Douglas College

Founded 1970 | New Westminster, BC

Douglas College’s namesake is Sir James Douglas, who was born in 1803 and became British Columbia’s first governor. Douglas offers 12 bachelor degrees as well as certificate, diploma and post-
degree programs, and has nearly 25,000 students each year. Upwards of 4,200 international students from more than 92 countries attend the college. Douglas’s main campuses are in New Westminster and Coquitlam, with training centres serving Surrey, Burnaby and Maple Ridge. As part of the school’s efforts to reduce energy consumption, it began updating the Coquitlam campus in 2021 by installing new walls and windows. A four-metre-tall Coast Salish welcome figure, carved by local artist Gerry Sheena, was erected at Coquitlam in 2021.

The school positions itself as a launchpad for university. Students can complete two years of their degree there, taking advantage of the college’s smaller class sizes, and then transfer to a university. Douglas also offers a degree program that allows for simultaneous study at Simon Fraser University.

Douglas aims to provide the educational breadth of a university in addition to the applied-skills training common to colleges. The school focuses on experiential learning, tailoring each program to offer practical opportunities in co-ops, job shadowing, internships, community projects and applied research with its partner organizations.

Popular Programs

• Associate of Arts Degree

• Associate of Science Degree

• Criminology

• Psychology (Pre-Bachelor)

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing

School Size

Mid-sized

Tuition

• Degree $3,505-$5,140

• Diploma $3,505

• Certificate $3,505

• Post-Grad $4,185

Residence Offerings

No

Cool Options

• Bachelor of Therapeutic Recreation: Students learn to assess, plan, implement and evaluate leisure services for people with physical barriers to participating in leisure activities. Graduates are eligible to write the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation certification exam.

• Hearing Instrument Practitioner Diploma: Students learn to test people’s hearing, dispense and program hearing aids, and counsel patients on managing ongoing hearing loss. Graduates are ready to sit the provincial exams to become licensed hearing instrument practitioners.

• Geological Resources: Graduates of this program can go straight to work in mining and mineral exploration as geological technicians, or continue on to complete a university degree.