Social Justice Studies Diploma is a diploma in Social & Cultural Studies programme taught at University of Victoria in Victoria, Canada. The programme runs for 15 months, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 37,852 per total (CAD 6,731 per total for local students).
The Diploma in Social Justice Studies builds a critical, multi-disciplinary understanding of social inequities and injustice in the contemporary world, taking in human rights, environmental protection, conflict resolution and global development. Students complete 10 courses totalling 15.0 units: three core courses worth 4.5 units in all, being Introduction to Social Justice Studies, Activism and Advocacy for Social Change, and Social Justice in Action, plus seven electives worth 10.5 units chosen from an approved list, with no more than three units taken from any single department so the coursework stays genuinely interdisciplinary. Classes are taught face-to-face and the diploma usually takes about 18 months, though careful course planning can bring it down to a year, or to eight months for students who start in January. It suits undergraduates adding a credential and professionals heading into advocacy, community development or activism.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Admission to the Diploma in Social Justice Studies is non-competitive: applicants qualify by being concurrently registered in another academic program at UVic, by already holding a bachelor's degree, or by having completed at least two years of post-secondary education together with experience working in the social-justice field; applicants meeting none of these are directed to discuss options with the program director. As with every UVic applicant, proof of English-language proficiency is required, per the university's undergraduate standard: IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with no component below 6.0, TOEFL iBT 88 with no section below 20 (or 4.5 overall with no section below 4.0), PTE Academic 65 with no skill below 60, Duolingo 120 with no subscore below 110, or CAEL 70 with no section below 60; tests must be under two years old. Applications are accepted for the September and the January intake.
Application Details
Start Date:September and January
Application Deadline:Domestic applicants apply through EducationPlannerBC, which opens for 2027-entry applications on 1 October 2026: most degree programmes see September 2027 entry close 31 January 2027, January 2027 entry close 30 September 2026, and Summer 2027 entry close 31 March 2027, though Teacher Education post-degree programmes close 2 January 2027, Indigenous Education post-degree admits on an ongoing basis, and Engineering's Summer entry (high-school graduates only) closes 31 December 2026. International applicants use the same portal and face identical dates, since UVic publishes no separate international deadline. UVic treats these as fixed annual dates rather than rolling admission, though it warns any programme can close early without notice. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
