Diploma in Developmental Services Worker is a diploma in Rehabilitation Sciences programme offered by Algonquin College in Ottawa, Canada. The programme runs for 2 years, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 8,082 per semester (CAD 1,389 per semester for local students).
At a glance
Degree:Diploma
Field:Rehabilitation Sciences
Duration: 2 years
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 1,389 / semester
International tuition: CAD 8,082 / semester
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
Overview Support people of all ages to function better in their day-to-day lives with this truly rewarding career. This two-year Developmental Services Worker Ontario College Diploma program prepares you to support children, youth and adults with physical, mental and/or developmental disabilities, through their activities of daily living, behaviour support, personal care and special education. You facilitate the development of skills for people with disabilities to enjoy independence, citizenship and social living. As a student, you learn strategies for providing support in ways that are respectful of the dignity and individuality of each person with whom you work. The Developmental Services Worker program uses both experiential and outcome-based theory to help you prepare to work in a variety of educational, community and social service settings. During your program of study, you apply theory and skills in various field placements, with opportunities to experience work as an Educational Assistant and Community Support/Residential Counsellor. Field placements allow you to explore concepts from a hands-on point of view and are an important learning tool to prepare you for your profession. Throughout the program, you complete a series of field placements, totaling close to 600 hours of work experience. You may find work in a variety of roles after graduation, including: educational assistant developmental assistant special needs worker residential counsellor employment specialist life skills instructor vocational instructor family support worker support network facilitator
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Algonquin publishes these requirements for the Sept 2027 - Aug 2028 admissions year on this program's own page; the requirements for Sept 2026 - Aug 2027 are shown separately there and can differ. Program code 0436A01FWO. All applicants must satisfy both College Eligibility and Program Eligibility.
COLLEGE ELIGIBILITY: an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or its equivalent, or mature-student standing - 19 or older, and without a high-school diploma, by the time the program begins. Mature entry may be settled by academic achievement testing, for which a fee is charged.
PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY: Grade 12 English (ENG4C or equivalent) at 65% or better.
Applicants presenting transcripts from outside Canada must document the subjects above and may be asked for evidence of language proficiency; a domestic applicant holding international transcripts must have them assessed by the International Credential Assessment Service of Canada (ICAS) or World Education Services (WES).
ENGLISH: Academic IELTS 6.5 overall with nothing under 6.0 in any band; or TOEFL iBT 88 overall with 22 in each of reading, listening, speaking and writing where the test was sat before 21 January 2026, or 4.5 overall with 4.5 in each section where it was sat after that date; or a Duolingo English Test score of 120 overall with 120 in Literacy and nothing under 105.
If qualified applicants outnumber the seats, Algonquin selects on English proficiency.
HEALTH AND PLACEMENT: Algonquin states that an applicant's physical and emotional health must allow them to cope with the program, field placement included - stress and time management, and the physical care and self-help needs of children and adults - and asks anyone unsure about this to contact the program coordinator before applying. A current Police Records Check for Service with the Vulnerable Sector must reach the College by the department's deadline at the student's cost; without it a student may not be placed and their registration is at risk, and a student who cannot be placed cannot graduate and will be asked to withdraw. Placement eligibility also requires Standard First Aid, CPR Level C, quality-assurance-measures certification, worker safety standard certification and immunisations completed through ParaMed, the third-party provider that collects this documentation for the Community Studies department; budget for the associated costs.
Application Details
Start Date:Intake terms Algonquin lists for this program, read from its own availability table on 6 September 2026: Fall 2026 (AC Day 1 orientation 8 September 2026; Fall term classes start 9 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. For the Fall 2026 intake that sheet gives this program's own dates: 16 September 2026 is the last day to apply on the International Application Portal and receive an acceptance, and 21 September 2026 is the last day to register.
