Diplomas & Certificates in Education

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Diplomas & Certificates in Education

Increase your leadership & expertise!

The Faculty of Education offers teachers and other education professionals a variety of learning options – including certificates and diplomas – that will add value to, and increase your expertise in, your chosen specialization. Or, why not choose something brand new to add to your professional skills?

The 30-credit diplomas listed on this site do not lead to teacher certification, but if you are a teacher, they will lead to a category upgrade with the Teacher Qualification Service.

Our programs are designed to meet the needs of teachers working in school districts and educators working in other settings. With programs in a variety of teaching specializations that range from early childhood, through school-aged children, to educating adults, there is a program that will deliver the skills you want.

Want to become a K-12 teacher?

Join our Bachelor of Education 11-month program in Vancouver or 16-month program in Kelowna.


Find Your Program

Next Steps and FAQs

To register in courses offered for credit you must be admitted to the UBC Faculty of Education, Vancouver campus.

  • If you were previously a student here, you will need to apply for re-admission.
  • If you are a UBC Okanagan students, or interested in a program offered by UBC Okanagan, please see Admission Categories below.

Please refer to the application form for the application deadlines.

The diploma requires the completion of 30 credits of courses numbered 300 or above, with an average of 65% or higher. In most specializations, 12-18 credits of coursework are designated as core requirements, while 12-18 credits may be selected from approved supporting or related courses.

A maximum of 18 credits of appropriate courses completed at UBC previously and not credited toward the requirements of any other degree, diploma, or teacher certification program may be applied to a diploma program.

See the full details on the Diploma in Education.

Note that tuition fees are subject to review and change by the University.

Diploma Programs

Tuition fees for Education Diploma (DEDU) programs are found in the UBC Calendar: Post-baccalaureate Tuition.

If you have additional questions regarding tuition and fees, please contact an Enrolment Services Professional. 604.822.9836 | es.edusupport@ubc.ca.

Certificate Programs

Tuition for courses applied toward a certificate will be charged on a per-credit basis. Current tuition fees are found in the UBC Calendar: Non-Degree Studies Tuition.

If you have additional questions regarding tuition and fees for Non-Degree or Unclassified studies, please contact Enrolment Services. 604.822.9836 | Contact via the Ask Me Form.

Student Assessed Fees

Certain additional fees apply to students who take courses on campus.

Students who meet certain requirements may opt out of the U-Pass and AMS Extended Health and Dental Plan, during the first two weeks of the term.

To see if you qualify for the U-Pass fee exemption, read the U-Pass FAQ information.

If you think you qualify for an exemption, login to the Student Service Centre (SSC) and click on the Financial Summary tab to navigate to the U-Pass fee exemption page.

If you already have medical/dental coverage (other than BC MSP), you may be able to apply for an exemption if you meet certain requirements and follow the opt-out procedures. Visit the Student Service Centre (SSC) for more information.

Students registered in on-campus courses in the summer session are not assessed Health/Dental Plan fees.

UBC Tuition Fee Certificates

Current UBC students may use Tuition Fee Certificates for tuition only for UBC credit courses. The certificates do not cover the cost of course materials, texts, or other fees. Redeem your Tuition Fee Certificate online via the Tuition Fee Certificate Redemption form.

Student Loans

Please note that all Faculty of Education Certificate and Diploma programs do not qualify for student loan funding.

Acceptable courses may be transferred into the Diploma in Education program when they meet these conditions:

  • Courses are conceptually consistent with the topic area of your specialization. Please consult a program coordinator to establish their acceptability.
  • A total of 18 UBC credits, or 12 non-UBC credits, if acceptable, may be advanced or transferred to the diploma program. Courses need to be at the 300-400 (senior) undergraduate level.
  • Only surplus or undeclared credits may be used for transfer credits, i.e. credits which have not been used towards meeting requirements for another degree/diploma program. If surplus credits were completed during your degree program, please provide an email verification from your degree advisor.
  • When courses have been taken prior to starting the diploma, the five-year time frame for the diploma will begin with the date of the first transferred course. If courses have been taken beyond five-years prior to admission to the diploma, they will not be acceptable for transfer.
  • You seek prior approval to take acceptable courses at another university, in which case a Letter of Permission (LOP) will be written by a program coordinator to the university where you will take the courses.
  • Upon successful completion of courses taken outside UBC, you need to forward your official transcript to the program coordinator in TEO.

Official transcripts may be sent directly to:

Attn: Diploma Transfer Credits
Teacher Education Office
Faculty of Education
The University of British Columbia
2125 Main Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4

Or emailed by university to: teacher.ed@ubc.ca

When the program coordinator receives your official transcript, the credits will be transferred to your diploma program and will be listed on your UBC transcript.

Transferring 300–400 level courses to a graduate program in the Faculty of Education

If you have completed your diploma program, but you wish to retain the ability to transfer certain credits to a subsequent graduate program in the Faculty of Education, there is a process you must follow.

  • Do not apply to graduate from your diploma program, as once you graduate, diploma credits are no longer available for applying to a graduate program.
  • Obtain permission from your Graduate Advisor to use non-conferred diploma credits towards meeting requirements for your graduate program. To do this, download a Diploma Credit Re-Allocation Application Form, list the 300–400 level courses you wish to be applied to your Graduate program, and submit it for approval to your program’s Graduate Advisor.
  • Once approved, your Graduate Advisor will also send this form to the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FOGS) and to the Teacher Education Office (TEO) for approval from a Program Coordinator to release these credits for use towards your graduate program.
  • Once the credits have been re-allocated to a graduate program, please note that they may not be used towards completing diploma requirements in the future.
  • Upon completion of your graduate program, if you wish to complete your diploma, you must take additional credits to replace those which were re-allocated, in order to meet the diploma requirements (total 30 appropriate credits). A diploma program must be completed within 5 years of its start date, which is counted from the date of the first course(s) taken. You’ll need to complete and re-submit the Diploma Program Admission Application in order to be re-admitted. You do not need to pay the application fee. Please contact the TEO for academic advising on completing your diploma program.
Can I use credits from a certificate for the diploma?

In most cases the certificate in a particular area is the first half of the associated diploma. The credits can be used towards the diploma, but one must apply for admission to the diploma program in order for this to happen. Application to the diploma program must be completed immediately as a maximum of 18 credits of non-diploma work can be transferred.

Can I transfer credits from outside of UBC towards a certificate or diploma?

No credit transfer is permitted towards completion of certificate programs. For individuals in the diploma program, a maximum of 12 credits of suitable courses can be transferred towards diploma completion.

Can I use credits from a certificate for a Master’s program?

This decision is made by the graduate advisor for the Master’s program, but in most cases one can use 6 undergraduate credits of suitable coursework to the Master’s.

Can I use credits from a diploma for a Master’s program?

Credits used towards graduation in the diploma program cannot be used a second time for a new qualification. Should one be admitted to a Master’s program before completing the diploma, undergraduate credits could be used, but then the student would not be eligible for graduation in the diploma program.

See full information on our online courses.

How do I register in a course?

When does course registration open?

What if the course I want to register in is full?

  • Pick another course.
  • Look at online courses that are available.
  • Consider courses at other institutes for Transfer Credit.
  • Keep checking the website for drops.

Diploma Completion Time Frame:

  • If enrolled in the Diploma program, you have 5 years to complete all 30 required course credits.
  • This five-year time period is counted from the date of the first course started. For example, Winter 2017, Term 1 is when you started your first course. Your completion date would be Winter 2022, Term 1.

Registration Eligibility:

  • You may take as many courses as you wish within a given term. If you skip a term, you need to notify TEO Admissions to have your registration eligibility re-activated when ready to start again.

Core Courses:

  • If you are enrolled in the diploma program, certain courses are core courses that are mandatory to fulfilling the diploma. Each diploma will list options for electives; in some cases, these are approved electives.

Elective Courses:

  • Electives that are optional must be conceptually consistent with the topic of the diploma specialization. Please contact a program coordinator in the Teacher Education Office before registering in elective courses. You are responsible for ensuring that the elective courses you choose are acceptable for your specialization.

Credit/D/Fail:

  • Students in the diploma program are not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading, as this is not a direct-entry program ((i.e., a program from which a student may be admitted directly from secondary school).For more information, see the Credit/D/Fail Grading page.

Course Information:

  • For course descriptions, course schedules and registration, please visit the UBC Student Services site. To accommodate working teachers, on-campus diploma courses are offered 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. in Winter Term 1 (September to December) and Term 2 (January to April), and Summer Term 1 (May) and in Summer (Term 2) in modules. Register for Winter Terms 1 and 2 in August before course seats fill up.
  • For online course descriptions, please visit the PDCE Online Courses site.

Graduation

  • Graduation from UBC requires that you apply to graduate, upon completion of your Diploma in Education program, through the Student Service Centre (SSC).
  • We include full information about how to graduate on the Teacher Education website for your assistance.
  • Be sure to have a Program Coordinator first check your 30 credits (if you haven’t already done so) to ensure you have met all the requirements.

Graduation Information

Diploma Completion (30 credits)

If enrolled in the Diploma program, you have 5 years to complete all 30 required course credits. This five-year time period is counted from the date of the first course started. For example, Winter 2017, Term 1 is when you started your first course. Your completion date would be Winter 2022, Term 1.

Consult with with a program coordinator to confirm successful completion of 30-credits of your diploma program.

Every candidate for a degree must make formal application for graduation. For important application information, dates, and deadlines, please visit the graduation information available on the Student Service Centre (SSC) website.

Full details are posted on UBC’s Graduation website.

Certificate Completion (15 credits)

When you have successfully completed your 15-credit certificate program, you may apply for a certificate by filling out the Certificate of Completion Request Form.

 

 

IMPORTANT: If you enrolled in a Certificate program before September 2019, upon successful completion of all required courses, you apply for your Certificate by filling out the Certificate of Completion Request Form.

If you enrolled in a Certificate program in September 2019 or later, you must make a formal application for graduation, as with Diploma students. For important application information, dates, and deadlines, please see the SSC website: students.ubc.ca/enrolment/graduation.

Contact us by email at admissions.educ@ubc.ca.



Our Advisors

Bette Shippam
Program Coordinator
Student Services
Dr. Keith McPherson
Program Coordinator
Student Services