Diploma in Office Administration (Legal)

at Algonquin College - Ottawa Campus Canada

Launch your legal career

In the two-year Law Clerk Ontario College Diploma program, you study a broad range of legal topics and processes to prepare you for a career as a legal assistant or law clerk.

This program prepares you for administrative work in an office environment where you work independently under the general direction of a lawyer, or as part of a legal services team. Learn from dedicated faculty who ensure that your skills surpass industry standards.

As a student, you develop and practise the skills that are essential for a successful career, including:

• paying attention to details and independently following instructions
• organizing client files and managing deadlines
• interviewing clients
• performing general office procedures
• working with legal software to compile information and prepare documents
• compiling evidence and documentation
• maintaining corporate documents and filings
• entering data in legal forms and drafting routine correspondence
• preparing briefs
• learning about family, estates, civil litigation, corporate, administrative and real estate law practices
• engaging in civil litigation and research

Benefit from the ability to participate in an off-site field placement or in an in-class workplace simulation. These experiences give you real-world experience and an opportunity to practise your skills.

Begin your path to a career as a paralegal.

The Paralegal Ontario College Graduate Certificate program prepares you to apply to the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) to become a licensed paralegal. This program is offered in three consecutive semesters followed by a mandatory 120-hour field placement.

This program is accredited by the LSO. It prepares you for a career in which you provide legal services to the public in specified areas of practice. Learn in a hands-on environment, acquiring practical skills from experienced and dedicated faculty.

Study areas of law that are relevant to the type of work a licensed paralegal can perform, as governed by the LSO. You learn about case management and trial preparation in areas such as:

• Small claims court proceedings
• Provincial offences and summary conviction matters
• Proceedings before administrative tribunals
• Complete hands-on activities, including participating in mock trials. Learn about ethics, Professional responsibility and the requirements of running a legal services firm.

Benefit from completing a field placement lasting 120 hours. This gives you the opportunity to practise your skills and apply your knowledge to a real work environment.

The two-year Building Construction Technician Ontario College Diploma program provides you with the opportunity to learn the basics of the construction industry, including techniques, industry trends, and safety. This diploma program is offered in a condensed 42-week format, allowing you to quickly get the education you need, so you can get moving into your career.

Hands-on from day one, learn various skills that give you the foundation to get started in the construction industry, including:

• How to safely work on a construction site
• Drafting
• Structure design
• Building of different structures in our modern lab setting
• Industry-standard computer applications such as AutoCAD

All practical classes are taught in the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence (ACCE) facility. ACCE is fully outfitted with up-to-date equipment and tools, which gives you the opportunity to learnboth traditional, as well as advanced technology used in today`s construction industry.

This one-year General Arts and Science - Introduction to Fine Art Ontario College Certificate program gives you hands-on training in an art studio setting. It introduces you to possible careers and education pathways in the arts and culture sector. Build a diverse set of basic technical skills while gaining practical experience with:

• Painting
• Drawing
• Printmaking
• Sculpting
• Digital media

You also learn essential business skills that are necessary when working as a professional artist. Additionally, you learn about trends and topics in art history, as well as contemporary art theory and practices.

You receive an Ontario College Certificate in General Arts and Science - One Year, with a concentration in Introduction to Fine Art. Using the portfolios you have created, you can apply to a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program at the university level. You can also continue your education at Algonquin College programs such as:

• Gaphic Design
• Photography
• Applied Museum Studies
• Interior Decorating
• or in Year II of Algonquin College`s General Arts and Science Ontario College Diploma program.

Should you decide to enter the workforce, this certificate demonstrates to employers that you have the ability to learn at a post-secondary, you are committed to a career in the arts, and you possess critical thinking skills.

Learning Outcomes
The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Develop, through general knowledge gained in a wide range of subjects, insight into both self and society.
• Develop flexibility and clarity of both thought and expression in order to develop communications competence to a level required by business and industry.
• Understand and utilize critical thinking processes and problem-solving techniques.
• Examine and evaluate various aspects of our changing society to assist in developing a sense of personal and social responsibility as a citizen in society.
• Employ basic vocational skills drawn from the areas of the Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences or Vocational Studies (Business, Technology).

The two-year Journalism Ontario College Diploma program prepares you to report on all news delivery platforms, and helps you develop the online skills that have become vital in the industry.
Acquire leading-edge, relevant knowledge and skills in multi-platform and traditional journalism. Gain hands-on experience and expand your portfolio almost immediately upon starting the program, working for the award-winning Algonquin Times - named Canada`s top campus newspaper in 2015 and 2017 - as well as Glue, Ottawa`s student magazine.

Learn the core journalism skills to succeed in the industry. Study how to write factually, conduct interviews and filter information. Examine aspects of photo journalism, page layout, web and e-publishing, and online reporting/editing.
Your learning is expanded with workshops, guest speakers and field trips, offering exposure to a diversity of information and skills necessary for the modern journalist. To ensure you are comfortable with all journalistic platforms, you create photo and video journalism and produce newscasts for CKDJ 107.9 FM, Algonquin College`s radio station.

Expand your real-world experience with a six-week internship at a media outlet and learn to operate as a freelance journalist. You have the choice to work at a local company or agency, or complete the placement out of the region or country.

After you graduate, if you wish to further your education, you can apply to the University of Ottawa`s Honours Bachelor Degree in Digital Journalism program, in which you may be eligible for advanced standing.

Learning Outcomes
The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Report on stories in an accurate, detailed, balanced, professional and timely manner.
• Apply computer and technical skills to designated production and research functions in journalism.
• Function both independently and as a member of editorial and/or production teams.
• Analyze knowledge from communities, current events and public affairs, and history to interpret and express the context for designated journalism publications and/or productions.
• Develop strategies for personal and professional development.
• Comply with relevant Canadian legislation, standards and the principles and practices of journalism.
• Write and edit content for the designated media platforms.
• Publish and/or broadcast content for the designated media platforms.
• Apply production skills and use production equipment in the preparation and distribution of content for the designated media platforms.
• Identify and apply discipline-specific practices that contribute to the local and global community through social responsibility, economic commitment and environmental stewardship.

Interactive Media Design is a two year Ontario College Diploma program designed to prepare you for a variety of careers in the digital media industry. Web-design and programming, as well as video and motion graphic skills, are in demand in all employment sectors. You explore the primary elements of media project planning and development with equal importance given to the creative and the technical aspects. This balanced learning experience prepares graduates to be generalists in the media industry, meaning you can jump into a wide variety of roles as you begin your careers.

Strong emphasis is placed on hands-on media production through courses in computer-based web design and programming, as well as video and motion graphics. Through a number of program-specific elective courses, you can focus your path towards specializing as a video producer or a web developer, or you can choose to remain as a generalist, depending on your interests. You plan and execute individual and team-based projects under the guidance of a faculty, industry experts in the media field. You gain practical experience working with live clients through applied projects. You navigate these learning opportunities with the operating system of your choice, such as Apple OS X, Windows or other platforms.

This industry-driven program provides you with the diverse skillset that makes you adaptable in today`s dynamic job market across all sectors. Graduates may find employment in a wide variety of fields utilizing their skills in dynamic media development, web design and programming, photography, videography, motion graphics, project management, UX design, graphic design and content management. Other opportunities involve start-up businesses and a wide variety of alternate professional fields.

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.  

The three-year Advertising and Marketing Communications Management Ontario College Advanced Diploma program prepares you to take your career into many industries. By combining business theory and creative messaging, this industry-respected program enables you to develop skills in idea conceptualizing, copywriting, layout and production design. You also develop integrated marketing communications strategies through researching what drives target audiences and planning how to reach them effectively.

Experienced, industry-connected faculty prepare you to plan, create and implement marketing communications. Key class projects work on real advertising and marketing communications issues with local companies as clients. As well, alumni and industry leaders act as guest speakers in every semester.

Put classroom theory to work through hands-on creation in one of the second-year student-run business unit teams:

• the award-winning Algonquin Times and Glue Magazine - where teams work on websites, print editions, social media channels, events and apps
• DIGG - the student-run ad agency where every client has a unique problem to be solved
• SLiDE - the in-house marketing department for Algonquin`s DARE District that works with Ottawa entrepreneurs.

The program encourages you to expand your learning and network through optional class trips in second and third year. As a second-year student, you have the unique opportunity to visit and tour select advertising and marketing agencies and visit program alumni in Toronto. As a third-year student, you have the opportunity to visit New York and attend one of the largest industry conferences in the world, Advertising Week.

At the end of the program, take your real-world experience a step further with a six-week job placement within the area of advertising and marketing communications. Upon graduating, be ready to start your career in this field.

There are many job opportunities for graduates of this program. You may find employment with an advertising or creative agencies and any organization that has a marketing, communications, media or promotions department. This includes:

• retail
• professional services firms
• technology companies
• associations
• governments

You might even launch your own marketing and communications company.

Accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC), Dental Hygiene, Dental Hygiene is a three year Ontario College Advanced Diploma and is delivered over two and one-half years. The program strongly emphasizes on preparing graduates to function in a collaborative relationship with the community, healthcare providers and the client. 

The students, through the program, take up the role of a dental hygienist as an advocate, administrator, educator, researcher, clinician and health promoter and learn to offer dental hygiene care in a professional manner to their patients with complicated and diverse oral health needs. As members of a self-regulated profession, dental hygienists are responsible to the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario for their practice decisions.

In this two-year Strategic Global Business Management Ontario College Graduate Certificate, you learn to navigate complex geopolitical climates and to develop positive cross-cultural relationships, so that your business can have global reach. You explore the ways that areas of business management work together to form a strategic global approach.

Extend your business management skills as you identify feasible opportunities to enter new global markets in ethical and socially responsible ways that comply to international policies, regulations, and laws. Identify how to manage projects, human resources, finances, marketing, sales, risk and continuity within international settings. Apply business principles to digital business environments through e-commerce, supply chain and social media marketing to support the business in a global market. Think innovatively to explore ways to leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning while protecting your business through cyber security and information management. The program culminates with a collaborative project complete with an industry partner, an opportunity that supports your growth as a strategic global business professional.

With a focus on business and technology, the Bachelor of Commerce (e-Supply Chain Management) Honours degree program provides you with skills and knowledge for a rewarding career involving supply chain management. Businesses are looking for skilled leaders who demonstrate the ability to create and execute plans to improve processes in all industry sectors.

This program recognizes the importance of the relationship between the supply chain and technology. Take courses developed to build a foundation of skills rooted in business, technology, communication and analytical thinking.

Learn the fundamental skills required to use SAP software that the supply chain management industry relies on. In the final term, work with an external business advisor to manage a project and create a report analyzing an issue in the industry.

Complete three paid cooperative (co-op) work terms. This allows you to work while applying your knowledge and skills and building industry connections.

Learning Outcomes
The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Graduates will be competent knowledge workers able to apply fundamental concepts, principles and skills of e-supply chain management in a variety of private and public business settings.
• Graduates will be effective collaborators able to use communication and interpersonal skills to fulfill a leadership role on interdisciplinary business teams.
• Graduates will be critical and creative thinkers able to analyze and solve problems and develop innovative solutions and products in a variety of situations.
• Graduates will be informed citizens able to adapt and contribute to the changing world in which they live and work.
• Graduates will be continuous learners able to update their knowledge and skills and to apply their learning with confidence in changing situations.
• Identify and apply discipline-specific practices that contribute to the local and global community through social responsibility, economic commitment and environmental stewardship.