Program

Academic Foundations for Potential Psychiatric Nursing Applicants (Certificate)

DOMESTIC APPLICATIONS

Summer 2025: Apply Now! 

Fall 2025:  Apply Now! 

Winter 2026:  Applications open February 3, 2025 at 9:00 am

On Education Planner BC select the program "Psychiatric Nursing - Academic Foundations for Potential Psychiatric Nursing"

Note: Effective November 18, 2024 a two-year temporary variance was approved, reducing the admission requirement to Douglas College's General College Admission Requirements. (All additional admission requirement are temporarily waived).

Faculty
Health Sciences
Department
Nursing - Psychiatric
Credits
30.00
Length of program
One year
Credential type
Certificate
Campus
New Westminster
Coquitlam
Learning format
Full-time
Part-time
Admission type
Limited Enrolment
Offered
Fall
Winter

Overview

If you plan on applying to the Bachelor of Science in Psychiatric Nursing (BSPN) at Douglas College, you will need to first complete the one-year Certificate in Academic Foundations for Potential Psychiatric Nursing Applicants. You'll take 10 university-transferable courses (30 credits) in the sciences and liberal arts that will prepare you for entrance to the BSPN program.

APPLY EARLY:  Students are admitted on a first-qualified, first-admitted basis. Applications will be accepted until the program is filled.

IMPORTANT: Acceptance to this program and completion of the required courses does NOT guarantee admission to the BSPN program. Once you have completed the required 30 credits with a minimum grade of C+ in each course, you may apply to the BSPN program.

NOTE: International students are not currently eligible for this program. For more information, contact Douglas College International.

Admissions Requirements

Applicants must meet the admission requirements listed below:

  • General College Admission Requirements
  • English 12 or English Studies 12 or English First Peoples 12 with a minimum grade of B (or acceptable substitution*)
  • Biology 11 or 12 or Life Sciences 11 or Anatomy and Physiology 12 with a minimum grade of B (or acceptable substitution*)
  • Foundations of Math 11 or 12 with a minimum grade of B (or acceptable substitution*)

*In most cases, university transfer courses completed in the above subject areas can be used toward meeting the entrance requirements.

Students offered a seat in this cohort will receive priority registration and have earlier access to the courses required for entry to the Bachelor of Science in Psychiatric Nursing (BSPN) program.

Students who are offered a seat in the cohort are not guaranteed admission to the Bachelor of Science in Psychiatric Nursing program. Students may apply to the BSPN program for the Fall or Winter semester following completion of the required 30 credits listed under the curriculum tab on this page.

Cost

Calculate your tuition and see the approximate cost of taking your program at Douglas College with the tuition & fee estimator. See costs broken down into categories including tuition fees, textbooks, student activity fees, U-Pass and more. 

For more information, refer to the tuition fee charts. 

Program Requirements

Curriculum framework

Graduation Requirements For Students Completing By Summer 2023:

  • Successful completion of 30 credits
  • 50% (15 credits) of all coursework must be completed at Douglas College if students are applying to graduate with a Certificate in Academic Foundations
  • Time limit to complete program graduation requirements: four (4) years

Graduation Requirements For Students Completing After Summer 2023:

  • Successful completion of 30 credits
  • 50% (15 credits) of all coursework must be completed at Douglas College if students are applying to graduate with a Certificate in Academic Foundations
  • Graduate in Good Academic Standing (Cumulative GPA of 1.50 – See Academic Performance Policy)
  • Time limit to complete program graduation requirements: four (4) years

A minimum grade of C+ is required in each course to be eligible to apply to the Bachelor of Science in Psychiatric Nursing program and students must complete the courses with the required grade of C+ within two (2) course attempts.

Course Requirements:

Course Number Course Title Credits

Select one course from the following three options:

BUSN 2429

Business Statistics

3.00

MATH 1160

Introduction to Statistics

3.00

PSYC 2300

Data Analysis in Psychology

3.00

Required Courses:

BIOL 1103*

Human Anatomy and Physiology I

3.00

BIOL 1203**

Human Anatomy and Physiology II

3.00

BIOL 2200

Pathophysiology

3.00

BIOL 2401

Introductory Microbiology for Health Sciences

3.00

ENGL 1130***

Academic Writing

3.00

ENGL elective (UT)***

Select any university transferable English (ENGL) course.

3.00

PSYC 1100

An Introduction to Psychology (I)

3.00

PSYC 1200

An Introduction to Psychology (II)

3.00

Elective (UT)***/****

Select any university transferable course.

3.00

Total Credits

 

30.00

*BIOL 1109 can be used as a substitution for BIOL 1103.

**BIOL 1209 can be used as a substitution for BIOL 1203.

***A University Transferable course is a course that transfers to one of the Research Universities - SFU, UBC (UBCV or UBCO), UNBC, or UVIC in the BC Transfer Guide.

****The following courses are highly recommended for the UT elective requirements:

  • ANTH 1120: Indigenous Cultures of British Columbia
  • ANTH 1160: Indigenous Cultures of Canada
  • ANTH 2220: Anthropology of Healing 
  • HIST 1170: Global Indigenous Histories
  • HIST 2210: History of British Columbia
  • HIST 2270: History of Indigenous Peoples in Canada
  • Any course designated as meeting the Indigenous content requirement for the Certificate in Academic Foundations (Indigenous Studies)

Program Guidelines

Program Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this program and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the program, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

More Information

Order of Offers

There are a limited number of seats available for each intake of the Academic Foundations for Potential Psychiatric Nursing Applicants program, and students are admitted on a first-qualified, first-admitted basis. In the case where there are more qualified applicants than space available in a term, seats are offered to qualified students in order of highest GPA based on the three admission requirements combined.

Those that were not offered a seat in the program, would have to re-apply and would be ranked against the applicants for the next intake they apply.

Reserved Seats for Indigenous Students

A limited number of seats in the Academic Foundations in Psychiatric Nursing and Bachelor of Science in Psychiatric Nursing programs are designated for applicants who self-identify as Indigenous and meet the academic and the final admission requirements.  

Interested students should self declare when applying for the program on Education Planner BC.  For questions and support, please contact Indigenous Student Services for further details.

The application deadline date for a designated indigenous seat is February 1 for the Fall intake and June 1 for the Winter intake.

Reserved Seats for Students graduation from School District #43 and High School Applicants

There are a limited number of designated seats in the AF PNUR program for School District #43 and for other high school applicants. High school applicants apply online by the application deadline date.

Reserved Seats for Community Mental Health Work Program

In the AF PNUR program there will be a limited number of designated seats for graduates from the Douglas College Community Mental Health Work program. To be eligible for a designated seat offer, a CMHW graduate will be required to meet all academic and non-academic admission requirements for the AF PNUR program.