Community Outreach & Development worker consulting with a client

Ontario College Diploma

Community Worker – Outreach and Development

Duration

This program is not currently offered. However, you may be interested in our Social Service Worker or Child and Youth Care programs.

Bring positive change to communities from the grassroots up.

Program Overview

Essential training

This program teaches you how to facilitate and organize a grassroots effort, equipping you with skills to empower a local, regional or international community to bring about change. You'll get real-world experience through the program's 575+ hours of field placement, and you'll benefit from our professors' strong connections in the community.

What you'll learn

  • Community engagement and leadership
  • Advocacy and conflict resolution
  • Partnership and coalition building
  • Human rights and community organizing
  • Fundraising and grant writing

University links

The Community Worker – Outreach and Development diploma program has an articulation agreement with Athabasca University. Credits count towards the Bachelor of Professional Arts in the Human Service Major program.

Additional information

You’ll also gain skills and knowledge in:

  • Facilitating groups and workshops
  • Health promotion
  • Applied research
  • Program planning
  • Participatory community development
  • Community economic development
  • Developing and conducting surveys
  • Non-profit marketing

Professors are experienced community workers. In addition to full academic qualifications, all have strong connections in the community.

Field placement

In Year 2 you'll engage in a placement that will help build your employability skill-set. You'll spend two days per week in field placement in Term 3, and in Term 4 field placement is three days per week plus one block week.

Awards

Awards are granted in this program based on community leadership and academic excellence.


PCWOD

Courses

Creative, innovative learning is at the core of all Sheridan’s courses. Here are the courses you’ll take in this program.

  • CODE TITLE CREDITS
    PSRV 13566 Conflict Resolution and Peace Building 3
    SOCI 13767 Human Rights and Community Organizing 3
    PSRV 12511 Community Engagement 3
    CSRV 10016 Introduction to Community Worker 3
    COMM 19999 Essential Communications 3
    General Education Elective 3

    Total credits: 18

  • CODE TITLE CREDITS
    CSRV 14601 Foundations of Counselling 3
    CSRV 12935 Community Advocacy 3
    CSRV 14115 Community Based Research 3
    CSRV 10738 Group Facilitation 3
    FLPL 10065 Field Preparation – CWOD 3
    General Education Elective 3

    Total credits: 18

  • CODE TITLE CREDITS
    HEAL 17629 Community Health Promotion 3
    PSRV 15037 Program Planning and Evaluation  3
    PSRV 18783 Fundraising and Grant Writing (Blended) 3
    FLPL 21044 Practicum 1: CWOD 11

    Total credits: 20

  • CODE TITLE CREDITS
    CSRV 20441 Advanced Issues in Community Work 3
    CSRV 12903 Non-Profit Marketing and Community Outreach 3
    FLPL 21632 Practicum 2: CWOD 11
    General Education Elective 3

    Total credits: 20

  • CODE TITLE CREDITS
    PSRV 13566 Mediation and Conflict Resolution 3
    CSRV 12903 Non-Profit Marketing and Community Outreach 3
    PSRV 18783 Fundraising and Grantwriting 3
    BUSM 11249 Community Leadership 3
    FLPL 28350 Practicum Seminar 1 2
    FLPL 29901 Practicum 1 8

    Total credits: 22

  • CODE TITLE CREDITS
    CSRV 20441 Advanced Issues in Community Development 3
    PSRV 15037 Program Planning and Evaluation 3
    FLPL 25524 Practicum Seminar 2: Community Outreach 3
    FLPL 22361 Practicum 2: Community Outreach 9
    General Education Elective 3

    Total credits: 21

Courses subject to change.

Current students should refer to their ⁠Academic Requirements in myStudentCentre to track their academic progress and outstanding course requirements.

Admission Requirements

Program Eligibility

Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent, including these required courses:

  • One English, Grade 12 (ENG4C or ENG4U)

or

Mature student status.

Applicant Selection

Eligible applicants will be selected on the basis of their previous academic achievement (the average of their six highest senior-level credits, including required courses).

Applicants who do not meet the admission requirements for this program may be advised individually regarding other related programs.

Criminal Record Check and Immunization Requirements

Sheridan field placement agencies may require a police record check for criminal offences, a vulnerable sector check and/or a current acceptable record of immunization. Students will be required to provide this documentation directly to their field placement prior to the start of the placement and at their own expense. Students who cannot meet these requirements may have limited field placement opportunities. Please refer to Sheridan's health services' immunization information, or come in to one of the campus health centres.

English Language Proficiency

All applicants whose first language is not English must meet Sheridan’s English proficiency requirements.

Career Opportunities

A Sheridan education enhances your job prospects. When you complete your Community Worker diploma program, you’ll be qualified to work in a variety of sectors.

Here are some areas in which you might work:

  • Community engagement
  • Conflict resolution
  • Fundraising and proposal writing
  • Health promotion
  • Non-profit marketing
  • Program planning

Advanced Entry Challenge Exams

Get credit for what you know

Sheridan recognizes and appreciates that advanced learning doesn’t always require standard classroom instruction, and that opportunities to advance skills and learn new technologies are everywhere.

If you have significant knowledge and experience in programming, web development, database and/or networking, you may choose to complete Advanced Entry Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (AEPLAR) Challenge Exams for academic credit towards your Sheridan Computer Systems Technology advanced diploma.

How do Challenge Exams work?

AEPLAR Challenge Exams are administered by and through the Sheridan College Assessment Centre or through an approved Test Centre. There are fees to write each exam (an Assessment Centre fee and a Challenge Exam fee).

Your completed Challenge Exam(s) will be evaluated to determine whether you’re eligible for credit in one or more courses within the identified program streams.

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) and Advanced Standing credits are subject to Sheridan’s policies and procedures. Learn more about Sheridan’s Credit Transfer policies and procedures.

I have previous postsecondary education. Should I write a Challenge Exam?

No. Challenge Exams are designed for applicants with knowledge and experience gained outside of formal education. If you have previous postsecondary education, we encourage you to apply for Advanced Standing instead — you may be eligible to apply your previously earned credits towards your new program at Sheridan.

What subjects can I complete Challenge Exams for?

Challenge Exams for applicants to the Computer Systems Technology – Software Development and Network Engineering program are designed to test skills in specific knowledge streams within this program:

  • Programming – Introductory
  • Programming – .NET
  • Programming – Advanced Java
  • Networking
  • Web Development
  • Operating Systems
  • Databases
  • Software Design
  • Mobile App Development – Android
  • Mobile App Development – iOS
  • Game Development – UNITY
  • Wireless

You can also choose to complete Challenge Exams for specific individual courses within the Computer Systems Technology program.

Complete a free self-assessment test to help you determine whether Challenge Exams are a good option for you.

How do I apply to complete a Challenge Exam?

Step 1: Make sure you meet the program admission requirements

You must meet the program admission requirements to be eligible for admission and PLAR.

Step 2: Complete a free self-assessment

Complete a free self-assessment test for each knowledge stream you wish to challenge. This will help you determine whether your current skills will enable you to succeed in the Challenge Exam(s).

Step 3: Apply to Sheridan's Computer Systems Technology advanced diploma program

Apply to the Computer Systems Technology – Software Development and Network Engineering program.

To be eligible to complete Challenge Exams for this program, you must select "Advanced Entry" as the level of the program on your application.

Step 4: Follow the instructions to complete your Challenge Exam(s)

Once Sheridan receives your application, we’ll send you an email with instructions on how to register and pay for your Challenge Exam(s). Follow those instructions.

Once you’ve completed your Challenge Exam(s), subject matter experts in Sheridan’s Faculty of Applied Science and Technology will evaluate them within 10 business days. The Faculty will forward your results to the Office of the Registrar, and any approved credit transfers will be posted in your Credit Transfer centre. Exam feedback will not be provided.

Step 5: Accept your offer of admission and pay your program fees

If you receive an offer of admission to Sheridan, please follow the instructions to confirm your offer and pay your fees by the due dates indicated in order to reserve your spot in the program.

We wish you success in this process and look forward to seeing you at Sheridan!

Program Fees

Fees shown here are estimates only. Fees are in Canadian dollars and include tuition, health insurance and ancillary charges.

The fees shown here are for the 2023–2024 academic year, and are subject to change. The fees displayed are for the first two (2) academic terms of study at Sheridan unless otherwise noted; fees for subsequent terms are not reflected on this website.

Financial Aid & Awards

Your education is a big investment, and we're here to help! Keep an eye on our Financial Aid & Awards page for regular updates, and check out these important links:

International Entrance Scholarship

All new international students beginning their full-time postsecondary studies (ESL and programs with tuition reduction excluded) in Spring 2023, Fall 2023 or Winter 2024 semesters in Year 1 (Semester 1) will receive an entrance scholarship ranging from $500 to $2,000.

Learning Outcomes

Program Outcomes:

  • Work with communities to build change strategies that promote social and economic justice and challenge patterns of oppression and discrimination.
  • Create a community engagement plan utilizing principles of community leadership and volunteer management.
  • Plan, design and manage a fundraising project using creative and effective techniques and strategies.
  • Develop competency in community work roles ranging from direct service to classical advocacy and organizing.
  • Analyze social inequalities and demonstrate creativity in meeting community needs.
  • Develop and maintain positive working relationships with colleagues, supervisors, and community partners.
  • Develop a community outreach plan in response to a community issue using marketing techniques with a social justice lens.
  • Facilitate conflict resolution and consensus building among groups and individuals through effective mediation strategies and skills.

Frequently Asked Questions

Financial Planning Certification

Professional Sales Certificate

Program Transition

Earn your Masters degree

Transfer Opportunities

Clinical Placements

Articulation Agreements

Educational philosophy

Sheridan's Honours Bachelor of Interior Design curriculum and its delivery are designed to address current social issues pertinent to the design industry. This enables students to broaden their understanding of their place within the world.

Fundamental to the vision of the program is the balance of creative and conceptual thinking with the technical and business aspects of the profession. Courses follow a logical sequence with the degree of difficulty building vertically from first year to fourth year.

The various streams provide a range of design problems building in size and scope, from simple to complex in various design sectors. The curriculum builds on fundamental introductions that ensures a strong foundation for students to apply additional more complex learning and skills developed later in the program.

Studio projects are designed to mimic professional practice and require applied theory, creativity and strong technical knowledge. Curriculum is also connected horizontally across each semester to help support the learning in courses happening simultaneously. This demonstrates the inter-connected knowledge and skills required to practice in the industry.

The program provides many opportunities that expose students to practicing professionals and professional practice. Industry leaders and representatives from professional associations like ARIDO and IDC are invited into the classroom as jurors and guest speakers throughout the four years. The internship also provides professional design work experience for students before they enter their final year of study.

The curriculum is student-centric and designed to equip students with the skills that are required for entry-level design positions and advanced study. Manual skills such as drafting, drawing and model making are developed alongside digital skills using current software. Students are also well-versed in the applicable building codes and regulations required to practice in Ontario. Students are exposed to valuable research skills and encouraged to continue their learning past graduation.

Program goals

Sheridan's Honours Bachelor of Interior Design program aspires to:

  • Develop confident, creative and critical thinkers that can solve a variety of problems thoughtfully, improving the quality of the built environment and protecting the health, safety and welfare of the public.
  • Equip students with the tools to think independently and ethically to ensure technically, environmentally, and socially responsible decision-making.
  • Deliver current and relevant curriculum that incorporates equity, diversity and inclusion. This encourages students to create spaces that foster inclusivity and look at design from various perspectives within diverse communities, involving numerous stakeholders.
  • Inform students regarding the various facets of the profession, engaging them with designers and industry affiliates.
  • Encourage continuous professional and personal growth, instilling a desire to contribute to the profession and society at large. The program encourages students to become active participants in the design community, become members of their local Association, write their NCIDQ exams, give back to the community and become progressive leaders in the profession.
  • Prepare graduates for entry-level design positions, equipped with the required knowledge and skills for employment in the diverse design industry, ensuring they possess the body of knowledge necessary to respond to social and environmental issues, while designing interior spaces that are technically proficient, code-compliant, conceptually strong, sustainable and all-inclusive.
  • Provide enhanced opportunities for students to pursue post-graduate studies, employment, research and/or further their academic studies and/or credentials.

Pathways from Athletic Therapy and Kinesiology

If you've graduated from a health-science degree other than athletic therapy or kinesiology, your application will be assessed on an individual basis.

Get your Osteopathy degree in less time

If you're a graduate of Sheridan's Athletic Therapy or Kinesiology degree program, you may be eligible to start in the second year of this program after completing three bridging courses.

This bridging program will be available in Spring/Summer 2024.

How to apply: Submit an application using the program code PBHSB.

Bridging courses (Spring/Summer Semester)

  • OSTP 17927D: The Science of Osteopathy (3 credits)
  • OSTP 14859: Theoretical Pathways to Osteopathy (5 credits)
  • OSTP 16333: Practical Pathways to Osteopathy (1 credit)

Course exceptions

After successfully completing the assigned bridging courses, you'll be admitted into Year 2 (Semester 3) of our Osteopathy degree. In order to earn your Osteopathy degree, you'll need to complete all courses in the remaining three years of the program, with the following exceptions.

You will additionally take:

  • Year 2: OSTP 11271D: Clinical Methodology (3 credits)
  • Year 2: SCIE 22437D: Human Physiology for Allied Health (2 credits)
  • Year 3: SCIE 31116D: Pathophysiology for Allied Health (3 credits)

You will not need to take:*

  • SCIE 26661D: Pathophysiology 1 (3 credits)
  • OSTP 24645D: Structure & Function 2 – Lower Cervicals, Thorax & Upper Extremity (3 credits)
  • OSTP 22482D: Applied Clinical Practice 2 (1 credit)
  • FLPL 21839D: Internship Prep (1 credit)
  • SCIE 39622D: Pathophysiology 2 – Systemic Interactions (3 credits)
  • RESE 37626D: Statistical Methods in Health Sciences (3 credits)
  • RESE 42279D: Applied Research Methods for Health Sciences (3 credits)
  • BUSM 44956D: Business Entrepreneurship for Clinical Practitioners (3 credits)
  • 6 Degree Breadth Electives (3 credits each)

*Athletic Therapy graduates are also exempt from the following course:

  • OSTP 20782D: Clinical Experience 2 (0.5 credits)

Program Mission

Our mission is to utilize harmonious, comprehensive and specialized training to empower our learners with the knowledge, skills and attitude required to demonstrate the Professional Competencies for Canadian Pharmacy Technicians at Entry to Practice.

Program Vision

Our vision is to graduate highly-skilled life-long learners who uphold professional integrity and promote quality and safety in practice.

Critical Performance Statement

Upon graduation, students in Sheridan’s Pharmacy Technician diploma program will have demonstrated the ability to pursue the career of pharmacy technician and to practice safely in a community or hospital while adhering to the scope of practice for pharmacy technicians.

Writer-in-Residence program

Each year, Sheridan’s Honours Bachelor of Creative Writing & Publishing (CW&P) program hosts a Writer-in-Residence. The 8-month residency is awarded to a writer who embodies the distinctiveness and dynamism of the & in our program name.

In addition to working on at least one specific writing project of their own during their tenure, the Writer-in-Residence is responsible for creative leadership, mentoring and public outreach in the area of creative writing and/or publishing.

How our Writer-in-Residence supports Sheridan students

Students in our CW&P program benefit from the work and mentorship of our Writer-in-Residence, who:

  • shares their expertise and experience as a creative professional and working writer;
  • performs public readings from their recently published work and/or current work-in-progress;
  • organizes public lectures and/or workshops; and
  • works with faculty to augment existing curriculum in the area of creative writing, publishing and/or creativity.

2023–24 Writer-in-Residence

Kate Cayley, Sheridan's Writer-in-Residence

Award-winning fiction writer, playwright and poet Kate Cayley is joining Sheridan as the 2023–24 CW&P Writer-in-Residence.

Cayley has published two short story collections and three collections of poetry, and her plays have been performed in Canada, the U.S. and the UK. She has won the Trillium Book Award, an O. Henry Prize and the Mitchell Prize for Poetry, and been a finalist for the Governor General’s Award for Fiction, the Firecracker Award for Fiction, the ReLit Award for both fiction and poetry, and the K.M. Hunter Award for Fiction.

Her writing has appeared in such literary publications as Brick, Electric Literature, Joyland, Best Canadian Poetry and Best Canadian Stories, and she has been a writer-in-residence at McMaster University and the Toronto Public Library.

"Kate’s diverse work plumbs meaning, strangeness and beauty from the spaces we inhabit, even in our domestic lives, while tackling some of the big philosophical questions we all face," says Dr. Genevieve Amaral, Associate Dean, School of Humanities and Creativity. "Our Sheridan community welcomes her capacious intellect, limpid style and wonderful mentorship with full hearts, open ears, and pens, paper and keyboards at the ready!"

From ideas to impact: a masterclass in applied creativity and innovation

Are you a business lead who's looking to level up your company's culture of creativity and entrepreneurship?

Sheridan offers FREE, one-hour masterclasses on topics such as:

  • Creative Strategies for an EDI-driven World
  • The Science of Creativity and Innovation
  • Intra- and Entrepreneurial Thinking, and
  • Creative Team Leadership

These masterclasses will catalyze your climate of innovation and give your team an exclusive look into Sheridan’s one-of-a-kind graduate certificate in Applied Creativity and Innovation.*

Register your team for a FREE online one-hour masterclass!


*Advance further with our Applied Creativity and Innovation graduate certificate

Our new graduate certificate in Applied Creativity and Innovation is a great professional development (PD) opportunity for many company teams. The program teaches complex problem-solving, creativity, innovation and negotiation skills — competencies that make companies more resilient and adaptable as they face the unique challenges presented by the future of work.

Why this program is a great choice for PD:

  • Flexible hours — your employees can complete their graduate certificate online, at their own pace.
  • Relevant coursework – they can choose electives that are most applicable to their position at your company.
  • Award-winning faculty – they’ll learn from instructors who are on the cutting-edge of creativity and innovation research.
  • Practicum project – they’ll work alongside our team of experts to resolve an issue that your business is facing today — whether it’s how to leverage artificial intelligence technology, advance your sustainability efforts, update your marketing strategies, address supply chain inefficiencies or another challenge.

This new graduate certificate is currently accepting applications for Fall 2023.

Apprenticeship Exemption Test

The Apprenticeship Exemption Test (AET) provides a chance for students who are learning a skilled trade to bypass in-class studies.

In most cases, you need to score 70% or higher to pass the AET. If you score lower than 70%, you'll need to wait three months before you can try again (with some exceptions for certain exams).

Apprenticeship Exemption Tests are administered at the Hazel McCallion Campus in Mississauga, through Sheridan's Assessment Centre.

Learn more about the AET, including eligibility criteria, available tests and how to register.

Sheridan is a Ministry-approved Apprenticeship Exemption Test centre, authorized through the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training & Skills Development (MLITSD), for both apprentices and non-apprentices.

Get a feel for your future

Find your fit and choose with confidence. Choosing the right education is a big decision. At Sheridan we’re committed to providing you with the learning, support and services you need to achieve your goals and reach your full potential. Take a look around, and please connect with us if you have any questions!

Have a question? Contact us.

We’re happy to help with any questions you may have. Give us a call at any of these numbers and select Option 4 after the prompt, or simply fill out the contact form and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

905-845-9430 (Oakville/Mississauga)
905-459-7533 (Brampton)

Contact Centre hours of operation:

Monday–Thursday, 8 a.m.–8 p.m.
Friday, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Contact Sheridan

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