University of the Fraser Valley offers Activity Assistant Certificate, a certificate in Health Sciences programme in Abbotsford, Canada. The programme runs for 9 months, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 4,171 per total for local students.
This part-time, nine-month UFV certificate prepares students to plan and lead recreation and wellness activities for older adults in long-term care, assisted living, adult day programs and similar settings. Study blends online coursework with scheduled Saturday sessions on campus, and students living outside the Fraser Valley can complete it fully online. Eleven components move from fundamental concepts for activity assistants and wellness activities through interpersonal and communication skills in dementia care to activity design and adaptation for physical and cognitive change and responding to behavioural expressions. Two practicums are required: a 30-hour observational placement partway through and a 90-hour hands-on placement, with UFV arranging sites for students in the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland. Graduates work under the direction of a recreation professional.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: UFV directs applicants to its Academic Calendar for the Activity Assistant certificate's full entrance requirements. Applicants must have B.C. secondary school graduation or equivalent, or be at least 19 years old before their first class. English proficiency can be met through any one of: English 10 (or equivalent) at C+ or better; Communications 11 or 12 at C+ or better; the UFV Composition Placement Test at 41 or higher; the Canadian Language Benchmark placement test at an overall 8 with no skill below 7; or EAP 084 at C+ or better. Applicants must also supply an employer letter confirming 20 volunteer or paid hours in an adult-care setting with a satisfactory reference, a satisfactory Criminal Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Screening, and a signed Health Assessment Record showing physical fitness and emotional stability; the program also expects computer literacy and reliable transportation to practicum sites.
Application Details
Start Date:September
Application Deadline:Domestic applicants apply directly to UFV: applications for Fall (September) 2027 entry open 1 October 2026, for Winter (January) 2027 entry opened 1 May 2026, and for Summer (May) 2027 entry open 1 October 2026; UFV publishes no closing date for any of these and instead admits many programmes strictly in application-date order once every required document has arrived, so applying soon after opening matters more than any deadline. Grade 12 students may apply from 1 October of their graduating year and must send final transcripts by 3 August. International applicants use UFV International's own windows - 1 October to 31 May for Fall, 1 May to 31 October for Winter and 1 October to 1 March for Summer - and are likewise assessed on a rolling, first-arrived basis until each programme fills. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
