Diploma in General Arts and Science

at Algonquin College - Ottawa Campus Canada

Baking and Pastry Arts Management is a two-year Ontario College Diploma program that offers the pâtissiers and the aspiring bakers an entry into the baking and pastry industry. During the course, the students spend the majority of their time in receiving hands-on experience in the labs and the college facilities, with current industry technologies and equipment and regard to sanitation and safety. Besides baking and decoration, the students also gain entrepreneurial experience related to sales and cost forecasting, marketing and capital costs, business planning, and labor distribution with respect to the daily operation of a professional bakery.

Trained industry professionals guide the students via a balance of traditional and contemporary baking techniques to make chocolate specialties, gum paste, almond paste figurines, blown, pulled and cast sugar pieces, plated desserts and specialty products, artisan breads, specialty and wedding cakes, emphasizing on nutrition throughout. 

During the duration of the program, the students participate in various industry-based field placements, perfecting their knowledge and skills with real-world experiences. Interested students may also have the option to travel to an international location for practice and instruction to further develop their knowledge and skills in the fine art of baking and pastry. The students can seek employment in patisseries, resorts and catering companies, in-store bakeries, wholesale production facilities, restaurants, hotels, artisan bakeries and commercial bakeries. 

The two-year Electrical Engineering Technician Ontario College Diploma program provides you with the essential knowledge and skills sought by employers in the industry. Develop skills in the design, installation, maintenance and repair of electrical systems from cable loops, phone and fire suppression systems to robotics and machinery.

Through a series of theory courses and extensive practical labs, you learn to use scientific and engineering principles, including:

• The foundation of electrical principles, codes and regulations
• How to design, install and troubleshoot electromagnetic controls, electrical machinery and programmable controllers
• The different instrumentation options available and the applicable use for them
• An understanding of robotics and controls as well as industrial telecommunications
• Critical thinking skills and an understanding of the environmental impact of technology
• AutoCAD and applications
• The different infrastructure requirements of distributed electrical systems or fire alarm system codes and standards, installation and maintenance
• Fundamentals of mathematics, calculus, technical communications for engineers, programming and computer applications
• Project management and leadership skills

The Personal Support Worker Ontario College Certificate program prepares you for immediate work in healthcare. This two-semester program provides you with the knowledge and practical skills to work as a care provider in a range of healthcare settings.

Develop the ability to engage with persons and families of various ages and health-related needs to promote healthy living. Learn how to assist clients with their daily personal care needs, such as bathing, dressing, grooming, and toileting. In your career, you help those who need assistance to remain as independent as possible.

Through theory, lab practice and clinical/community experiences, learn how to deliver person-centred care, encourage independence and improve the quality of life for your clients.

Participate in clinical experiences, where you focus on the various skills needed to succeed in the field. In these clinical placements, you demonstrate your knowledge and expertise and learn about applying different concepts to real-world environments. These clinical experiences provide you with the opportunity to continue learning as a student member of a healthcare team.

After graduating, you may find employment as a Personal Support Worker. In this role, you work under the supervision of Registered Nurses and/or Registered Practical Nurses in:

• retirement homes
• long-term care facilities
• home care agencies, and
• hospitals

This Ontario College Graduate Certificate program, delivered in a 42-week consecutive format, prepares you for a career in the field of recreation therapy. Recreation Therapists work with individuals facing key health issues and cognitive, physical and/or mental health challenges across the lifespan from children, youth, adults to seniors. In this program, you develop a strong foundation of skills and knowledge to use the tools of recreation and leisure to ensure people of all ages and abilities have a healthy social, physical, emotional and cognitive lifestyle.

Develop advanced knowledge of how to complete client assessments, create individualized and group programs and document client outcomes. Apply a variety of facilitative techniques to promote meaningful recreation and leisure participation, improve functional ability, and enhance quality of life and wellness. Through collaboration, teamwork, research and professional involvement, you learn to adapt, implement and evaluate recreation activities to meet the needs of people in a wide range of settings including hospitals, long-term care facilities, rehabilitation centres, municipal community programs and mental health agencies. Through a combination of theory and industry-based work terms, you gain theoretical and practical knowledge and experience.

As a current institutional member of Therapeutic Recreation Ontario (TRO), students enrolled in the Therapeutic Recreation program receive a Therapeutic Recreation Ontario Student membership for the duration of the program. Graduates may apply to become registered members of TRO and/or other professional associations. As well, Algonquin College is working closely with TRO in seeking recognition of this program, thus allowing graduates to apply to become a Registered Therapeutic Recreation Ontario member.

Learning Outcomes
The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Provide for the safety of clients, self and others in compliance with applicable legislation, regulations, standards and ethical practices.
• Assess individual needs, strengths, challenges and interests of people experiencing barriers to healthy leisure lifestyle in order to assist them in meeting their goals.
• Maintain accurate documentation in accordance with ministry guidelines, professional standards of practice and organizational policies and procedures.
• Plan, implement and evaluate holistic individual and group recreation therapy programs which respond to identified needs, align with assessment results and adhere to current best practices.
• Provide individual and family therapeutic functional intervention, leisure education support, and opportunity for recreation participation.
• Research, analyze and evaluate recreation therapy activities and programs using evidence based practices.
• Plan, implement and evaluate community, private and institutional programs and/or services and processes to enhance quality of life for clients.
• Collaborate with individuals, caregivers, interprofessional teams, volunteers and community service providers using a person-centered approach to promote personal, social, economic and the health-related benefits of recreation therapy services.
• Develop and plan for ongoing personal and professional growth and development.
• Identify and apply discipline-specific practices that contribute to the local and global community through social responsibility, economic commitment and environmental stewardship.

The three-year Applied Museum Studies Ontario College Advanced Diploma prepares you with the knowledge and skills to support curatorial and conservation activities in the museum, heritage and cultural sectors.

• Gain skills and knowledge in:
  • Collections management
  • Educational programming
  • Exhibit preparation
  • Museum management
  • Conservation and preservation

Develop capabilities related to cultural resource management, focusing on collections care, research and interpretation. Areas of study include:

• Classifying, cataloguing and interpreting collections of artifacts and works of art
• Constructing and installing exhibits and displays
• Assessing, preserving and treating material culture

Put theory into practice in our well-appointed conservation and exhibition preparation labs. Working with our teaching collection and in collaboration with local cultural institutions, you complete a variety of hands-on projects and group assignments that will enhance your knowledge and skills and make valuable contributions in museums, galleries and the cultural sector.

This program includes a full-semester field placement. The field experience combines your theory and lab skills with professional practice in the cultural industry. At the end of your placement, highlight your work in a showcase event. The showcase event also gives you the chance to network with industry professionals for future employment.

Culinary Management is a two- year Ontario Diploma program that is curated to train the students to become professional chefs by putting a great emphasis on the advanced culinary skills, hands-on experience and managerial training. The curriculum includes courses on sanitation and safety procedures, food preparation, computer applications, the control of food costs, baking techniques, and nutrition and menu planning and the students are required to complete all the industry- related certifications to graduate. 

The students get multiple chances to participate in various activities, event s and competitions at the different hotels, restaurants and event facilities to develop their skills and knowledge. Students are required to complete a mandatory 40-hour field placement per term in order to graduate from the program.

The graduates of the program can seek employment in food preparation and service establishments like cafeterias, restaurants, senior care facilities, hotels, cruise ships or catering companies.

Advance your skillsets for a career in construction and civil engineering

The Civil Engineering Technology Ontario College Advanced Diploma is a continuation of the Construction Engineering Technician program and is open to students who already have an Algonquin College Construction Engineering Technician Ontario College Diploma and meet the admission requirements. This third year of study explores in-depth areas of civil engineering technology such as:

• Project scheduling and cost control
• Surveying
• Design of steel structures
• Foundations
• Water and wastewater technology
• Soils analysis
• Reinforced concrete design 

Students also have the option to gain real-world experience through a paid co-operative education (co-op) work term (see Additional Information for more details). Please note that places in the co-op version of the program are subject to availability.

During the final two terms of the program you take on a year-long project in collaboration with external industry partners that gives you real-world experience and may help you develop networks within a specific industry. As part of a project team, you participate in leadership events, analyze and solve problems, create deliverables and present the results of your project to the college community and the industry through demonstrations and presentations.

OACETT (Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists) recognizes this program as meeting all of the academic requirements for certification in the Certified Engineering Technologist (CET) or Applied Science Technologist (AScT) category. Graduates and final-year students are immediately eligible to be registered as Associate members of OACETT upon submission of the Graduate Application form available through the Placement Office or OACETT.

Graduates may pursue careers in a number of sectors of the construction industry, including:

• Cost estimating for residential, commercial and civil projects
• Surveying
• Project management
• Building inspection
• Materials testing
• Quality control
• Construction

Build a solid foundation for your career in residential or commercial construction

The two-year Construction Engineering Technician Ontario College Diploma program introduces you to a wide range of knowledge and skills to work in the construction industry. This program combines both hands-on application and theory to help you secure a career in the residential and commercial construction industries.

The Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists (OACETT) recognizes this program as meeting all of the academic requirements for certification in the Certified Technician Category. Using state-of-the-art facilities in Algonquin`s ACCE building, you build a solid foundation for your future career.

Take courses in surveying, construction materials, estimating and construction, building code and structural design documentation. Learn about health and safety relating to the field, hydraulics, geographic information systems and AutoCAD. Experience hands-on learning and participate in field trips.

Students also have the option to gain real-world experience through a paid co-operative education (co-op) work term (see Additional Information for more details). Please note that places in the co-op version of the program are subject to availability. Students who elect to apply to the non co-op version of the program may not have the opportunity to transfer to the co-op version at a later date.

This program has strong ties to the construction industry and may help you build contacts throughout your time at Algonquin College.

Graduates of this program have the ability to work in a number of sectors within the construction industry. You may find opportunities in:

• Cost estimating
• Residential, commercial and civil projects
• surveying
• Project management
• Building inspection
• Materials testing and quality control
• Construction inspection <
• AutoCAD: After you complete this program, you may choose to take an extra year of study in order to receive an Ontario College Advanced Diploma in Civil Engineering Technology.

Specialize with a challenging and rewarding career in finance

Earn a flexible diploma that shows you are aware of all areas of business, and that you also have specialized education in finance. Finance is one of seven majors available to Business Administration students. This three-year Ontario College Advanced Diploma program starts with three semesters learning a variety of essential business skills before ultimately deciding on a Major.

The Business Administration - Finance program prepares you to meet the high proficiency standards needed to complete professional designations and licensing courses in the financial services industry.

Learn how to become a strategic, skilled financial expert whom individuals and businesses will trust to create and analyze financial plans. You learn from experienced faculty who provide you with an education based on all areas of finance, including:

• Financial analysis and decision-making
• Customer service, sales and marketing financial products and services
• Wealth management
• Retirement and tax planning
• Insurance and estate planning 

Develop an understanding of the operations and importance of financial services. Use a hands-on approach to explore topics such as:

• The time value of money
• calculating return on investment and tax treatment of returns
• The relationship between risk and return
• Canadian financial institutions and regulators
• Financial planning steps and the components of a financial plan 

The Cyber Security Analysis (CSA) Ontario College Graduate Certificate program is designed to prepare you to meet the market demand for cyber security professionals in the public and private sector.

Throughout the program, you focus analytically on key cyber security principles including threat and vulnerability management, event analysis, laws and ethics relating to security compliance and implementation, cryptographic solutions for data confidentiality and communication protection, cyber incident response, digital forensics processes, disaster recovery and business continuity following cyber incidents and related tools and security appliances. You develop the skills and knowledge necessary to select and deploy the optimal tools and security solutions given unique scenarios.

Graduates possess the theoretical knowledge and hands-on skills to assess, recommend, implement and troubleshoot various advanced security solutions and countermeasures. Utilizing IT concepts and tools, you evaluate the technical aspects and risk levels of security solutions, security and penetration tests and vulnerability assessments. You also examine the legal process and proper evidence gathering procedures, effective design of corporate security policies, analysis and management of risks or threats as well as ethical and social implications related to security, Canadian and International laws, privacy laws and compliance. Algonquin College`s state-of-the-art computing facilities, running the latest Windows and Linux/UNIX-based operating system (O/S) platforms and supporting a wide variety of pre-installed software applications, support you to be well-prepared for entry into the field of cyber security. You gain exposure to real-world technologies currently used within industry including specialized networking, Cisco and hardware labs along with several network-based O/S servers. The Cyber Security Analysis curriculum has been designed to closely align with the Canadian Center for Cyber Security`s (CCCS) curriculum guidelines and also assists in preparing graduates to achieve a number of industry certifications. Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will be prepared to attain certifications including:

• ISC2 SSCP and CISSP
• SANS GSEC and other GIAC certifications
• EC-Council`s CEH and CHFI
• CompTia CySA+ and CASP

Co-op
Cooperative education (Co-op) allows students to integrate their classroom learning with a real-world experience though paid work terms. Two academic terms prior to the cooperative education work term, students are required to actively participate in and successfully complete the self-directed co-op online readiness activities and in-person workshops.