Therapeutic Recreation: Bachelor's Degree (BTR) is a bachelor's degree in Tourism & Leisure programme offered by Douglas College in New Westminster, Canada. The programme runs for 4 years, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 3,600 per total for local students.
At a glance
Degree:Bachelor's Degree
Field:Tourism & Leisure
Duration: 4 years
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 3,600 / total
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
The Bachelor of Therapeutic Recreation gives you the tools to assess, plan, implement and evaluate a wide range of leisure services for people with barriers to participating in leisure activities. Such services might include arts and crafts, dance, music, sports, games, aquatics and group outings. You’ll apply what you learn in the classroom through practicum placements and community projects, where you’ll work with real clients in a variety of health-care and social-service settings. Recreation therapists work in the fields of gerontology, paedology, psychology, rehabilitation and more in a variety of settings, including hospitals, mental-health centres, long-term care homes, rehabilitation centres and social-service settings.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: YEAR ONE ENTRY: the general college admission requirements, with admission turning on suitability and readiness — awareness of self and others, life and work experience, and overall personal readiness. An information session is strongly recommended. You submit a letter of intent covering your reasons, short- and long-term goals and your strengths and limitations; a programme application form; a current resume; and at least two reference letters, one from an employer, teacher or instructor within the past year. A personal interview may be required. Once an offer is made: a criminal record check on instructions from Enrolment Services, and a tuition deposit to hold the seat for full-time applicants. Most practical placements also require a negative TB test or chest X-ray, a flu shot and proof of current vaccinations. PATHWAY: the 30-credit Certificate in Academic Foundations for the BTR (PSYC 1130, BIOL 1104, THRT 1102, THRT 1203 with THRT 1204, CFCS 2432, ENGL 1130 or a university-transfer CMNS course, 3 credits of statistics, mathematics or CSIS, plus two more from a listed set) exists for applicants who want to sample the field or who were not admitted on seat availability, readiness or suitability — but completing it neither guarantees admission nor removes the need to meet the BTR requirements and apply separately. BIOL 1103 with 1203, 1105 with 1205, or 1109 with 1209 may substitute for BIOL 1104. THIRD-YEAR ENTRY: holders of a therapeutic recreation diploma or a related credential may be admitted directly into third year, though some first- and second-year courses are usually still needed. Douglas diploma graduates reapply with a letter of intent and a programme application form, and may be interviewed; anyone who graduated more than five years ago also files a referee form completed by their current employer and sent to Douglas directly by that employer. Applicants from other institutions must meet the general college admission requirements, hold at least C (60 percent) in each course counting toward the credential, and supply the letter of intent, the application form, transcripts as proof of the credential, and the same referee form if they graduated more than five years ago. Third-year decisions are made case by case, and meeting the minimum does not guarantee a seat. Depending on the year of graduation, a Douglas therapeutic recreation diploma carries 56 to 60 transfer credits into the degree. This programme page shows no international application block, so international applicants should confirm with Douglas International Admissions that it is open to them before applying; where it is, the college's separately published international academic and English standards apply on top of anything listed here.
Application Details
Start Date:Douglas runs three fifteen-week semesters a year: Fall from September to December, Winter from January to April and Summer from May to August. The programme page lists intakes in Fall (September). The Fall 2026 semester began on 8 September 2026 and Winter 2027 classes begin on 4 January 2027.
Application Deadline:Douglas publishes college-wide application windows rather than a single date for every programme, and the domestic and international timetables are different. DOMESTIC APPLICANTS apply on EducationPlannerBC. Applications for a semester open about eleven months ahead, at 9:00 a.m. on the first business day of the opening month: 1 October for the following Fall. Douglas labels this a limited-enrolment programme, so it sets no single fixed closing date: the round shuts when the intake fills, and the college’s own test is whether the programme still appears in the EducationPlannerBC drop-down list. Applicants are acknowledged in writing about two to three weeks after applying, and qualified applicants are then ranked against the programme’s published criteria. Winter 2027 entry is restricted to third-year entry only, and Fall 2026 applications are closed. INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS: this programme page carries no international application block, so confirm with Douglas International Admissions that the programme is open to you before applying. The college-wide international dates are 30 September 2026 for Winter (January) 2027 and 31 January 2027 for Summer (May) 2027; the Fall (September) 2026 intake closed on 31 May 2026. Read from the programme page and the college deadline pages on 6 September 2026; Douglas had not yet published Summer 2027 domestic closing dates.
