Sheridan College offers Diploma in Social Service Worker - Gerontology, a diploma in Social Work programme in Oakville, Canada. The programme runs for 2 years, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 19,885 per year (CAD 4,928 per year for local students).
The diploma teaches the foundations of social service work with a specialization in work with older adults, taught by faculty drawn from social work, community development and gerontology backgrounds. In semesters two through four, students complete a field practicum two days a week, supporting older adults in different settings and building career connections.
Coursework covers developing and implementing therapeutic recreation and activation programs, coordinating home support or volunteer programs, supporting people living with physical disabilities, cognitive impairment or mental health challenges along with their family care partners, delivering holistic service plans, producing assessments and documentation, and advocating with government and not-for-profit agencies. Graduates become eligible for registration with Ontario's professional college for social service workers and may enter directly into year three of the related four-year honours degree in social and community development; the program also partners with a dedicated elder-research centre, giving some students the chance to take part in applied research projects.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Direct entry requires an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent, including Grade 12 English at the ENG4C or ENG4U level; Workplace 'E' courses do not count. Eligible applicants are selected on the average of their six highest senior-level credits, including the required course. Applicants aged 19 or older without the standard prerequisites may apply as mature students and may be asked to sit tests in English, math and/or science or complete upgrading coursework. The programme defers to Sheridan's institution-wide English Proficiency Requirement for diploma and certificate programs: IELTS Academic overall 6.0 with no band below 5.5, TOEFL iBT overall 80 with no section below 20, PTE Academic overall 58 with no section below 49, Duolingo English Test overall 105 with no subscore below 85, or CAEL overall 60 with no section below 50, all valid for two years. Before starting a field placement, students must provide a criminal record check at their own expense, complete a vulnerable-sector check, and meet immunisation requirements, including COVID-19 vaccination, for long-term-care placements.
Application Details
Start Date:Sheridan runs three terms a year - Fall starting in September, Winter in January and Spring/Summer in May. For 2026-27 the Fall term ran 8 September to 18 December 2026, Winter runs 6 January to 16 April 2027, and Spring/Summer runs 3 May to 13 August 2027. On 6 September 2026 this program's own page listed September 2026 and January 2027 intakes at the Davis Campus in Brampton, plus matching online-synchronous intakes open to domestic applicants. Sheridan's Start date table also carries a separate Domestic and International status for each intake (Available, Waitlisted or Closed) that changes as seats fill, so check this program's page on sheridancollege.ca before you apply.
Application Deadline:Sheridan publishes no deadline of its own for this program; the dates below are the college-wide ones. DOMESTIC APPLICANTS (Canadian citizens and permanent residents) apply through ontariocolleges.ca, which opened the Fall 2027 application on 26 September 2026 - Sheridan says it starts receiving those applications in early October for the academic year that follows. The equal consideration date is 1 February: apply on or before it and your file is weighed alongside every other one received by then for a Fall-term start, so for the cycle now open that means 1 February 2027 for entry in September 2027. Sheridan still accepts applications after that date wherever a program has not filled, but they are handled in the order they arrive, which leaves little room in high-demand programs. First offers for a September start may go out from 1 November; programs that require a portfolio, audition or resume begin issuing decisions later in March, and offers for the Winter and Spring/Summer intakes are made on a rolling basis. Confirm a Fall offer at ontariocolleges.ca by 1 May, or by the date printed on an offer issued after that, then pay the tuition deposit three months before the term begins. INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS apply instead through Sheridan's own International Application Portal, and Sheridan publishes no deadline for them - its Important Dates table carries only a note that the international dates are still to be posted. What limits an international application in practice is space: Sheridan tells international applicants to check that a program still has room before applying, and every program page shows a separate International status for each intake. Apply as early as you can and leave time for a study permit. Confirm the current dates at sheridancollege.ca and ontariocolleges.ca before you apply.
