Columbia College offers Associate of Arts Degree in General Arts, an associate's degree in Liberal Arts programme in Vancouver, Canada. The programme runs for 2 years, delivered on campus. Tuition for international students is CAD 36,600 per total (CAD 17,100 per total for local students).
Associate of Arts Degree in General Arts at Columbia College is a two-year transfer degree taught at the college's Vancouver main campus, equivalent to the first two years of a bachelor's program. Rather than focusing on a single discipline, it gives students a broad foundation across the social sciences and humanities, with courses available in anthropology, communication, criminology, economics, geography, political science, psychology, and sociology. The required course load includes two English courses, three math or science courses (with at least one laboratory science), six first-year arts courses, and three electives, for a minimum of 20 courses (60 credits) with at least six second-year courses spanning two or more subject areas. Columbia College's tri-semester system, with intakes in January, May, and September, lets students finish in 16 months on an accelerated schedule or over a standard two years. British Columbia universities guarantee 60 transfer credits for graduates continuing into a bachelor's degree. The program suits students who want exposure to multiple humanities and social science disciplines before choosing a specialization, with potential paths into marketing, social services, law enforcement, or journalism.
Requirements
Minimum GPA:60.00 / %
Admission Requirements: This Associate of Arts Degree in General Arts follows Columbia College's institution-wide admission standard rather than a programme-specific one: a North American (or 12-year) high-school graduate needs a British Columbia-equivalent average of 60% or better across four academic Grade 12 subjects; the college publishes parallel equivalencies for British-patterned systems (five O-level/GCSE/IGCSE/SPM passes at a 'C' average plus three A-levels at 'D' or four AS-levels), Post-Soviet systems (4.0 average), the IB (a completed diploma), India (75% on the best four Grade 12 State Board/National Open School courses, or 70% for CBSE/ICSE), and other twelve-year systems (a 'C' average); every applicant must be at least 15 when classes start. English is judged against the college's own English 101 (university-transfer) table: met through the Language and Writing Assessment or by IELTS Academic overall 6.5 with a 6.5 writing band, TOEFL iBT 88 overall (writing 21, plus two of reading/listening/speaking at 21), PTE Academic 65 overall with 65 in writing, CAEL 70 or above with 70 in writing, or Duolingo 115+; lower scores place a student into non-credit preparatory English first. Transfer into a Bachelor's programme afterwards depends on the GPA each receiving university sets for its own admission.
Application Details
Start Date:January, May and September
Application Deadline:Columbia College runs a tri-semester system with a single published deadline table that covers all applicants for the 2026-27 cycle: Winter 2027 entry closes 13 November 2026, Summer 2027 closes 12 March 2027, and Fall 2027 closes 18 June 2027, with tuition deposits due roughly ten days after each deadline. The college publishes no separate international closing date -- the same dates apply to domestic and international applicants alike, though international students pay a $200 application fee (versus $50 domestic) and are advised to apply early to allow time for study-permit processing. Admission is deadline-based rather than rolling. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
