At Centennial College in Toronto, Canada, Diploma in Biotechnology (Fast-Track) is offered as a diploma in Biomedical & Laboratory Sciences programme. The programme runs for 2 semesters, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 19,167 per year (CAD 2,775 per year for local students).
This fast-track route offers qualified college or university graduates advanced standing into the programme, training them as laboratory technicians for the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries through detailed practical work in microbiology and in analytical, organic and biochemistry. Laboratory technique instruction covers aseptic method and safety procedures, and the programme uses a project-based approach in which students design their own microbiology investigations to build problem-solving and research skills. Students learn to identify microorganisms drawn from samples such as water, soil, air, the human body and food and pharmaceutical products, prepare specimens for microscopy, handle materials aseptically, calibrate instruments such as pH meters, spectrophotometers and centrifuges, prepare microbiological media and culture pathogenic microbes, design original microbiology experiments, and use microorganisms to assay pharmaceutical products. Graduates may finish after one year as a biotechnician or continue a second year into microbial genetics, systematic microbiology and environmental microbiology for the Advanced Biotechnology diploma.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: This fast-track diploma admits applicants who already hold a diploma or degree in chemistry, biology, engineering, or a related discipline; Centennial reviews the applicant's transcript as part of the decision. Applicants must also take Centennial's own English Admission Test or otherwise satisfy its English-proficiency standard. The program page defers that standard to Centennial's institution-wide requirement, which for fast-track programs sets IELTS Academic 6.5 with no band below 6.0, TOEFL iBT 81 with Reading at least 19 and Writing at least 23, and PTE Academic 58. Domestic applicants apply through ontariocolleges.ca; international applicants apply directly to Centennial. No minimum admission GPA or average is published. The availability table currently lists Winter 2027 (January) and Summer 2027 intakes as open.
Application Details
Start Date:Winter and Summer 2027
Application Deadline:Centennial publishes no application deadline for this program; what follows is the Ontario college cycle that governs it. Domestic applicants apply through ontariocolleges.ca: for a program starting in Fall 2027 the equal-consideration date is 1 February 2027, and applications arriving after it are still assessed, but first-come first-served while places remain. Across the Ontario college system the application opened on 26 September 2026, offers may be issued from 1 November 2026, and an offer must be accepted by 1 May 2027. One $150 fee covers up to five program choices. International applicants apply directly to Centennial through its own international application process and are assessed on a rolling basis across the Fall, Winter and Summer intakes; the college publishes no fixed international closing date. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
