Centennial College; Everything You Need to know

Centennial College of Applied Arts and Technology is the oldest publicly funded college in Ontario which is a diploma and degree granting college. The college’s campuses are located on the east side of the city, specifically in Scarborough with an Aerospace center at Downsview Park in North York.

Being recognized as a culturally diverse post-secondary institution, almost 100 ethno-culture groups are represented and 80 languages are spoken on campus.

Centennial College has over 26,000 full-time and 11,124 post-time students, offering more than 260 programs, including bachelor’s degrees, diplomas, certificate, post-graduate certificate, among others. 

Brief history   

Established in 1966, Centennial College was the first community college to be opened in Ontario during the formation of the province’s public college system in the 1960s and under the direction of Minister of Education, Hon. Williams Davis. Then, the campus used a decommissioned federal building that had been renovated to serve as a teaching institution. In its development, it included the health/nutrition, hospitality, child studies and community services programs. 

Campus and residence (local and international) 

Centennial College has about 7 campuses which are Morning Campus (located in Scarborough and opened in the summer of 2004 to house joint programs with the nearby University of Toronto Scarborough), Progress Campus (it is Centennial’s largest campus located in Scarborough), Ashtonbee Campus (located at 75 Ashtonbee Road in Scarborough), Story Arts Centre (situated near the Danforth at 951 Carlaw Avenue in East York), Downsview Aerospace Hub , Suzhou Centennial College and Warden Woods (located at 651 Warden Avenue). 

Centennial College purchased the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel Toronto East in June 2001 across the street from the Progress Campus and converted the hotel building into a college residence in the time for the fall semester to put an end to shortage of affordable rental accommodation in Toronto at the time.

The rapid enrollment of the international student resulted in building new residence on the Progress Campus property. The subsequent eight-storey quadrangle building was designed to house 740 students in two-and four-bed suites, complete with a bathroom and kitchen in every suite, with all residents having their own private bedroom, surrounded by restaurant and café open to the public. 

Ranking 

As per Webometric, the Ranking Web of Universities, Centennial College has a rank of #77 in Country Ranking and #1026 in Continental Ranking. Centennial was ranked among Canada’s Top 50 Colleges in 2014, and was ranked 8th in Canada for Applied Research Activity in 2017. 

Tuition 

Having about seven campuses (Morningside Campus, Progress Campus, Ashtonbee Campus, Story Arts Center, Downsview Aerospace Hub, Suzhou Centennial College and Warden Woods), Centennial College offers full-time programs in more than 100 fields of study. The programs center on experiential learning with laboratory instruction, paid co-operative education opportunities and industry and agency field placements. 

The college offer various innovative degree programs. Five join-degree programs in paramedicine, journalism, new media studies, environmental science & technology and applied microbiology are taught in conjunction with the University of Toronto Scarborough and the Bachelor of Science Nursing program is carried jointly with Ryerson University. School of Advancement; Business School; School of Communications Media Arts and Design; School of Engineering, Technology and Applied Science; School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts and School of Transportation are all schools under Centennial College. 

Admission requirements 

In the quest to enroll in Diploma of advance diploma program at Centennial College, applicant should take note of the following requirements;

• An Ontario Secondary Diploma (OSSD) or an OSSD Equivalency 
• If applicant do not have an OSSD, but is 19 years of age or older, should apply as a mature applicant. 
• Any credit, courses and minimum grades to satisfy your program’s specific requirements, as well as additional requirements like portfolios, auditions, writing samples, math test, interviews, or attending on-campus admission sessions. For many programs, applicant can meet the English and mathematic academic requirements by taking a skills assessment. 

Bachelor Degree Program requirements; 

• An Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or an OSSA Equivalency with a minimum of six 12U, 12M and OAC credits. 
• If applicant do not have an OSSD, but is 21 years of age or older, may be eligible to apply as a mature applicant. 
• For degree programs, all academic requirements must be met at the “U” or “M” level, or equivalent. 

Applicants applying for a Modified Apprenticeship or Co-op Apprenticeship Program needs: 

• An Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or GED OSSD Equivalency. 
• Any credits, courses and minimum grades to satisfy your program’s specific requirements, as well as additional requirements like portfolios, auditions, writing samples, math tests, interviews, or attending on-campus admission sessions. 

Fast-track or Graduate Certificate Program should note the following requirements;

• A university degree or three-year college diploma. 
• Some programs require applicant to have completed post-secondary courses like English or math before applying. 
• Any program-specific requirements needed prior to admission, which may include portfolios, auditions, writing samples, 9nterviews or English and math admission testing. 

Acceptance rate 

Centennial College is mainly known for its Graduate Certificate and Diploma Courses; hence it is moderately selective in its application process with an acceptance rate of 67%. The college has a requirement of minimum 2.0/4 GPA (75%) for applying as an Indian student. For admission to Graduate Certificate courses, students need to submit a minimum GPA of 3.0 (85%).  

Notable alumni 

Education in Centennial College being geared to the wellbeing and bright future of its student, the college has yield popular alumni like Sports Shooter, Diana Cabrera; Comedy Actor, John Candy; Businesswoman and Politician, Elinor Caplan; Journalist, Jeffrey Dvorkin; Canadian Senator, Tobias Enverga, just to mention a few. 

Centennial College; Everything You Need to know by SchoolsinOntario