Admission Requirements

General Admission Criteria

All applicants to Guildford College programs must satisfy the following requirements:

1. Educational Foundation

Successful completion of one of the following:

  • High school diploma or Adult Graduation Diploma; OR
  • Applicants who will reach the age of nineteen (19) years on or before the program start date; OR
  • Applicants under nineteen (19) years of age on or before the program start date with parental or guardian consent.

Applicants under nineteen (19) years of age must have completed Grade 12 (high school graduation). A parent or legal guardian must also sign the Student Enrolment Contract.

2. Mature Student Pathway

To qualify as a Mature Student, applicants must meet all of the following criteria:

  • Be 21 years of age or older; AND
  • Have not attended school for at least four (4) years; AND
  • Must demonstrate English proficiency as detailed below.
3. English Language Proficiency

All program applicants must demonstrate English proficiency equivalent to grade 12 level in Canada through one of the following pathways:

Option A: Secondary Education

Health Unit Clerk, Health Unit Clerk - with Practicum, and Bookkeeping & Payroll:

  • Evidence that 3 years of full-time secondary education (Grades 8-12), or 2 years if the Grades are 10, 11, or 12, have been successfully completed in the program's language of instruction in a country where the language of instruction is one of the principal languages. This may be demonstrated by providing a high school transcript, completion of a BC Adult Graduation program or providing international education credentials recognized through WES, ICES, or IQAS; OR

Business Administration Diploma:

  • Option A: Secondary Education (Grades 9-11): completion of grades 9-11, including English 11 with a minimum grade of "C" or higher, from a country where English is the official language of instruction; OR
Option B: Post-Secondary Education
  • Completion of 2 years of full-time post-secondary education at an accredited institution where English is the primary language of instruction; OR
Option C: Standardized Language Tests

Applicants not meeting any of the above English proficiency requirements must successfully complete one of the following standardized English language tests.

Assessment of prior education where English is the language of instruction

As an option for proof of English language proficiency, institutions may accept evidence that an applicant has successfully completed a specified minimum of full-time secondary or post-secondary education at an accredited institution where English is the language of instruction.

Documentation demonstrating this evidence must be provided in English.

The PTIRU considers education completed (in English) in the following countries as counting toward an assessment of prior education in English.

Countries Where English Education is Recognized
American Samoa Dominica Lesotho St. Kitts & Nevis
Anguilla Falkland Islands Liberia St. Lucia
Antigua and Barbuda Fiji Malta St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Australia Gambia Mauritius Tanzania
Bahamas Ghana Montserrat Trinidad & Tobago
Barbados Gibraltar New Zealand Turks & Caicos Islands
Belize Grenada Nigeria Uganda
Bermuda Guam Seychelles United Kingdom
Botswana Guyana Sierra Leone US Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands Ireland Singapore USA
Canada Jamaica South Africa Zambia
Cayman Islands Kenya St. Helena Zimbabwe

Students not meeting any of the above-mentioned English proficiency requirements will be required to meet any of the English Language tests requirements below:

Standardized English language test/assessments

The Private Training Institutions Regulatory Unit (PTIRU) considers the following standardized English language test/assessment scores to be at a level equivalent to IELTS 5.5 (academic).

Institutions are not permitted to use language tests/assessments that they developed (in-house).

Name of English language assessment/test Minimum score(s)/level(s)*
1. International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic Minimum overall score of 5.5
2. Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) IBT Minimum overall score of 46 (classic)
Health Unit Clerk, Health Unit Clerk - with Practicum, and Bookkeeping & Payroll also accept 4 on the new scoring system (effective January 21, 2026)
3. Canadian Academic English Language Assessment (CAEL) Minimum overall score of 40
4. Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) Listening 6, Speaking 6, Reading 5, and Writing 5.
5. Duolingo English Test (DET) Minimum overall score of 95
6. Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic Minimum overall score of 43
7. Cambridge English Qualifications: B2 First exam (FCE) Institutions may include other Cambridge Qualifications at a higher level (i.e., C2 Proficiency (CPE)). Minimum overall score of 160 or "C"
8. Cambridge Linguaskill Minimum overall B2 level
9. LANGUAGECERT Academic Minimum overall B2 level
10. The Michigan English Test (MET) Minimum overall B2 level
11. iTEP Academic Minimum overall score of 3.5
12. EIKEN Minimum placement of Grade Pre-1
Additional procedural requirement:

- Social Insurance Number (SIN) for T2202 Tax forms.

- Submit a copy of their highest academic achievement transcript.