PGCert in Artificial Intelligence Software Development is a postgraduate certificate in AI & Machine Learning programme taught at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Canada. The programme runs for 1 year, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 8,967 per semester (CAD 2,499 per semester for local students).
At a glance
Degree:Postgraduate Certificate
Field:AI & Machine Learning
Duration: 1 year
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 2,499 / semester
International tuition: CAD 8,967 / semester
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
Overview Connect reasoning and machine learning for an innovative career developing artificial intelligence solutions. The Artificial Intelligence Software Development Ontario College Graduate Certificate program is designed to prepare you to meet the increasing market demand for artificial intelligence software development expertise. Through this program, you will enhance your existing software development skills to become an AI software developer, with an in-depth understanding of the major AI technologies and how to leverage AI to solve problems. The program explores AI using a top-down and a bottom-up approach simultaneously. You begin a deep dive into the detailed mechanisms of machine learning to acquire the skills to troubleshoot, debug and optimize machine learning and deep learning architectures. You investigate various techniques of AI and survey which types of problems are best solved using each AI technique. Through a combination of theory-based learning and industry-based applied research AI projects, graduates possess the theoretical knowledge and hands-on skills to assess, recommend, design, implement and troubleshoot various advanced AI solutions. Graduates enter the workforce with an in-depth understanding of deep learning, reinforcement learning and knowledge representation. Together these three branches form a comprehensive view of the AI landscape, giving the AI developer the knowledge and skills required to implement solutions such as speech recognition and natural language understanding, planning, diagnosis, smart agents, machine vision, intelligent manufacturing processes and intelligent control. AI Developers need a thorough understanding of the ethical issues surrounding the deployment of AI technology. Graduates of the program have the knowledge to advise their organization on ethical considerations surrounding AI systems and development. Students also have the option to gain real-world experience through a paid co-operative education (co-op) work term (see Additional Information for more details). Please note that places in the co-op work term are subject to availability and academic eligibility. Please note admission to the co-op program does not guarantee a co-op placement. Graduates may find employment in a variety of computer-software related domains in the private, corporate, industrial, governmental or service sectors. Employment opportunities may be available in: private software firms software consulting firms software vendors and their value-added resellers information technology consulting firms communications carriers information service providers government business and public organizations in multiple fields outside IT/IS requiring software practitioners
Requirements
Admission Requirements: This graduate certificate requires an Ontario College Diploma, Ontario College Advanced Diploma, degree, or equivalent in Computer Science or a related field with software-development education, plus successful completion of at least one introductory Calculus course from a recognized university or college; no overall grade-point average is published. Applicants with international transcripts must document the same academic background and, where required, prove English proficiency: Academic IELTS overall 6.5 with no band under 6.0, or TOEFL iBT overall 88 with 22 per component (pre-21-January-2026 tests) or 4.5 overall with 4.5 per component (tests after that date), or a Duolingo score of 120 overall with 120 in Literacy and nothing below 105. Domestic applicants holding international transcripts must have them assessed by ICAS or WES. The program also lists a published minimum-laptop specification for its Bring-Your-Own-Device requirement.
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.
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: 9 September 2026 is the last day to apply on the International Application Portal and receive an acceptance, and 14 September 2026 is the last day to register.
