At Centennial College in Toronto, Canada, HD in Artificial Intelligence - Software Engineering Technology (Optional Co-op) is offered as a higher diploma in AI & Machine Learning programme. The programme runs for 6 semesters, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 19,167 per year (CAD 3,176 per year for local students).
The curriculum is organised around four areas of AI engineering. Foundational machine learning covers reinforcement, transfer, self-supervised, unsupervised and supervised learning algorithms, implemented with frameworks such as Scikit-learn, TensorFlow and PyTorch, and extended into production pipelines built with tools such as SageMaker pipelines, Airflow and TensorFlow TFX. A data engineering strand covers big data analytics with Spark and Hadoop, data pipeline design, SQL and NoSQL storage, vector databases for embeddings and retrieval-augmented generation, and cloud-native, API-based integration of vision, speech and language services. A specialisation strand covers generative AI and large language models with frameworks such as LangChain, LangGraph and CrewAI, robotics built on ROS 2 with behaviour trees, advanced natural language processing including chatbots, and recommender system design. A professional-practice strand covers AI project management, full-stack integration of AI models, programming in C#, Kotlin, Java, JavaScript, PySpark and Python, AI ethics and governance, and human-centred interface design, concluding in a capstone project building an AI solution from the ground up.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Entry requires an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent, or mature-applicant status at 19 or older, plus Grade 12 English at the College (C) or University (U) level or equivalent (or a pass on Centennial's English Admission Test) and Grade 11 Mathematics (M/U) or Grade 12 Mathematics (C/U) or equivalent, or a pass on the Engineering Math Skills Assessment for Admission. English-language proficiency follows Centennial's institution-wide fast-track/advanced-diploma scale: IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with no band below 6.0, TOEFL iBT 81 (Reading at least 19, Writing at least 23), PTE Academic 58 or above, CAEL 60 overall with Writing at least 60, or Duolingo 125 or above. A fast-track route lets college/university graduates with a software background enter directly at semester three. Optional co-op eligibility requires 80% completion of semesters one and two, a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher, and legal eligibility to work in Canada.
Application Details
Start Date:January and May
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.
