Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Surrey, Canada • Founded 1981

Updated Sep 2026 · Source: kpu.ca

Table of Contents

About the university
Location & Contact info
Admissions, students & campus
Faculties & schools
Programs you can study
How to apply, step by step
Common questions answered
Top universities in Canada
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Overview

Acronyms: KPU

Founded: 1981

Institution Type: University

Control Type: Public

Entity Type: Non-profit

Motto: Where Thought Meets Action

Colours: Red and white

Mascot: Eagle

Kwantlen Polytechnic University academic facilities

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Established in 1981, the Kwantlen Polytechnic University is a non-profit public higher education institution located in the urban setting of the medium city of Surrey (population range of 250,000-499,999 inhabitants), British Columbia.

This institution also has branch campuses in Richmond, Langley and Cloverdale. Officially recognized by the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills of British Columbia, Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) is a large-sized coeducational Canadian higher education institution.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) offers courses and programs leading to officially recognized higher education degrees such as pre-bachelor's degrees (i.e. certificates, diplomas, associate or foundation) and bachelor's degrees in several areas of study. The acceptance rate range is 100% making this Canadian higher education organization a non-selective institution.

International applicants are eligible to apply for enrollment.

KPU also provides several academic and non-academic facilities and services to students including a library, sports facilities, financial aids and/or scholarships, study abroad and exchange programs, online courses and distance learning opportunities, as well as administrative services.

Location & Contact

Where to find Kwantlen Polytechnic University, plus its phone, email, website, and social media links.

Address: 12666-72nd Avenue

Postal Code: V3W 2M8

Phone: +1 (604) 599 2000

Fax: +1 (604) 599 2449

Website: https://www.kpu.ca/

Social Media:

Academic Details

Kwantlen Polytechnic University's student body, faculty composition, and recognition framework are below.

Academic Year: Three terms a year, each about fifteen weeks of classes followed by an examination period. For 2026-27 the Senate-approved schedule runs Fall from 8 September to 17 December 2026, Spring from 6 January to 28 April 2027, and Summer from 10 May to 24 August 2027; classes end on 4 December 2026, 13 April 2027 and 9 August 2027 respectively, with examinations in the weeks that follow. The Spring reading break falls between 15 and 20 February 2027. Condensed courses run in two shorter intersessions inside each term. Some vocational and trades programmes start and finish on dates that sit outside this calendar.

Recognition: Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills of British Columbia

Admission Requirements: KPU judges every application in two layers: one institutional standard that everybody must clear, plus whatever the individual programme adds on its own calendar page. The academic and English standards below are identical for domestic and international applicants — what differs is the fee, the deposit and the hard cut-off dates. WHO CAN APPLY (all applicants). KPU sorts applicants into five admission categories. High School: you have graduated, or will graduate before your term starts, from a BC secondary school or an equivalent school system elsewhere in Canada or abroad; home-schooled applicants are looked at case by case and may be asked for extra evidence of academic ability. Transfer: you have already passed 9 or more credits above the preparatory level at a recognised post-secondary institution. Mature: you will be 19 or older on the first day of your term. Indigenous: First Nations, Metis and Inuit applicants who self-identify may instead be assessed individually by KPU's Indigenous Admissions Committee, which weighs educational background, cultural knowledge, life experience, academic goals and personal achievements, and can recommend admission with conditions. Access: you are 18 or older, hold the School Completion ("Evergreen") Certificate and are applying to a programme run by KPU's Access department. Separate classifications exist for concurrent and dual-credit secondary students, exchange and visiting students, and General Interest students, who may take up to 12 credits but cannot earn a credential. ENGLISH — THE UNDERGRADUATE STANDARD (certificates, diplomas, associate degrees, bachelor's degrees; same minimums for domestic and international applicants). Any one of these satisfies it. • Secondary-school courses: BC English Studies 12, English First Peoples 12 or Literary Studies 12 at C+ or better, or an equivalent; English Studies 12 at C+ taken within the Adult Dogwood Diploma; IB English A at HL or SL with a 3, which KPU treats as a C+; AP English Language and Composition or AP English Literature and Composition with a 2, again treated as a C+. For provincially examinable courses KPU takes whichever is higher, the blended grade or the classroom grade. • Post-secondary work: 3 credits of undergraduate English at C- or better from an institution that teaches in English; or a completed bachelor's degree, a two-year diploma, or 60 credits of undergraduate study at a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better, again from an institution teaching in English. • KPU courses: ELST 0381 and ELST 0383 both at B, or ELST 0381 at B together with a placement score above the ELST 0383 level; or one of ENGQ 1091, ENGQ 1092 or ENGQ 1099 at C. • Tests, each of which must have been sat within two years of the term you are entering: IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with no band below 6.0; TOEFL iBT 88 with no section below 20 (KPU's table also lists an alternative TOEFL result of 4.5 overall with no subsection below 4.0); Duolingo English Test 110; PTE 61; CAEL 70 overall with no sub-score below 60; LanguageCert Academic 70 overall with no sub-score below 65; Accuplacer with Reading 260, Writing 250 and a WritePlacer essay of 6; or the KPU English Placement Test with a result that places you into ENGL 1100. The Indigenous Admissions Committee, and the Access Admissions Committee for selected programmes, may recommend that this requirement be treated as satisfied. ENGLISH AT OTHER CREDENTIAL LEVELS. Vocational programmes (the Certificate in Health Care Assistant and the Trades and Technology certificates and citations) and university-preparatory programmes set their own, generally lower, English standards, published on each programme's page rather than centrally. The Certificate in Health Care Assistant, for instance, asks all applicants for English 10 at C, or IELTS Academic 6.0 overall with 6.0 in speaking and listening and 5.5 in reading and writing, or TOEFL iBT 76, or CAEL 60 — not the undergraduate 6.5 / 88. Several trades certificates accept KPU's own Vocational Trades English Reading Assessment instead of a school course. Apprenticeship programmes are exempt from the undergraduate English requirement entirely. Applicants who fall short of the undergraduate score can enter through KPU's Pathway to Undergraduate Studies and move up. ABOVE THE BACHELOR'S. Post-baccalaureate diplomas need a completed bachelor's degree plus the undergraduate English standard, and most add conditions of their own (a portfolio, a resume, an interview, or several years of relevant work). For graduate certificates and diplomas KPU International states a completed bachelor's degree with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.67 plus the English standard and whatever references, resume or statement of intent the faculty requires — but individual graduate programmes set the bar higher, so read the programme page: the Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Food Systems and Security asks for a cumulative GPA of 3.0, three references and an 800-1000 word statement of intent. HOW TO APPLY — DOMESTIC (Canadian citizens and permanent residents). One online application through EducationPlannerBC at apply.educationplannerbc.ca/kpu; kpu.ca/apply redirects there. The application fee is CAD 40, is non-refundable, and is valid only for the single term you selected. To hold a seat you then pay a non-refundable confirmation deposit — CAD 250 for an Open Intake programme, CAD 500 for a Limited Intake programme — which is credited against your tuition once you register. HOW TO APPLY — INTERNATIONAL. The same online application, but the fee is CAD 120 and KPU accepts only one application per student per intake term, so choose the programme carefully. Once you have applied you receive a Next Steps letter with a KPU student number and student email, and an Application Checklist appears in MyKPU listing the transcripts, English evidence and other documents still outstanding; scanned English test results go to international@kpu.ca. The confirmation deposit is CAD 5,000 for Open Intake and Limited Intake programmes alike, and is refunded only if IRCC refuses your study permit. English scores may be resubmitted as often as you like before you are admitted and once afterwards, up to the first day of the month before term starts — 1 August for Fall, 1 December for Spring, 1 April for Summer. Trades Foundations programmes are the one exception to the online route: international applicants request a paper application from international@kpu.ca. One warning that applies to both groups: KPU's Limited Intake programmes cap the number of seats, so meeting the published minimums does not guarantee admission.

Total Students: 20,000

Academic Staff Range: 1,000-1,499

Campus Setting: Urban

Memberships & Networks

Universities Canada (UC) Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) Canadian University Press (CUP) Polytechnics Canada

Academic Structures

The faculties, schools, and constituent units that make up Kwantlen Polytechnic University are listed below.

Unit 7 items

Faculty of Academic and Career Preparation
Faculty of Arts
Faculty of Health
Faculty of Science and Horticulture
Faculty of Trades and Technology
School of Business
Wilson School of Design

Programs Offered

All active programmes at Kwantlen Polytechnic University are listed by degree level.

157 programmes on record. Each level below shows a sample. Compare these on the programs page All programs in Canada

Bachelor's Degree 43 programmes

Accounting: Bachelor of Business Administration Degree (BBA)

Accounting · 4 years · On-campus · English

Local tuition: CAD 2,500/total Start: The University Calendar lists this programme with Fall (September), Spring (January) and Summer (May) starts, the full three-term cycle KPU runs. Under the Senate-approved 2026-27 schedule Fall runs 8 September to 17 December 2026, Spring 6 January to 28 April 2027 and Summer 10 May to 24 August 2027.

KPU's calendar entry for the Bachelor of Business Administration, Major in Accounting states only that the Melville School of Business's admission requirement applies, and that requirement consists solely of KPU's underg...

Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Overview

Location & Contact

Academic Details

Academic Structures

Programs Offered

Bachelor's Degree 43 programmes

Honours Degree 11 programmes

Associate's Degree 18 programmes

Certificate 33 programmes

Diploma 26 programmes

Foundation 5 programmes

Postgraduate Certificate 1 programme

Postgraduate Diploma 7 programmes

Trades - Apprenticeship 13 programmes

How to apply to Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Frequently Asked Questions about Kwantlen Polytechnic University

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