Early Childhood Education: Special Needs/Inclusive Practices Post-Basic Certificate at Douglas College in New Westminster, Canada is a certificate in Education & Teaching programme. The programme runs for 2 semesters, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 1,800 per total for local students.
At a glance
Degree:Certificate
Field:Education & Teaching
Duration: 2 semesters
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 1,800 / total
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
The Early Childhood Education (ECE): Special Needs and Inclusive Practices Inclusive Practices Post-Basic Certificate gives you the skills to assess and guide child development, promote health and nutrition, communicate and collaborate with children and caregivers, and manage a child-care setting. A combination of practicum experience and theoretical material will give you the skills and knowledge to work with children from newborns to eight years old with special needs in an early childhood education setting.
You’ll graduate qualified to apply for a provincial license to practise as a Special Needs Educator and work in provincially licensed preschool and child-care centres. This program is for certificate graduates from an accredited ECE program in B.C. who want an additional post-basic credential in ECE Special Needs.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Beyond Douglas College's general admission requirements and English Language Proficiency requirement (proof of English proficiency, met with IELTS Academic 6.5, TOEFL iBT 83, PTE Academic 56, Duolingo English Test 110, CAEL 60 or another option the college accepts), this post-basic certificate requires completion of Certificate-level Early Childhood Education studies at Douglas College or equivalent post-secondary training, proof of an ECE licence to practise, and an overall average of C+ in the ECE certificate coursework. Applicants must submit a work-history form and two references from employers or a former instructor and employer; suitability is further assessed on emotional stability, physical health, work experience and ability to work within a multidisciplinary team. Applicants must be at least 18 by December 31 of their entry year, and must complete a Criminal Record Check and a medical declaration or assessment confirming fitness for the programme's practical placements.
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) and Winter (January). 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, 1 February for the following Winter. Douglas labels this an open-enrolment programme, so domestic online applications run until 4:00 p.m. on the Friday before the semester starts — that was 4 September 2026 for Fall 2026 and is 1 January 2027 for Winter 2027 — or until the seats are gone, whichever comes first. A late window (from 1 August for Fall, from 1 December for Winter) is open only to applicants who have already met every admission requirement and can hand over documents at once. Reference and work history forms are part of this application and are published under the programme page’s More Information tab. INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS follow Douglas’s separate college-wide dates, not the domestic ones: the Fall (September) 2026 intake closed on 31 May 2026, Winter (January) 2027 closes on 30 September 2026, and Summer (May) 2027 closes on 31 January 2027. Limited-enrolment programmes can fill before those dates and open-enrolment ones last only while seats do, so Douglas advises applying early enough to leave room for a study-permit application. Read from the programme page and the college deadline pages on 6 September 2026; Douglas had not yet published Summer 2027 domestic closing dates.
