Diploma in Social Service Worker is a diploma in Social Work programme offered by Loyalist College in Belleville, Canada. The programme runs for 4 semesters, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 15,900 per year (CAD 2,722 per year for local students).
The programme prepares Social Service Workers to assist individuals facing social and personal challenges, including those rooted in social determinants of health, among them marginalization, oppression, stigma, colonization and intergenerational trauma. Teaching covers knowledge of human behaviour and development, applied through supportive counselling intended to empower service recipients to make positive changes affecting individuals, groups and communities. Students learn helper skills used to connect people with resources that build on their existing strengths, including financial aid, counselling and life skills support.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: OSSD/OSSGD or equivalent with courses at the general, advanced, (C), (U) or (M) level, plus Grade 12 English (C) level or equivalent, or mature-applicant status. Requires Standard First Aid and CPR certification, a Criminal Record and Vulnerable Sector Check, up-to-date vaccinations (tetanus, diphtheria, polio, MMR, varicella, Hepatitis B) and a TB skin test; students must arrange their own transportation to field placements.
Application Details
Start Date:January (Winter) and September (Fall)
Application Deadline:Domestic applicants apply through ontariocolleges.ca: for programmes starting September 2027 the application opens 26 September 2026 (Loyalist's own page describes this loosely as "early October"), the equal-consideration date is 1 February 2027 - particularly important for competitive programmes - and later applications are assessed first-come, first-served while seats remain; offers must be accepted by 1 May 2027 with a tuition deposit due in June 2027. International applicants apply directly through Loyalist's International Application Service or an agent and are assessed on a rolling, individual basis; the college publishes no fixed international closing date, and each Letter of Acceptance states its own accept-and-pay deadline. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
