General Studies Diploma is a diploma in Liberal Arts programme offered by Douglas College in New Westminster, Canada. The programme runs for 4 semesters, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 3,600 per total for local students.
At a glance
Degree:Diploma
Field:Liberal Arts
Duration: 4 semesters
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 3,600 / total
Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
The General Studies Diploma allows you to explore your interests through courses in the humanities, sciences, performing arts and business, all while accumulating credits that potentially can transfer to university or another program at Douglas College. Participate in discussions and presentations, and engage in classroom lectures to develop and enhance your critical thinking, writing, research and presentation skills, competencies that are crucial to success in your career or further education.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: The programme page states no academic prerequisites of its own and instead defers entirely to Douglas College's General College Admission Requirements (https://www.douglascollege.ca/admissions/requirements-and-assessment-testing/general-college-admissions-requirements): an applicant qualifies by British Columbia secondary-school graduation or an equivalent, by standing one course short of that graduation, by being at least nineteen by the end of the first month of the semester attended, by being seventeen on the first day of that semester with at least a year out of school, or by holding a certificate from a special-needs programme after twelve years of schooling (or an Evergreen or similar leaving credential). On top of that general route, applicants must also meet Douglas College's institution-wide English Language Proficiency requirement: Grade 12 English at a minimum grade of C (English Studies 12, English First Peoples 12, or English 12) or Communications 12 at B, or a recognized test score such as IELTS Academic overall band 6.5, TOEFL iBT overall 4.5 with no section below 4.0, PTE Academic 56, Duolingo English Test 110, or CAEL 60. No portfolio, interview or other non-academic condition is listed for this programme.
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), Winter (January) and Summer (May). 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, 1 June for the following Summer. 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, from 1 April for Summer) is open only to applicants who have already met every admission requirement and can hand over documents at once. 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.
