At Algonquin College in Ottawa, Canada, HD in Graphic Design is offered as a higher diploma in Applied Design programme. The programme runs for 3 years, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English.
At a glance
Degree:Higher Diploma
Field:Applied Design
Duration: 3 years
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.
This three-year advanced diploma builds a broad skill set for a career in visual communication, combining design theory with hands-on practice in typography, image manipulation, colour theory, basic coding, motion graphics, interaction design and production workflows. Students learn to manage a creative project from initial concept through to completion, working across both print and screen-based media and presenting ideas through sketches, prototypes, storyboards and interactive mock-ups.
Field trips and projects with real clients connect classroom learning to professional practice, and from the second year students become eligible for student membership in the provincial registered graphic designers' association. A placement in the final semester gives direct experience working alongside industry professionals, and the program concludes with a portfolio presented at an annual graduate exhibition. Career paths include design studios, advertising and motion graphics agencies, in-house design roles, web and interactive design, television and entertainment, game development, or freelance creative work.
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 1400X01FWO. 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), plus a portfolio.
PORTFOLIO: 10 to 15 samples of your strongest work. Submission instructions are on Algonquin's Additional Admission Requirements page, and portfolio questions go to the program coordinators.
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 6.0 overall with nothing under 5.5 in any band; or TOEFL iBT 80 overall with 20 in each of reading, listening, speaking and writing where the test was sat before 21 January 2026, or 4 overall with 4 in each section where it was sat after that date; or a Duolingo English Test score of 110 overall with 110 in Literacy and nothing under 95.
If qualified applicants outnumber the seats, Algonquin selects on English proficiency.
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). 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.
