills in critical analysis, advocacy, community organising, group facilitation, conflict mediation, and support work with people of different ages, learning to address problems at both an individual and a community level. Course topics include addictions and harm reduction, trauma-informed practice, disability justice, gender and sexuality studies, anti-racism and anti-oppression, and Indigenous studies, alongside broader community-building approaches. A mandatory, unpaid field placement gives students the chance to practise and integrate these skills directly within the community and justice sector.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Admission needs an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent, or mature-student status (19 or older without a diploma), subject to Algonquin's own assessment. Program eligibility on this page adds Grade 12 English (ENG4C or equivalent), with no additional subject named. English: IELTS Academic 6.0 overall with no band under 5.5; TOEFL iBT 80 overall with 20 in each of reading, listening, speaking and writing for tests sat before 21 January 2026, or 4 overall with 4 in every component for tests sat after that date; or a Duolingo English Test score of 110 overall with 110 in Literacy and nothing under 95. If applications exceed the seats available, Algonquin selects on proficiency in English rather than a fixed cutoff.
Application Details
Start Date:Fall
Application Deadline:Domestic applicants apply through ontariocolleges.ca: for September 2027 entry the application portal opens 26 September 2026, the equal consideration date is 1 February 2027, and offers must be accepted by 1 May 2027, while later applications are still assessed as space allows; Algonquin publishes no separate equal-consideration date for the January 2027 intake. International applicants apply directly via Algonquin's own International Application Portal, not ontariocolleges.ca; instead of one fixed date the college posts a program-by-program closing-date list shortly before each term starts - for Fall 2026 most programs closed 16 September 2026, technology programs by 9-10 September; no Winter 2027 or Fall 2027 international list has been posted yet, so admission remains effectively rolling until each list is published and fills. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
