Diploma in Practical Nurse is a diploma in Nursing programme taught at Lethbridge Polytechnic in Lethbridge, Canada. The programme runs for 2 years. Tuition for international students is CAD 21,237 per year (CAD 6,237 per year for local students).
At a glance
Degree:Diploma
Field:Nursing
Duration: 2 years
Local tuition: CAD 6,237 / year
International tuition: CAD 21,237 / year
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
Practical Nurse is a two-year, five-term diploma that prepares students for practical nursing practice through classroom theory, lab-based skills training, and immersive simulation exercises in the college's Simulation Hub. The program includes five work-integrated learning placements delivering more than 700 hours of clinical experience in acute and long-term care settings, culminating in a comprehensive final-term practicum. Admission is competitive and points-based on English, Math, and Biology grades, and applicants holding a Health Care Aide certificate may be eligible for prior learning assessment. The program is delivered on campus at Lethbridge Polytechnic and suits students seeking a direct-patient-care healthcare career who meet its science and English prerequisites. Graduates are eligible to write the Canadian Practical Nursing Registration Exam toward licensure as a Practical Nurse, for work in acute care, continuing care, renal services, and public health, with a post-diploma pathway into the University of Lethbridge's Bachelor of Health Science for qualifying graduates.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Applicants must meet Lethbridge Polytechnic's general admission requirements for polytechnic programs, plus this diploma's own academic prerequisites: a minimum of 60% in English 30-1 or 70% in English 30-2, 60% in Math 20-1 or a higher-level Math, and 60% in Biology 30 (or C- in the polytechnic's own BIO-1160 Anatomy and Physiology I, or equivalent). Admission is competitive: seats are awarded on a point system scoring English, Math and Biology percentages, weighting higher grades and higher course levels (e.g., 30-1 over 30-2) more heavily, per the program's published competitive-entry points chart. Applicants whose first language is not English, or who completed schooling in English more than two years ago, must also demonstrate English language proficiency: IELTS Academic with Speaking, Listening and Writing at 6.5 and Reading at 6.0; TOEFL iBT with Reading 21, Speaking 22, Listening 23 and Writing 25; or Duolingo English Test 115 overall; alternatively, three years of secondary and one year of post-secondary education delivered in English. Meeting the language-proficiency benchmark does not waive the English academic requirement above. Alberta-certified Health Care Aides with at least 1,000 paid hours in the last two years and certification completed within five years may receive credit for two program courses, but must still meet all academic and competitive requirements.
Application Details
Application Deadline:Lethbridge Polytechnic (formerly Lethbridge College) admits on a fixed quarterly schedule rather than rolling. Applications for a term open on the first of October, February or June for Fall, Winter and Summer respectively. For the Fall 2027 intake, domestic applicants must apply by 7 September 2027 with unofficial documents, official documents following by 15 September 2027; for the nearer Winter 2027 intake the domestic close is 5 January 2027. International applicants apply roughly a term earlier: 1 May 2027 for Fall 2027 (study-permit documents due 1 August 2027), 1 September 2026 for Winter 2027 (documents due 1 December 2026). The college stresses that many programmes are in high demand and can stop accepting applications before the published date, so applying as early as the window opens is recommended even though the deadlines themselves are fixed, not rolling. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
