At St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Canada, Diploma in Social Service Worker (Fast-Track) is offered as a diploma in Social Work programme. The programme runs for 3 semesters, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 26,141 per total (CAD 4,164 per total for local students).
This fast-track diploma also covers how community agencies and social-service organizations are set up, administered, and brought to the public within the broader social service system. Coursework traces the federal and provincial laws that shape social services and welfare policy, along with their social, legal, and humanitarian roots, and looks at how these policies play out at the federal, provincial, and municipal level. Later material turns to emerging policy questions, including funding, how services get delivered, who is responsible for them, and shifting legislation affecting the field.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Admission requires any post-secondary degree, with a background in the social sciences preferred; applicants with international transcripts are directed to St. Lawrence College's transcript-evaluation guidance. The programme page does not state its own English-language requirement, so the institution's Fast-Track-level standard applies: IELTS Academic overall 6.5 with no band below 6.0, TOEFL iBT 83 (4.5 overall for tests taken on or after 21 January 2026), TOEFL Computer-based 220, CAEL overall 60, Duolingo English Test overall 120 with no sub-score below 95, PTE Academic 60, or Cambridge English 180, as published on the college's admission-requirements page. Admitted students must complete a Pre-Placement Health Form and enrol in the ParaMed clearance system, and undergo a Criminal Background Check through the Canadian Police Information Centre; certain convictions can prevent participation in placements. International students need a Co-op Work Permit with the correct remarks before starting placement. Fifty hours of related volunteer work in a health or community-service agency is recommended but not mandatory.
Application Details
Start Date:September
Application Deadline:Domestic applicants apply through ontariocolleges.ca: for programmes starting September 2027 the application opens 26 September 2026, the equal-consideration date is 1 February 2027, and later applications are assessed first-come, first-served while seats remain; St. Lawrence College names Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Communicative Disorders Assistant, Medical Laboratory Science and Practical Nursing as highly competitive, requiring transcripts and proof of enrolment by the same 1 February date to be ranked. International applicants apply through SLC's own International Application Service and are assessed on a rolling basis; the college publishes no fixed international closing date, and each Letter of Acceptance carries its own accept-and-pay deadline. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
