Diploma in Practical Nursing is a diploma in Nursing programme offered by Algonquin College in Ottawa, Canada. The programme runs for 2 years, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English.
At a glance
Degree:Diploma
Field:Nursing
Duration: 2 years
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
We have no tuition fees on record for this programme yet.
— it helps other students.
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
Overview Contribute to a healthcare team and support excellence in patient care. The Practical Nursing Ontario College Diploma program prepares you for work in the healthcare system. You learn the necessary skills and techniques for the workforce. This includes assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation tools required to provide nursing care to those of all ages. Throughout the program, learning opportunities include theory, lab techniques, applied experiences and independent study. As a student, you have the opportunity to gain hands-on skills in a variety of healthcare facilities. An added benefit of this program is the Simulation Lab on campus, where you experience realistic patient care scenarios. These help to build confidence in your skills and techniques before working with patients in clinical placements. Placements are in community settings such as retirement homes, long-term care homes and hospitals. To practice as a Registered Practical Nurse in Ontario, you are required to be licensed by the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO). This program gives you the necessary knowledge and skills to write the Regulatory Exam - Practical Nurse (REx-PN) in Ontario. Registered Practical Nurses work in close collaboration with healthcare teams. You may find employment in a variety of settings such as: community clinics private homes long term care homes medical, surgical, and obstetrical units You may also choose to pursue further studies after graduation. For more information on the Nursing Profession, please review the Fact Sheet Requisite Skills and Abilities for Nursing Practice in Ontario, available on the CNO website at www.cno.org
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 1704X01FWO. 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; Grade 12 Mathematics (MAP4C or equivalent) at 65% or better; Biology at Grade 11 or 12 at 65% or better; Chemistry at Grade 11 or 12 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.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS: those who meet the program eligibility are additionally required to complete a four-month preparatory course, Introduction to Canadian Health Studies (ICHS), and move into this program afterwards; entry to ICHS requires an academic IELTS score.
AFTER ACCEPTANCE (not admission conditions, but required to graduate): clinical placement is compulsory, and the agencies that host it require a clear Police Records Check for Service with the Vulnerable Sector (PRCSVS), renewed yearly and more often if an agency asks. A student who cannot join placement because the check is not clear cannot graduate. Accepted applicants must be in good health and complete a Health Assessment form; annual requirements before clinical starts include TB testing, influenza vaccination, CPR Level C recertification and the vulnerable-sector check. Obtaining the PRCSVS from your local police service is your responsibility and cost, and it can take a long time, so apply early. Placement agencies also have mandatory immunisation requirements, including influenza and, for long-term care, COVID-19; medical exemptions are reviewed by ParaMed. Clinical shifts may fall in the evening, overnight or at weekends and may involve regional travel. Basic computer skills are needed throughout. Registration as a Registered Practical Nurse in Ontario is a separate step with the College of Nurses of Ontario, which sets its own registration exams and language requirements.
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); Winter 2027 (most classes start 11 January 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. Algonquin flags this program as competitive, which makes the 1 February date matter: qualified applicants who applied by then are rank-ordered on their screening results and offers go down that list, and everyone after it is admitted only while space remains or is waitlisted by date of application.
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.
