General Studies Diploma is a diploma in Liberal Arts programme offered by Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey, Canada. The programme runs for 2 years, delivered in a hybrid format. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 2,500 per total for local students.
The diploma offers a flexible, personalized alternative to the Associate or Bachelor's degree paths. Students may choose from any courses whose prerequisites they meet, building an academic path freely around a single theme or across a wide variety of unrelated subjects.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: This programme's Admission Requirements section states that the Faculty's Admission Requirements apply in full, with no course, grade or portfolio condition of its own: entry is governed entirely by KPU's undergraduate English Proficiency Requirement, published on the university's own admissions page. That standard is met by BC English Studies 12, English First Peoples 12 or Literary Studies 12 at C+ or better (or an equivalent IB, AP or Adult Dogwood result); by 3 credits of post-secondary English at C- or better, or a completed diploma/degree or 60 credits at a 2.0 CGPA, from an institution that teaches in English; by specified KPU English courses; or by a standardized test taken within the last two years — IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with no band under 6.0, TOEFL iBT 88 with no section under 20, PTE 61, or Duolingo 110.
Application Details
Start Date:September, January and May
Application Deadline:KPU classifies most programs as Open Intake, meaning every applicant who meets minimum institutional requirements is admitted without ranking, while a smaller set of Limited Intake programs closes earlier. For the Fall 2027 (September) term, both domestic and international applications open on 1 October 2026; Limited Intake programs have a firm deadline of 1 March 2027 and may close earlier if demand is high, while Open Intake programs stay open on a rolling basis through a confirmation-deposit deadline of 15 June 2027 to a final cutoff of 1 July 2027. Spring (January) and Summer (May) entry follow the same open/limited pattern on an earlier timeline, and KPU applies identical deadlines to domestic and international applicants throughout. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
