Diploma in Practical Nursing - Psw to Pn Pathway - Level 2 Entry at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Canada is a diploma in Nursing programme. The programme runs for 3 semesters, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English.
At a glance
Degree:Diploma
Field:Nursing
Duration: 3 semesters
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
We have no tuition fees on record for this programme yet — see the official programme page.
— it helps other students.
Building on prior personal support worker training, this accelerated diploma develops the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation skills needed to deliver nursing care across all patient age groups. Learning combines classroom theory, laboratory technique practice, applied clinical experience and independent study, supported by an on-campus simulation lab that recreates realistic patient scenarios ahead of placements in settings such as long-term care homes, retirement residences and hospitals. Graduation prepares students for the provincial licensing examination required to practise as a Registered Practical Nurse in Ontario, with career destinations spanning community clinics, private homes, long-term care facilities and medical, surgical or obstetrical units, plus options for further nursing study.
Requirements
Minimum GPA:65.00 / %
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 1704A01FWO. 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 (this is a level-2 entry pathway for practising Personal Support Workers, not a first-year entry point): Canadian citizenship, Canadian permanent residence, or another authorisation under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that allows you to practise nursing in Ontario; graduation with a 65% cumulative average from an Ontario PSW program meeting the provincial program standards, whether taken at a public college, a private career college or a district school board; and PSW work in Ontario within the past five years, at least part-time or casual, in a regulated setting, evidenced by a current CV listing that experience.
Applicants who meet those criteria then take six bridging courses. Passing each of them - the minimum is 60%, or 80% for Math for Practical Nurses - makes you eligible to apply through the Ontario Colleges' Application Service for direct entry into semester two of the Practical Nursing program.
Application Details
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.
