Offered by Centennial College in Toronto, Canada, Diploma in Developmental Services Worker - Online is a diploma in Social & Cultural Studies programme. The programme runs for 4 semesters, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 18,005 per year (CAD 2,775 per year for local students).
This online diploma, delivered over two years via Centennial's School of Community Care and Public Safety, builds a foundation for supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Field placements require in-person attendance even though coursework is delivered online. The curriculum addresses valued social roles, advocacy and the nature of intellectual disability, developmental disability and autism, together with life-experience awareness, critical and reflective thinking, problem solving, teamwork and communication, personal support techniques, time management and accessing resources, applied through virtual experiential practice alongside field placements. Graduates work with people of every age who live with an intellectual or developmental disability, across homes, workplaces, schools and families, aiming to build their capacity for community living and inclusion. Outcomes include ethical and accountable professional conduct, person-directed support that respects self-determination, meeting legislated safety requirements, adapting strategies to support learning, and applying leadership skills toward inclusive communities.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Entry requires an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent, or mature-student status at 19 or older, plus Grade 12 English at the C or U level (or equivalent), with the Centennial English Admission Test accepted in its place. The page defers wider language proficiency to Centennial's institution-wide diploma-programme standard: IELTS Academic 6.0 overall with no band below 5.5, TOEFL iBT 67 (minimum 16 Reading, 23 Writing), PTE Academic 51 or higher, CAEL 60, or Duolingo 105-114. Field placement requires a vulnerable-sector police reference check, current first-aid certification, and medical clearance; certain criminal convictions can bar placement. Core courses require a minimum C grade, with a B required in Pharmacology (DSWP 107). The January intake is currently listed for domestic applicants only.
Application Details
Start Date:January
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.
