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Early Learning and Child Care – certificate

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Early Learning and Child Care – certificate

Program requirements for January 2025

Academic requirements
  • Language Arts – this requirement can be met with any of the following, or an equivalent course:
    • 60% in English Language Arts 30-1
    • 60% in English Language Arts 30-2
    • 60% in ESLG 1860
    • 60% in ESLG 1898
                  OR
  • Academic Assessment - Applicants who have submitted an application may be able to meet their academic requirements with a free assessment. Click here for more details or email student.advisor@norquest.ca to meet with an advisor.

Note: Academic admission requirements are different from English language proficiency requirements. NorQuest College English for Academic Purposes courses may be used to meet both requirements. See below for details.

Missing some of the admission requirements? Our new Open Admissions Pathways for Community Studies provides an alternative way for you to start your studies quickly and enter your program.
English language proficiency requirements

If English is your second language, you must provide proof of English language proficiency before admission. These results must be no more than two years old when you start your program.

Test scores we accept:

  • IELTS Academic: 6.5; no section score below 6
  • TOEFL iBT: 84; no section score below 21
  • Cambridge English Language Assessment: 180; no section score below 165
  • CAEL: 70; no section score below 70
  • PTE Academic: 59; no section score below 56
  • Duolingo: 115
  • minimum of:

This program offers open admission pathways for students seeking to further their education. These pathways allow students to enrol in programs and courses without the need for formal prerequisites or entrance exams.

Practicum/work experience requirements

Before you attend your practicum, you will need:

You must be 18 years of age or older in order to obtain these documents. All documentation must be uploaded using the self-serve Student Document Attachment tile on your MyQuest Student Homepage 45-days prior to the start of your field experience. If you are unable to submit the required documentation by the deadline, you may be required to defer your practicum until you are able to provide them.

These checks are needed for Practicum 2, 3, and 4 of the program, and may not be dated more than six months before each practicum start date.

There may be costs associated with completing these requirements. See Completing work, practicum, and clinical requirements for details and further instructions.

International students: You must get a co-op work permit before beginning the work-integrated learning component of the program. A medical exam may also be needed. See Co-op work permit for more information.

Progression and graduation

Students must receive a passing grade in each course to progress through the program.To remain in good academic standing, a minimum term grade point average (GPA) of 2.00 and a passing grade in all Pass/Fail courses (no WF or F) is required.

The Academic Standing Policy and Procedure provide further details on the categories of academic standing, and the consequences and supports available if a student is not in good academic standing. A minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.00 in the program’s courses is required to qualify for graduation.

Honours criteria

  • Overall grade point average (GPA) greater than or equal to 3.7
  • The student must not have failed or repeated any courses

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