Diploma in Social Service Worker is a diploma in Social Work programme offered by Niagara College in Niagara Falls, Canada. The programme runs for 2 years, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 8,775 per semester (CAD 1,385 per semester for local students).
Students will be required to obtain a Vulnerable Sector Screening (VSS) in order to be cleared for placement/clinical. Please note, in order to obtain a Vulnerable Sector Screening (VSS), students must be 18 years of age or older. If a student is not 18 years of age or older at the start of this program, they will experience delays in progression through the program.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Direct entry requires an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent, including Grade 12 English at the College (C) or University (U) level. Recommended but not required preparation includes Equity and Social Justice, Families in Canada, Indigenous Issues and Perspectives, Human Development, and Challenge and Change in Society courses, plus related volunteer or co-op experience. The programme page asks only for proof of English proficiency from international applicants without naming a test, so English is assessed against Niagara College's institution-wide undergraduate-diploma scale: IELTS Academic 6.0 overall with no band under 5.5, TOEFL iBT 80 with at least 20 in Writing and Speaking, Duolingo 105+, PTE Academic 58+, Cambridge English 169, or CAEL 60. Selection is competitive, ranked on Ontario residency and the most senior grade in required courses. Students must be 19 by their Term 2 field placement, submit a Criminal Record Check with Vulnerable Sector Screening less than six months old at the start of Term 2, and complete a Communicable Disease Surveillance form before the programme begins.
Application Details
Application Deadline:Niagara College's equal-consideration deadlines apply equally to domestic and international applicants to competitive programs, published for the 2026-2027 cycle: for September 2026 entry the date was 1 February 2026, for January 2027 entry it is 5 June 2026, and for May 2027 entry it is 30 October 2026, each followed roughly three weeks later by a document deadline and an earliest-offer date. All other programs, the majority, are processed first-come, first-served starting each November for both domestic and international applicants, with offers issued until seats fill or the term begins. Niagara does not publish which named programs currently hold competitive status. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
