Diploma in Environmental Studies

Student standing in front of a living wall growing plants

Credential

Diploma Diplomas offer practical, career-focused training and are usually completed in one to two years. They help you gain technical and workplace skills that are in demand across many industries.

Delivery mode

Time commitment

Full-Time You take a regular course load and move through the program at the standard pace. Expect to study most weekdays. Part-Time You take fewer courses at once and progress more slowly. This option offers more flexibility for work or personal commitments.

Duration

2 years

Program codes

Code: ENVST

Cost

$4,836 Domestic students: 2025-26: $4,836 per year

Location

Available for

Domestic students
International students

Program features

TBD

Program overview

About the program

Gain a solid foundation of environmental knowledge from the sciences, social sciences, and humanities that will prepare you to work in a variety of roles in the environmental sector.

Program description

The Diploma in Environmental Studies offers an interdisciplinary opportunity to understand the physical principles governing the environment and the social and cultural aspects that influence human behaviour towards the environment. Students will gain a holistic knowledge of the environment through courses from the sciences, social sciences and humanities. The interdisciplinary model will equip students with the critical and analytical skills to think through the many complex factors that influence our understanding of the environment.

The diploma has four options: interdisciplinary environmental arts, environmental management, environmental science and geographic information science. Courses have university transfer credit providing students with the option of further study in either environmental studies or other disciplines. Students can also move directly into the workplace for there is a growing demand for labour in the environmental sector.

Prospective students should ensure that they have the prerequisites for the courses in the option that they wish to pursue.

Block Transfers: please see http://www.bctransferguide.ca/search/block and the GEOG/EESC department for details of the block transfer programs.

Admission and program requirements

Regular Applicants:

A regular applicant will be a secondary graduate or a secondary school student, or its equivalent, who has or who will complete the requirements for senior secondary graduation, or its equivalent, not less than one month prior to commencement of classes for the semester to which admission is sought - either fall or winter.

The following minimum entrance requirements will apply to regular applicants:

B.C. secondary graduation, or equivalent.
English 12 with minimum 60% or alternatives.

Students with a passing grade of less than 60% in English 12, English 12 First Peoples or TPC 12 will be admissible to the first year of the Associate of Arts Degree, subject to the following conditions:

Registration is restricted to courses for which the student satisfies the prerequisites. Registration in first-year English courses is, therefore, prohibited.
Successful completion of the English entrance requirements within the first year of studies. This may be done in one of the following ways:
- Successful completion of English 12, English 12 First Peoples or TPC 12 or an equivalent course with a minimum grade of 60%. This may be done concurrently through the College's Adult Basic Education Program or by completing an equivalent course through a distance education program.

Mature Applicants:

A mature applicant will be at least 19 years of age and will not have attended secondary school on a full-time basis for a minimum period of one year.

Secondary graduation is waived for mature applicants.

The English entrance requirements, as stated above, must be satisfied prior to admission. Admission may be granted on the condition that the entrance requirements will be completed prior to the commencement of classes for the semester to which admission is sought - either fall or winter.

A minimum of 50% of the program must be completed through OC including completion of a minimum of 18 credits of 200-level courses or higher.

Schedule and campus options

Start date	Location	Delivery mode	Application status

Tuition and fees

Domestic students

$4,836

Domestic students: 2025-26: $4,836 per year
Fees listed are for first year (two semesters) for a typical, full-time student taking 5 courses per semester (4 lecture-based courses and 1 course with a lab component) in the Environmental Arts stream. Depending on the stream and the courses selected fees may vary.
Fees include all mandatory fees: Activity fee, Health & Dental, Student Association fee, Education Technology fee, Development fee.
Detailed International tuition fees information.
Check if this program is student loan eligible. View Financial Aid and Awards
All amounts are approximate and are subject to change.
Detailed domestic tuition and fees information

Program details

Year 1

ECON 115 - Principles of Microeconomics

EESC 101 - Environmental Science

ENGL 100 - University Writing

GEOG 129 - Human Geography: Resources, Development and Society

INDG 100 - Introduction to Indigenous Studies

And one of:

ENGL 150 - Critical Writing and Reading: Poetry and Drama

ENGL 151 - Critical Writing and Reading: Short Fiction and the Novel

ENGL 153 - Critical Writing and Reading: Narrative

And one of:

EESC 111 - Earth Science

GEOG 111 - Introduction to Physical Geography: Climate & Vegetation

GEOG 121 - Introduction to Physical Geography: Water & Landscapes

And one of:

MATH 111 - Essential Mathematics for Arts

MATH 112 - Calculus I

STAT 121 - Elementary Statistics

And one of:

BIOL 111 - Biology for Science Majors I

BIOL 112 - Evolution and Ecology

And one of:

BIOL 121 - Biology for Science Majors II

BIOL 122 - Physiology of Multicellular Organisms

Year 2

Students will complete one of:

CMNS 235 - Professional Writing and Communications

ENGL 235 - Professional Writing and Communications

And all of:

ECON 271 - Environmental and Natural Resource Economics

GEOG 270 - Geographic Data Analysis

GEOG 272 - Introduction to Cartography, GIS and Remote Sensing

GEOG 311 - Environmental Management

POLI 204 - Canadian Environmental Policy

And one 200 level or higher GEOG/EESC lab science course.

Plus one 200 level or higher GEOG/EESC course.

Students will complete one of:

INDG 202 - Okanagan Concepts and Frameworks

INDG 204 - Indigenous Concepts and Frameworks

And one of any 200 level or higher GEOG or EESC course.

Or:

ANTH 245 - Culture and the Environment

ANTH 260 - Ethnobotany: Plants and People

BIOL 203 - Introduction to Ecology

BIOL 275 - Freshwater Plants and Animals

PHIL 251 - Environmental Ethics

POLI 219 - Canadian Public Administration

Year 1

BIOL 111 - Biology for Science Majors I

BIOL 121 - Biology for Science Majors II

EESC 101 - Environmental Science

ENGL 100 - University Writing

MATH 112 - Calculus I

Open elective (3 credits)

And one of:

ENGL 150 - Critical Writing and Reading: Poetry and Drama

ENGL 151 - Critical Writing and Reading: Short Fiction and the Novel

ENGL 153 - Critical Writing and Reading: Narrative

And one of:

EESC 111 - Earth Science

GEOG 111 - Introduction to Physical Geography: Climate & Vegetation

GEOG 121 - Introduction to Physical Geography: Water & Landscapes

And one of:

CHEM 111 - Principles of Chemistry I

CHEM 112 - Introductory Chemistry I

And one of:

CHEM 121 - Principles of Chemistry II

CHEM 122 - Introductory Chemistry II

Year 2

BIOL 203 - Introduction to Ecology

GEOG 272 - Introduction to Cartography, GIS and Remote Sensing

One 200 level or higher GEOG/EESC lab science course.

And one of:

CMNS 235 - Professional Writing and Communications

ENGL 235 - Professional Writing and Communications

And one of:

INDG 202 - Okanagan Concepts and Frameworks

INDG 204 - Indigenous Concepts and Frameworks

And one of:

GEOG 270 - Geographic Data Analysis

STAT 230 - Elementary Applied Statistics

And one of:

ECON 271 - Environmental and Natural Resource Economics

GEOG 210 - Introduction to Environmental Issues

PHIL 251 - Environmental Ethics

POLI 204 - Canadian Environmental Policy

Three of any 200 level or higher GEOG or EESC course.

Year 1

INDG 100 - Introduction to Indigenous Studies

ANTH 121 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

GEOG 128 - Human Geography: Space, Place and Community

GEOG 129 - Human Geography: Resources, Development and Society

SOCI 111 - Introduction to Sociology I

SOCI 121 - Introduction to Sociology II

EESC 101 - Environmental Science

ENGL 100 - University Writing

Students will also complete one of:

ENGL 150 - Critical Writing and Reading: Poetry and Drama

ENGL 151 - Critical Writing and Reading: Short Fiction and the Novel

ENGL 153 - Critical Writing and Reading: Narrative

And one of:

EESC 111 - Earth Science

GEOG 111 - Introduction to Physical Geography: Climate & Vegetation

GEOG 121 - Introduction to Physical Geography: Water & Landscapes

Year 2

Students will complete one of:

ENGL 235 - Professional Writing and Communications

CMNS 235 - Professional Writing and Communications

And all of:

GSWS 222 - Eco-Feminism

GEOG 270 - Geographic Data Analysis

GEOG 272 - Introduction to Cartography, GIS and Remote Sensing

PHIL 251 - Environmental Ethics

POLI 204 - Canadian Environmental Policy

And one of:

INDG 202 - Okanagan Concepts and Frameworks

INDG 204 - Indigenous Concepts and Frameworks

Plus two 200 level or higher GEOG or EESC courses

And one of:

Any 200 level or higher GEOG or EESC course

Or any of:

ANTH 245 - Culture and the Environment

ANTH 260 - Ethnobotany: Plants and People

ECON 271 - Environmental and Natural Resource Economics

ENGL 237 - Studies in Nature Writing

POLI 219 - Canadian Public Administration

SOCI 217 - Consumer Society

SOCI 295 - Current Topics in Sociology

The Diploma in Environmental Studies will be granted upon the successful completion of 60 prescribed credits, including at least eighteen (18) credits of 200-level courses as outlined below.