Cert in Veterinary Assistant is a certificate in Animal Science programme offered by Georgian College in Barrie, Canada. The programme runs for 1 year, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 7,619 per semester (CAD 1,387 per semester for local students).
At a glance
Degree:Certificate
Field:Animal Science
Duration: 1 year
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 1,387 / semester
International tuition: CAD 7,619 / semester
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
The Veterinary Assistant certificate program prepares you to assist veterinary professionals in the practice of veterinary medicine in animal care settings. Throughout the program, you gain the knowledge and skills required to support veterinary professionals including safe handling and restraint techniques, general care of companion animals and administrative and reception duties. Using the knowledge learned in your lecture classes, labs, and simulation, you develop basic diagnostic laboratory techniques, radiography, surgical support procedures, and client service skills. Take a 360-degree tour of the clinic.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Admission requires an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent (or mature-student status), Grade 12 English at the C or U level, and Grade 11 or 12 Biology at the C or U level. Mature students, non-secondary-school applicants aged 19 or older, and home-schooled applicants may qualify through equivalent courses, upgrading, GED completion or equivalency testing, and prior post-secondary coursework or relevant experience may earn credit through Georgian's Credit for Prior Learning process. The programme page sets no English-language score of its own and defers to Georgian's institution-wide English Language Proficiency Requirement, which for a certificate is IELTS Academic 6.0 overall, TOEFL iBT 79, PTE Academic 58, or Duolingo English Test 110. Before the program starts, every student must provide proof of a current rabies vaccination administered within the year before start, or an adequate titre result from within the 30 days before start; first-year enrolment is limited, so meeting these minimums does not guarantee a seat.
Application Details
Start Date:Intakes Georgian lists on this program's own page (checked 6 September 2026): Winter 2027 at Barrie; Winter 2028 at Barrie. Campus names are the ones Georgian gives for each start; not every campus runs every intake. On Georgian's academic calendar for standard 14-week programs, the winter term opens with orientation on 11 January 2027 and classes on 12 January 2027. Individual programs vary from that pattern. Georgian has not yet published term dates for Winter 2028; its calendar currently runs only to Fall 2027.
Application Deadline:Georgian publishes no deadline unique to this program, and it is not on the college's highly competitive list for Fall 2026 entry. The dates below are the college-wide ones.
DOMESTIC APPLICANTS (Canadian citizens and permanent residents) apply through ontariocolleges.ca. 1 February is the equal consideration date: an application received on or before it is weighed alongside every other application received by then, while later ones are handled in the order they arrive for as long as seats last. Georgian's own worked example ties each 1 February to the fall, winter and summer that follow, so the date now in force is 1 February 2027 for entry in Fall 2027, Winter 2028 or Summer 2028. Letters of acceptance for most programs start going out on 1 November (1 November 2026 in the current cycle) and keep going until a program fills; an offer is confirmed back through ontariocolleges.ca by the deadline printed on it, normally 1 May (1 May 2027 this cycle), and only one offer may be held at a time. Late applicants can still receive an offer as far as the fifth day of the term. For a program in this category Georgian normally keeps accepting applicants after 1 February — check ontariocolleges.ca for current availability.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS have no fixed cut-off. They apply directly to Georgian through its own applicant portal, which is also where a program's availability to international students is shown, and applications are taken year-round subject to that availability — Georgian warns that a program open when you apply can be closed by the time your file is assessed, and urges applying early enough to leave time for a study permit. A CAD 100 application fee applies, and a seat is only held once the pre-admission invoice is accepted and the non-refundable CAD 2,500 deposit is paid.
