Diploma in Carpentry is a diploma in Trades programme offered by Nova Scotia Community College in Halifax, Canada. The programme runs for 2 years. Tuition for international students is CAD 13,505 per year (CAD 3,800 per year for local students).
Carpentry at Nova Scotia Community College is a two-year diploma covering construction safety and hand-tool use through to building science, floor and wall framing, and exterior finishing, with energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, business skills, and entrepreneurship built into the curriculum. A mandatory, unpaid field experience course of about five weeks gives students outside-the-classroom exposure, and an optional co-op course between year one and two offers paid, full-time employment for a minimum of 12 weeks and 420 hours. Graduates may register as apprentices with the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency once employed. Instruction is full-time and in person, offered at seven campuses including Burridge, Cumberland, Ivany, Kingstec, Pictou, Strait Area, and Sydney Waterfront. The program suits students who enjoy hands-on work and problem-solving, have good hand-eye coordination, and are comfortable working at heights; a high school diploma or equivalent is required for admission.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Nova Scotia Community College requires a High School Graduation Diploma or equivalent for this programme; no Grade 12 subject prerequisites are published. International applicants' diploma equivalency and English language requirements vary by country per NSCC's international requirements documentation, and the programme defers to the institution-wide proficiency standard: IELTS Academic minimum 6.0 on each band, TOEFL iBT 80 overall (pre-January 2026), Duolingo English Test 115 overall with no subscore below 95, CAEL Band 60, CanTest 4.5 average, or PTE Academic 55, or an exemption. Accepted applicants must complete a mandatory orientation survey, and graduation requires maintaining a minimum 90% attendance in all courses along with respirator fit-testing, for which interfering facial hair is not permitted. The programme notes that many employers in the trade require a criminal record check as a condition of hiring, and a portfolio of coursework is developed to showcase skills to employers.
Application Details
Start Date:September
Application Deadline:Domestic (Canadian and permanent resident) applicants apply directly to NSCC on a first-come, first-served basis with no fixed opening or closing date; because many of the college's 140+ programmes fill quickly, applicants are advised to apply as early as possible. International admissions run on a fixed annual cycle: the 2026/27 academic year's international deadline was 1 April 2026 and that intake is now closed, with the college stating international applications will re-open in late September 2026 for a future intake. NSCC has not yet published a firm international deadline for the next (2027/28) academic year, so domestic admission is rolling while international admission follows an annual deadline once applications reopen. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
