Paralegal Certificate is a diploma in Legal Studies programme taught at Vancouver Community College in Vancouver, Canada. The programme is delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 7,101 per total for local students.
At a glance
Degree:Diploma
Field:Legal Studies
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 7,101 / total
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
VCC's Paralegal Certificate teaches the fundamental theories, terminology, research methods and professional procedures needed for work in the legal system, covering legal terminology, sources of Canadian law, torts, contracts, corporate structures, legal writing and research, and ethical standards across litigation, corporate law, real estate, and family and estates practice. The program is structured as flexible, part-time and stackable study, completed over two to five years with January, May and September start dates; instruction mixes lectures, discussion and group work, with some courses offered online and others face-to-face. Requirements total six core courses (12 academic units), four courses drawn from one or more specialised practice areas, two elective courses, and one practicum course, Paralegal Practicum 1; every course ends in a final exam. Students who complete all four courses within a single practice area additionally earn an Award of Achievement in that specialisation. Admission requires English Studies 12 with a minimum B grade, plus one of: completion of VCC's Legal Administrative Assistant program, its Office Administration: Legal Office Skills certificate, at least one year of paralegal or legal-administrative work experience, or one year of office-administration experience alongside specified legal office skills courses. The certificate is recognised by the BC Paralegal Association, suiting career-changers and administrative staff moving into paralegal work.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Admission requires English Studies 12 with a minimum 'B' grade, or equivalent, plus one of: completion of VCC's Legal Administrative Assistant programme or VCC's Office Administration Certificate – Legal Office Skills (or their equivalents); a minimum one year of legal administrative assistant or paralegal work experience, evidenced by a resume and VCC's Paralegal Employer Reference Checklist; or a minimum one year of office administration experience combined with all five VCC Legal Office Skills courses (OACP 1113–1117, or equivalents). No standardized test score such as IELTS or TOEFL is listed; VCC directs applicants without the English credential to its own English-language-proficiency requirements page for alternative pathways, including ESL courses. Applicants missing a prerequisite can use VCC's tuition-free academic upgrading, university transfer or ESL courses before applying to this certificate.
Application Details
Application Deadline:Domestic applicants (Canadian citizens and permanent residents) apply through EducationPlannerBC. VCC publishes each programme's own application window, term by term, on its When to Apply page rather than one college-wide date: windows open roughly six to twenty months before the term starts and close on a stated date, though popular programmes can close earlier once seats fill, since places generally go to eligible applicants in the order their application is completed. International applicants use the International Applicant option on EducationPlannerBC; VCC opens international applications on 1 February of the previous year for Winter entry, 1 June for Spring/Summer, and 1 October for Fall, with no fixed closing date — applications continue until roughly three to four months before the term begins or until it fills, so admission is effectively rolling for international applicants. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
