Advanced Diploma in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Applications

at Vancouver Island University - Nanaimo Campus Canada

Do you have passion for healthy, active lifestyles, and a desire to shape those interests into a rewarding career? VIU’s Recreation and Sport Management program can help you launch a career in the growing sport, recreation, health and wellness industries.

In the program, your learning will benefit from hands-on exploration under the guidance of instructor who care about your success. Take your learning deeper with paid internships and small classes, where you will work closely with other students and your instructors on meaningful community projects.

Graduates find a wide variety of careers focused on building positivity and confidence around sport and community for people of all ages. Explore the Recreation and Sport Management Program Website (link above) to learn more about careers.

The Recreation and Sport Management Program
This program is offered as a mandatory Co-operative Education format with four academic semesters and two paid Co-op placements.

The focus of this diploma program is on the provision of recreation and sport services and products in public, private, and not-for-profit sectors within communities. The program assesses the impact of recreation and sport and the environment in order to plan and develop healthy communities. Features of the program include the provision of applied skills and knowledge, direct leadership experience, a co-operative education model (paid employment), and small class sizes.

The program prepares students for career entry; however, students interested in further studies can apply to the third year of VIU’s Bachelor of Tourism Management, Major in Recreation.

Co-operative Education
Under the Co-operative Education format, formal supervised work terms are integrated into the total curriculum on a paid basis. Students will benefit from the experience by:

• Relating academic study more effectively to the field of practice;
• Developing a clearer career focus;
• Gaining valuable practical experience;
• being able to finance a larger portion of their education.

Access to Co-operative Education placements is based on students’ GPA (minimum of 2.33 (“C+”) is required) and their willingness to work as a team member with faculty and Co-operative Education staff to find appropriate placements.
Students in Co-operative Education work terms pay a fee, which is due during the second month of each work term.

The Bachelor of Interior Design combines theory with specialized knowledge and the development of proficiencies relative to the profession of interior design. It is intended for students who wish to pursue a professional career in this creative multi-faceted discipline. Interior designers work in all areas of the built environment including residential, office, retail, hospitality, and Institutional settings to create interior spaces that are "functional, enhance the quality of life and culture of the occupants, and are aesthetically attractive"*. The program provides a balanced range of theoretical, intellectual, communication, experiential, applied and other skills, needed to deal effectively with the responsibilities of interior design professional life. The interior design curriculum features lecture, studio, critique, and computer lab instruction; independent and collaborative projects; formal and informal presentations; field trips; an internship and a final major project spanning two semesters. The foundation courses and elective study provide an excellent foundation and structure for lifelong learning and ensures that students develop quantitative reasoning and critical thinking skills.

Do you love baking pastries and bread and making divine desserts? Shape your passion with VIU’s Professional Baking and Pastry Arts program for a rewarding, hands-on career that can take you around the world. Learn advanced baking and dessert making, as well as sugar and chocolate artistry techniques.

This internationally recognized program provides students with hands-on, real-world experiences providing baked goods and pastries to the university community, including making cakes to order. Students of VIU’s baking school also learn on the department’s wood-fired brick oven.

Graduates of our pastry art school have found work in bakeries – including opening their own – and a range of high-end restaurants, world-class hotels and resorts. Educational grants are available to students wanting to train in these in-demand industries.

The Professional Baking and Pastry Arts Certificate Program:-
The Culinary Institute of Vancouver Island (CIVI) at VIU provides students with a Certificate in Professional Baking and Pastry Arts, giving them a leading edge for advancement and progression in the baking and pastry profession. This full-time program provides students with knowledge and experience in the science and production of bakery items baked in both commercial ovens and our wood burning brick oven. Emphasis is placed on traditional and artisan baking methods as applied to modern Canadian and international trends. The pastry arts component of the program also provides the fundamental skills needed in pastry training from cake decorating, including wedding and special occasion cakes, to desserts, chocolate and sugar work. Baking and pastry arts students are ready for employment in patisserie shops, hotels, retail and wholesale bakeries, supermarkets, restaurants, caterers, camps and other food–related businesses.

Upon successful completion of the program and the co-op work term, students receive the Vancouver Island University Certificate in Professional Baking and Pastry Arts as well as credit for their first year Baker Apprentice technical training and 1200 work experience hours to apply towards obtaining their Red Seal.

Calling all domestic and international foodies! Shape your passion and creativity into a rewarding, fast-paced, hands-on career close to home or around the world with Vancouver Island University’s Culinary Arts program.

Our internationally recognized chef training programs at the Culinary Institute of Vancouver Island provides students with hands-on, real-world experiences running service programs in state-of-the-art kitchens and labs.This Culinary Arts program also has a paid co-operative education component that allows students to network and build industry contacts.

Students learn the culinary skills needed to enter careers in world-class hotels, resorts, restaurants, bakeries and more. Educational grants are available to students wanting to train in this high-demand industry.

The Culinary Arts Certificate Program
The Culinary Arts Certificate consists of the 28-week Professional Cook 1 (PC1), and the 14-week Professional Cook 2 (PC2).The Culinary Institute of Vancouver Island (CIVI) at VIU provides students with the options of the Professional Cook 1 (PC1) Certificate (offered through the Nanaimo, Cowichan & Powell River campuses), the one-year Culinary Arts Certificate (PC1 & PC2 offered at the Nanaimo campus), and the two-year Culinary Management Diploma (offered at the Nanaimo campus). The Certificate and Diploma programs provide students with culinary training and management skills, giving them the leading edge to advancement in the culinary profession. Upon entering the Certificate program, culinary students are registered as Professional Cook 1 apprentices, gaining technical training while accruing apprentice hours. As a part of both the Culinary Arts Certificate and the Culinary Diploma programs, students participate in a paid co-op work placement, gaining industry work experience and additional apprentice hours.

Upon entering the program, culinary students:

• Are registered as Professional Cook apprentices. The Culinary Arts Certificate consists of 28-week Professional Cook 1 (PC1), and the 14-week Professional Cook 2 (PC2), and a paid Co-op work practicum.
• Gaining industry work experience and PC1 apprentice hours. This often becomes full time employment toward their career paths.
• At the beginning of the first year of the Nanaimo campus Certificate program, students spend three weeks in our state of the art food lab, focusing on learning basic cooking skills and good culinary habits without production pressure. Students then move to the main kitchen, rotating through five separate sections. Students will prepare breakfast, vegetables, starches, and proteins, as well as study cold kitchen, pastry, and meat cutting. Food produced by the students is served in the VIU cafeterias and Discovery Room dining room.

Co-operative Education
Under the co-operative education format, the paid co-operative education experiences are integrated into the total curriculum. Culinary Institute of Vancouver Island students are employed and supervised in a Red Seal-trained kitchen. Hours worked in their co-op are counted towards their apprenticeship. Culinary students will benefit from the co-operative education experience by:

• Relating academic study more effectively to the field of practice;
• Developing a clearer career focus;
• Gaining valuable practical experience and apprentice hours;
• Being able to finance a larger portion of their education

Co-operative placements are typically from May to October. Access to co-operative education placements is based on student's GPA and their willingness to work as a team member with faculty and co-operative education staff to find an appropriate placement. Students in co-operative placement are assessed tuition and Students' Union fees - see program fees for correct fee information.

The Graduate Diploma in Hospitality Management will produce graduates who are innovative hospitality management decision-makers equipped with demonstrable analytical skills, functional area knowledge, strong communication skills and abilities, combined with an applied human capital knowledge and skill set, who influence an organization’s performance through their future orientated leadership.

This is a full-time, cohort-based program that incorporates face-to-face delivery with experiential learning, both in internship work experience and laboratory modules.  Curriculum delivery will be enhanced through the use of hospitality industry specific simulations, case studies, and a robust semester-long visiting scholar or professors of practice (hospitality industry experts) interactive lecture series on meaningful issues and trends facing the hospitality executive today and in the future. Further, GDHM students will contribute and mobilize knowledge to the industry through the completion of an integrated business project completed in conjunction with their graduate internship.

Do you have a passion for travelling and connecting with others? Explore a career in the world’s fastest growing industry. Vancouver Island University’s Bachelor of Hospitality Management program prepares students for every facet of the bustling world of tourism and hospitality with a flexible two-year diploma or four-year degree.

In this experiential program, students have the opportunity to develop strong industry connections and gain technical and practical skills in areas of hospitality marketing, accounting, human resources, management and more. The Management of Hospitality program prepares graduates to work in diverse fields such as hotel management, tourism programs, and sales and marketing.

The Bachelor of Hospitality Management Program:-
VIU offers a four-year Bachelor of Hospitality Management degree. Students have the option to exit with the Hospitality Management diploma after two years, or go on to complete the additional two years to graduate with the Bachelor of Hospitality Management degree. Hospitality diploma graduates from VIU or other Canadian institutions have the option of entering directly into the third year of the Bachelor of Hospitality Management program. Culinary Arts diploma graduates from VIU or other Canadian institutions can enter the third year of the degree program after completing a bridging semester. Admission to the third year of the program is limited.

The program will involve the learner in an internationalized curriculum as well as culturally-diverse professional and social environments. They will be engaged in activities that develop their skills to synthesize and solve problems in a global context. The program balances academic and applied skills by designing learning opportunities where learners apply theories in hospitality business simulated environments as well as in co-operative/internship placements

Do you want to make a difference? Nurture the curiosity and development of young children by preparing for a rewarding career in Vancouver Island University’s Early Childhood Education and Care (ECE) program.
This flexible full or part-time early child care diploma program offers in-depth theoretical learning and practical experience working with trained early childhood educators to build connections within the industry. The five practicum placements prepare students for careers in licensed early childcare and learning centres, government, early intervention, Aboriginal early learning centres, or schools or post-secondary institutions.
Graduates of the early childhood diploma program have gone on to stimulating careers as early child care assistants and early childhood educator, to name a few.
All enrolled Early Childhood Education and Care students are eligible to apply for a bursary of up to $4,000 per term through the Early Childhood Educations of BC (ECEBC) organization.

The Early Childhood Education and Care (ECE) Program:-
The Early Childhood Education and Care program is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to work with young children and their families in licensed child care settings. Students progress through an interrelated series of courses and practica designed to integrate theoretical learning, awareness of self in relationships, and practical experience in becoming an Early Childhood Educator.

Business plays a major role in the structure and functioning of contemporary society. Rapid changes in technology, resource allocation, structural shifts in the economy, changes in consumer preferences, global competition, and shifts in the employment market all necessitate a better understanding of the role and nature of business in today’s society.

Business Administration provides a well-rounded business education with a focus on global business operations, emerging markets, and technology-enabled organizations. Students develop an in-depth understanding of one of the business majors and learn a broad range of managerial capabilities, problem solving and communication skills. Electives allow flexibility, adaptability and creativity and prepare graduates for diverse careers in global management, administration, and entrepreneurship, as well as a range of postgraduate opportunities.

Vancouver Island University's Post-Degree Diploma in Business Studies (PDDB) is a 1 year post-degree program which provides an opportunity for students who already possess an undergraduate degree to hone their managerial skills to meet the challenges of the global business environment. Students may select concentrations in Accounting, Entrepreneurship, Financial Services, General Management, Human Resource Management, International Business, Management and Leadership, Marketing, and Not-for-Profit Management, or following a consultation with the PDDB academic advisor, take a personalized program of courses that suits their interests.

The program also offers an avenue for students who wish to pursue graduate studies but need to develop a stronger academic background. To ensure a higher degree of success in the MBA program, it is strongly suggested that students take courses from the five disciplines that form the MBA program. The disciplines involved are Accounting, Economics, Finance, Management and Marketing. For more details, please see the PDDB academic advisor.

This program is designed for university graduates who have earned an appropriate discipline-based undergraduate degree and who wish to become professionally certified teachers. This is a 1½-year post-degree, 62 credit professional program leading to a Bachelor of Education that can only be earned as a second degree. The Secondary option is also available to applicants without an undergraduate degree who hold Red Seal certification in acceptable teaching areas. Course work and field experience is completed over three full-time semesters with intake only occurring in the Fall of each academic year. All academic courses are delivered on campus in Nanaimo and does not run during the summer months.

Applicants can apply for the elementary and/or secondary teaching option(s). Coursework will have either an elementary or secondary focus with supporting practicums. Either option will prepare applicants for teaching at the middle school level.

The program is designed to prepare graduates to be well-qualified beginning teachers. Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will be recommended to the Teacher Certification Branch (TCB) at the BC Ministry of Education for ‘professional certification’. This certification is required for employment in any BC public, independent or BC Offshore school.