HD in Massage Therapy is a higher diploma in Rehabilitation Sciences programme taught at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Canada. The programme runs for 3 years, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 16,358 per year (CAD 2,086 per year for local students).
Massage therapy involves assessing and treating physical dysfunction and pain in the body's soft tissues and joints, mainly by means of remedial exercise plans, hands-on manipulation, and client education. This hybrid diploma delivers theory courses mainly online with in-person midterm and final exams, while lab-based courses include a mandatory in-person component supported by online modules, and clinical practice takes place in person at the college's student clinic and other community locations. Coursework builds foundations in anatomy, physiology and common pathologies through an evidence-based curriculum, develops critical thinking for patient assessment and treatment planning, and covers the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario has established. Graduation requires a minimum overall grade point average of 70 percent and at least 330 hours of supervised direct massage therapy with the public, after which graduates may sit the provincial certification exams and, upon passing both the written and practical components, register as a Registered Massage Therapist in Ontario.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Mohawk states one set of academic requirements for domestic and international applicants alike.
ACADEMIC ENTRY: an OSSD or its equivalent (Mohawk Academic Upgrading or GED) including Grade 12 English at the C or U level; Grade 11 Mathematics at the C level or higher, with M or U preferred; and one Grade 11 or 12 science from chemistry, biology or physics. Mohawk notes that further selection criteria may be applied. Mohawk also publishes a mature-applicant route for people without the school credits.
ENGLISH, where it is a second language: this program uses a band-by-band IELTS Academic pattern rather than a single overall score - writing 6.0, speaking 6.5, reading 6.5 and listening 7.5 - or TOEFL iBT 88 (paper-based 560).
PROFESSION-LEVEL LANGUAGE RULE: the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario sets a language-fluency requirement that must be satisfied before a graduate may sit the certification examinations. It can be met by having English or French as a first language, by having completed secondary school in English or French, by an approved standardised English or French test taken within the previous two years at the score the regulator sets, or by having finished an approved massage therapy program that itself required a minimum language standard and included at least two full mandatory courses in English, French or health communication.
Application Details
Start Date:Starts Mohawk lists on this program’s own page, checked 6 September 2026. Domestic applicants: September 2026 at Fennell Campus (FF); January 2027 at Fennell Campus (FF). International applicants: September, January intakes. Mohawk runs a Fall term from September, a Winter term from January and a Spring/Summer term from May; not every program runs every term, and the seat status shown beside a start (open, waitlist, closed) moves as intakes fill.
Application Deadline:Mohawk publishes no deadline unique to this program; the dates below are the college-wide ones.
DOMESTIC APPLICANTS (Canadian citizens and permanent residents) apply through ontariocolleges.ca. Equal consideration date: 1 February for a September start; 1 June for a January start. Applications that reach Ontario Colleges by then are read together in the first round of offers. Applying afterwards is still allowed, but remaining seats go first-come, first-served, and a competitive program is usually full by that point. Where a program draws more qualified applicants than it has seats, Mohawk ranks them on the average of their highest senior-level final grades in the required courses, and offers go to Ontario permanent residents first, then residents of other Canadian provinces and territories, then international applicants.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS (citizens of another country without Canadian permanent residence) do not use the equal consideration dates. They apply through the OCAS International Application Service, which sets a separate deadline for each intake rather than one annual date; the current list is on Mohawk’s international apply page. For the January 2027 intake, applications opened in February 2026 and close in November 2026. Files arriving after a deadline are judged on remaining program capacity, visa status and study-permit processing time for the applicant’s region, and Mohawk states it may cap applications or impose deadlines by region. The CAD 100 application fee is non-refundable and covers up to two program choices starting in the same August-to-July academic year.
