Selkirk College

International Applications

Choosing where to attend post-secondary is a big decision-we’re so glad you’re applying to Selkirk College!

We’ll walk you through the application process. If you do not have Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status, you will need to apply as an international student, regardless of whether you are in Canada or still in your home country. Please note that a provincial attestation letter (PAL) is now a required document for most study permit applications. See step 6 for more details.

If you have any questions, please get in touch.

1. Choose a program

Get career ready with a postgraduate program, explore transfer opportunities or choose from one of over 80 nationally recognized programs.

2. Find out the admission requirements and English language proficiency requirements

English Language Program admission requirements

To apply to the English Language Program, you need to meet one of these requirements:

• Be at least 18 years of age.
• Have completed high school.
• Have special permission from Selkirk International.

There are no English language proficiency requirements for entry into the English Language Program.

College program admission requirements

For direct entry into Selkirk College programs, you must:

• Meet English language proficiency requirements.
• Meet program and course prerequisite requirements, including math requirements.
• For some programs, take the Computerized Placement Tool (CPT) test.

English language proficiency requirements

If you need assistance to meet college or program admission requirements, check out these programs:

• English Language Program
• Academic Upgrading & Development

3. Know your timelines

Most programs accept applications 12 months before the start date. Acceptance to these programs is based on your application date and completion of program admission requirements. Apply early to ensure a seat in your program as some popular programs have a waitlist.

Please allow time for visa processing and study permit processing where appropriate. Access study permit processing times.

4. Apply to Selkirk College

There are two ways to apply. You can either apply online through EducationPlannerBC or you can apply directly to Selkirk College.

Apply Online

Apply online through EducationPlannerBC.

Once your application has been received, we will contact you with a list of documents you need to submit. Submit your supporting documents, including transcripts, test scores, passport ID page and a resume (if applicable). All these documents must be scanned and sent via email.

We’ll be in touch. If all entry requirements are met, we will issue a conditional letter of acceptance. This letter will outline your tuition fees.

EducationPlannerBC

Apply Directly

Apply with a Selkirk College application package.

Submit your supporting documents, including transcripts, test scores, passport ID page and a resume (if applicable). All these documents must be scanned and sent via email.

Once your application has been received, we will contact you with your student number and instructions to login to your student account.

Login to your student account and the pay the $100 application fee. Notify us to let us know that it has been paid. If all entry requirements have been met, we will issue a conditional letter of acceptance.

Application Form

5. Pay tuition and fees

Tuition and fees for international students are due when you are accepted. We can only issue an unconditional offer letter when your tuition and fees have been paid.

Your seat will not be held until your tuition and fees have been paid. Tuition and fees can be paid by credit card, bank transfer or through EducationPlannerBC.

Find out more about due dates, how to pay, and refunds and withdrawals.

6. Apply for a study permit

Along with a study permit, find out about work permits, visa extensions and more. If you program has co-op education or work placement, you will need to apply for a work permit.

Study Permit, Co-op Work Permit & Visa

On January 22, 2024, IRCC announced that international students applying for a study permit must include a provincial attestation letter (PAL) in addition to other documents when submitting their study permit application. This is a new requirement.

Find out more about who needs a PAL and how to obtain one.

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Our Story

The Selkirk College community draws its identity and purpose from the mountains, forests, animals and water around us. The land sustains us and shapes how we teach, learn and innovate. Our respect for the First Nations who steward these lands inspires our commitment to innovative, sustainable practices, reciprocity and the responsible use of resources.

Here, students gain practical, real-world experience that prepares them to adapt and thrive in a changing world. Through partnerships with local businesses, organizations and communities, they learn problem-solving, industry-leading practices and the relationship-building skills they need to succeed.

Our interconnected services support academic and personal growth. We strive to create a safe and inclusive environment where everyone belongs.

Selkirk College offers a distinctive post-secondary experience grounded in land and community.

A Career with Purpose

Selkirk College is committed to providing a stimulating, rewarding and supportive work environment so that we can continue to inspire lifelong learning through education and training. We value every employee at Selkirk College as they are each essential to the success of our learners and our college.

Why Choose Selkirk College?

Selkirk College employs more than 450 people and educates more than 2,300 full-time students and almost 12,000 students each year, including community learners.

Where We Are

Our campuses and learning centres are located in Castlegar, Nelson, Trail, Grand Forks, Kaslo and Nakusp in the heart of the British Columbia Interior. Each community is unique, but they share stunning natural beauty, vibrant culture and a plethora of recreation opportunities.

Selkirk College acknowledges that we operate and serve in the traditional territories of the First Nations of the West Kootenay and Boundary regions: the Sinixt (Lakes), the Syilx (Okanagan), the Ktunaxa and the Secwépemc (Shuswap) Peoples. The mountains, rivers, lakes and lands of these territories have sustained life and human communities since time immemorial. Learning and education have been part of this land for millennia.

Selkirk College is grateful to the keepers of these territories where we live and learn, and the wisdom and beauty that surrounds us. Selkirk College is honoured to work with an engaged and proud Métis community who make the West Kootenay and Boundary regions their home.

Who We Are

Selkirk College is committed to building an environment that celebrates diversity, fosters inclusion, provides culturally safe spaces and empowers underrepresented voices. We are proud of the Indigenization Plan and Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Action Plan that guide our work, and we actively seek to hire candidates whose values and experiences align with the principles and goals of these plans.

We recognize the need for interventions to overcome systemic barriers to enable inclusion, participation and belonging for individuals with diverse lived experiences. Candidates who don’t have the exact experience or credentials listed in a job posting should still consider applying for roles where they think they’d make a great fit. We are looking for more than what a resumé can show.

A Culture of Inclusion

We encourage applications from members of groups that have been or are currently marginalized on any grounds, including those enumerated under the BC Human Rights Code, such as sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and status or non-status First Nation, Inuit or Métis identity.

Selkirk College supports applicants with disabilities and will accommodate a candidate’s accessibility needs during the recruitment process in accordance with the BC Human Rights Code and the Accessible British Columbia Act. If you need any adjustments to participate as a candidate in the recruitment process, please contact us.

Candidates must be eligible to work in Canada to accept a job offer. Permanent jobs are open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, unless otherwise stated in the posting. Candidates with a valid work permit may be eligible for temporary work over the duration of their work permit.

Board of Governors

In practice, the management of the college on a day-to-day basis is done by the college administration, headed by the president, who is appointed by the Board of Governors. By legislation, the Selkirk College Board of Governors is responsible for management, administration and control of the property, revenue, business and affairs of the college.

Selkirk College Board of Governors

Board members play an important role, flowing from their responsibility as trustees of the public interest. The board carries out these activities through monthly board meetings which are open to the public. Review the latest board meeting minutes.

The Board of Governors is composed of external members who reflect the various sectors of the community served by the college and several internal members representing students, faculty, support staff plus the president. Meet the board members.

Examples of board activities include:

• Adoption of policies for the delivery of high-quality instruction and efficient management of the college.
• Approval of programs of instruction, operating and capital budgets.
• Monitoring of college performance in key educational and administrative areas.
• Appointment of advisory committees to ensure continuing relevance of college programs.

BC Education Quality Assurance (EQA)

Selkirk College has been EQA designated since the launch of the BC Education Quality Assurance program in 2010. EQA is a quality assurance designation that identifies BC public and private post-secondary institutions that have met or exceeded provincial government recognized quality assurance standards and offer consumer protection.

History

Selkirk College acknowledges our respect for and deep gratitude to the First Nations of the West Kootenay and Boundary regions: the Sinixt (Lakes), the Syilx (Okanagan), the Ktunaxa and the Secwepemc (Shuswap) peoples on whose traditional territories we are honoured to operate.

An Ecosystem for Education

The Skattebo Education Forest has a fascinating pre- and post-colonial history. Doukhobors settled in Glade in the early 20th century and established a thriving community amid acres of farmland.

In 1993, Teck Cominco (now Teck Resources), the former owner of the Skattebo lands, transferred the forest to Crown ownership. With the support of then-Nelson-Creston MLA Corky Evans, Selkirk College asked for a Crown Grant of the land. Public consultation with community members from Glade and Thrums and other user groups established unanimous support for the transfer.

On July 2001, Selkirk College was offered the Skattebo lands through a free Crown Grant limited to educational purposes. Since then, Selkirk College students have had the opportunity to learn, research and practice their skills in an accessible, richly diverse ecosystem.

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International Tuition & Fees

Affordable tuition is one of the many reasons that students choose to study here.

Find Your Fees

Find out your tuition and fees by visiting your program page. Select the tab “Tuition & Fees” and then “International.”

International students 2023/24 and 2024/25

Tuition fees for credit courses are based on course hours. The amounts indicated are approximate.

• School of Arts & Technology
• School of Business
• School of Environment & Geomatics
• School of Health & Human Services
• School of Hospitality & Tourism
• School of Industry & Trades Training
• School of University Arts & Sciences
• Selkirk International

Due Dates

Your tuition and fees are due when you are accepted. We can only issue an unconditional offer letter when your tuition and fees have been paid. Your seat will not be held until your tuition and fees have been paid.

How to Pay

Tuition and fees can be paid by credit card, bank transfer, Flywire or through your Selkirk College Student Record after you have received a student number.

Refunds

Before you pay your tuition and fees, please read Selkirk College Policy 8616: Student Withdrawal and Refunds.

New international students

International students who are in their first semester are not eligible for a refund of their semester/course tuition. The non-refundable seat deposit, which is the portion Selkirk College will retain if you choose not to attend, is equivalent to the normal 15-week semester program tuition regardless of your semester start date. International students who are enrolled and withdraw after the semester begins will also forfeit college fees. Please refer to the International Refund Policy attached with your letter of conditional acceptance (LOC) or letter of acceptance (LOA) for further details.

Students wishing to change their Selkirk College program after arriving in Canada must obtain the written approval of the school chair or dean and registrar to transfer their enrolment and tuition payment to another Selkirk College program.

Selkirk College cannot guarantee that program change requests will be accommodated.

Returning students

Refunds are based on the date the completed Program Withdrawal Form is received in the Enrolment Office.

Please see Withdraw Dates for more information.

Deferrals

If you wish to defer your application and any fees that have been paid to the next semester, you must do so in writing prior to the start of the semester.

An applicant who has been accepted into a program and paid their seat deposit may request a deferral of their program start date for a period of up to 12 months from the accepted program start date. Deferral for more than 12 months requires the applicant to reapply.

Study permit denied

Full refunds, less an administration fee, will be provided to students who do not receive their Canadian study permit. Students must notify Selkirk College in writing prior to the start of the semester and provide a scanned, notarized copy of the original letter from the Canadian Embassy stating the reasons the visa was denied.

Getting your refund

If you pay by international wire transfer, you will receive a refund by wire transfer or other mechanism that ensures prompt payment of the refund. The cost of the wire transfer will be deducted from the refund amount.

If your tuition and other fees are paid by a sponsor or relative, the refund will be sent to the same account and/or person it was received from-unless other directions are received in writing. No further documentation will be required. If your sponsor or relative are in Canada, the refund will be issued by cheque.

It is the student’s responsibility to provide the college with adequate information to complete the wire transfer.

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International Scholarships

Studying and working abroad can be an incredibly enriching experience, but the cost can be intimidating. ​Support is available! Explore several scholarships that can help cover the costs, including tuition, accommodation and more.

One World Scholarships: $2,000-$5,000

These scholarships are given to students who travel internationally and earn credits that are a formal part of their credential program.

• The international experience must be an integral part of your program such as a co-op, field study, or courses that transfer back to your program at Selkirk College.
• The international program must be at least three weeks long.
• Learn more about eligibility requirements.

To apply, print off the application form and submit all required documents to the study abroad coordinator before the deadline. Deadlines for applications:

• November 15
• February 15
• April 15

Find Out More

Nagoya University of Foreign Studies Student Exchange Scholarship

60,000 yen per month

• Each year, two Selkirk College students receive this scholarship to study at the Nagoya University of Foreign Studies (NUFS) for one to two semesters.
• This scholarship is a stipend of 60,000 yen per month to help cover living expenses, accommodation and food.
• The students pay Selkirk College tuition and do not have to pay any additional tuition in Japan. (Tuition in Japan is approximately $5,500/ semester).
• Students are selected and nominated by Selkirk College.
• To apply, contact the study abroad coordinator.

Deadline for applications:

• April 1

Japan Association of Student Services Organization (JASSO) Scholarships

Additional 20,000 yen per month

• The JASSO scholarships are awarded on a rotating basis to visiting international students. Selkirk College students are nominated every few years for this award.
• The additional 20,000 yen per month is added to the 60,000 yen per month of the NUFS Student exchange scholarship, totalling 80,000 yen per month. Students also receive a small settlement amount of about 80,000 yen when they first arrive.
• Selkirk College receives a nomination form from NUFS every few years, and is able to nominate a student of high academic standing for this additional scholarship.

Premier’s International Scholarship (One World): $8,000-$12,000

Ten to twenty scholarships are awarded throughout the province each year on the basis of merit each year to students wishing to pursue post-secondary education outside of Canada or the United States.

The student must be enrolled in an academic program that leads to a credential (degree or diploma) that requires at least two years of full-time study to complete. Deadlines for applications:

• April 15

To apply, print off the application form and submit all required documents to the study abroad coordinator before the deadline. Applicants must meet all the Ike Barber One World Scholarship criteria as well as the following additional criteria:

• The study/work abroad program begins between May of the current year and April of the following year.
• The study/work abroad program is a minimum of one semester in length.
• The student has achieved a B+ or equivalent academic standing.

Find Out More HideSelkirk College Study Abroad Awards

Thanks to the generosity of donors, Selkirk College offers two study abroad awards. Study abroad awards are available to students interested in studying abroad to help with these costs.

Devin Turner Spirit of Adventure: $500

This award is designed to inspire and support international educational adventures for Canadian students from Selkirk College. The award is presented to a Canadian student in any full-time program who is embarking on an international travel component (academic exchange, work practicum, field studies course, continuing education (to receive a degree/diploma, etc.).

Val Trembley Study Abroad Award: $1,000

This award is presented to a Selkirk College student who is participating in an international academic exchange, work term, or study abroad experience. The successful recipient must be enrolled as a Selkirk College student at the time of application. Please note that international is defined as any country outside of Canada. Students who apply for Ike Barber One World Scholarships will be automatically considered for these awards.

To apply contact the study abroad coordinator.

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Frequently Asked Questions: Immigration & Permits

Please be aware that the details posted here are based on information available as of December 18, 2024. For the most up-to-date information, please refer to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

International students are a welcome and vital part of the Selkirk College community, and our team is here to support you. Please connect with us if you have any questions.

I’m a current student. Am I still eligible for the post-graduation work permit (PGWP)?

If the student doesn’t need to extend a study permit on or after November 1, 2024, they do not need to meet the field of study requirement.

If the student applies for a study permit extension under the same program of study as the study permit they applied for before November 1, 2024, they do not need to meet the field of study requirement.

If the student applies for a study permit extension under a different program of study than the study permit they applied for before November 1, 2024, their study permit extension application must meet the field of study requirements applicable to their study program to be eligible for a PGWP.

Please check IRCC for more details.

I’m a current student. Do I have to write an IELTS/PTE/CELPIP test before I apply for a PGWP?

Yes, as of November 1, 2024, all applicants for a PGWP must submit an IELTS/PTE/CELPIP test score that is equivalent to CLB 5 (Canadian Language Benchmark).

I’m a future, prospective student. What are the changes to the PGWP eligibility that affect me?

Students who apply for a study permit after November 1, 2024, will have the new PGWP eligibility rules applied. Please see the IRCC news release regarding upcoming changes to PGWP eligibility. IRCC will officially update eligibility and other rules regarding the PGWP, so please consult the most recent updates regarding PGWP eligibility.

Which programs are eligible for the PGWP?

Find out which programs may be eligible for the PGWP.

How is the college responding to international education policy changes?

BC Colleges and Colleges & Institutes Canada (CICan) have both released formal statements addressing the impacts of the federal government’s new caps on international student enrolment and changes to work permit eligibility.

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