At Okanagan College in Kelowna, Canada, Human Service Work Diploma is offered as a diploma in Social Work programme. The programme runs for 2 years, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 36,688 per total (CAD 7,400 per total for local students).
This diploma focuses on building and maintaining healthy relationships, communicating effectively, and increasing inclusion for vulnerable individuals within the community, supported by a theoretical knowledge base, a foundation in professional ethics and values, critical thinking and practical support skills. A practicum component lets students put these abilities into practice, fostering purposeful relationships that encourage health and well-being among individuals, families and groups. Graduates are prepared for work within social services, mental health and developmental disabilities fields.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Regular applicants: B.C. senior secondary graduation or the equivalent (Adult Graduation Diploma), or current enrolment in Grade 12, with English 12 at 60 per cent or an accepted alternative.
Mature applicants: at least 19 years old and away from full-time secondary school for at least a year. The English requirement still applies - English 12, English 12 First Peoples, TPC 12 (Technical and Professional Communications) or the provincial-level ABE English course, all at a minimum of 60 per cent. Communications 12 is not accepted.
Holders of the former OUC ten-month Human Service Worker certificate, or a comparable certificate from another post-secondary institution, may apply for advanced standing and can be admissible to the second year; the Department Chair assesses course equivalence individually, and at least half the course requirements must still be completed at Okanagan College.
International applicants who cannot present English 12 satisfy the same English line through the College's test table at the 60 per cent level: IELTS Academic 6.0 with no band under 6.0, TOEFL 79 internet-based, CAEL 60, PTE Academic 56 with no communicative skill under 55, or Duolingo 105; results must be under two years old. Duolingo is not accepted for some health programs, so check with Admissions first.
Every applicant - regular, mature or certificate holder - must also: complete a mandatory orientation activity covering the program and the profession; submit evidence of a negative tuberculin test from no more than 12 months before the program starts, or of appropriate follow-up after a positive result; hold a Red Cross or St. John Ambulance standard first aid certificate completed within 12 months of admission; and obtain criminal record check clearance through the B.C. Criminal Records Review Program, started only when Admissions instructs you. A Class 4 (restricted) driver's licence is strongly encouraged because many employers ask for it at practicum and hiring.
Before practicum: the full B.C. Provincial Violence Prevention Curriculum including its eight-hour in-person class.
Admission order: applicants who meet the requirements are admitted in the order their applications were received.
Application Details
Start Date:Intakes published by Okanagan College for this program: September 2026 (Kelowna, Salmon Arm); September 2027 (Vernon). Campus availability differs by intake and the program page shows which are still open.
Application Deadline:Domestic applicants: there is no fixed closing date. Okanagan College opens applications on October's first business day each year, and programs that run several intakes across the year - Entry-Level Trades Foundation and health programs other than Nursing and Dental among them - keep taking applications for those intakes over the following ten months. Most programs accept applications right up to the start date and close only when the seats are gone, so apply early and check each intake's status on the program page. Apply through EducationPlannerBC; the fee is $30 CAD. International applicants: 15 March is the College's deadline for its limited-entry programs, a list the calendar gives as every Engineering Technology diploma plus Early Childhood Education, Human Service Worker, Human Kinetics and Therapist Assistant - this program is on it. For a January start the international deadline is 31 October (documents by 15 November) and for the May or July sessions 28 February (documents by 31 March). These are institution-wide dates, not a deadline published for this program on its own.
