Colleges in British Columbia include several types of educational institutions. In Canada, College generally means a career-oriented post-secondary institution that provides vocational training or education in applied arts, applied technology and applied science. There are 14 public funded colleges and institutes in British Columbia.
In addition to these publicly funded institutions, several privately funded post-secondary institutions use the term college in their names or to describe themselves. This includes private training institutions, theological colleges, and First Nations-controlled post-secondary institutions.
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Public institutions
There are 14 public institutions governed under the provincial College and Institute Act. Under the Act, these institutions are authorized to grant certificates, diplomas, and associate degrees. These institutions may also be designated to grant other degrees through ministerial order from a provincial minister.
Colleges
There are 11 public colleges in British Columbia. In addition to certificates, diplomas, and associate degrees, these 11 public colleges may also grant applied baccalaureates if they received the authorization to do so from a provincial minister. These 11 public colleges include:
Camosun College (Victoria, British Columbia)
Coast Mountain College (Prince Rupert, Terrace, Smithers, Hazelton, and Haida Gwaii)
College of New Caledonia (Prince George, Quesnel, Mackenzie, Vanderhoof, Fort St. James, and Burns Lake)
College of the Rockies (Cranbrook, Golden, Invermere, Kimberley, Fernie, and Creston)
Douglas College (New Westminster and Coquitlam)
Langara College (Vancouver)
North Island College (Campbell River, Comox Valley, Port Alberni, Port Hardy, and Ucluelet)
Northern Lights College (Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Chetwynd, Fort Nelson)
Okanagan College (Kelowna, Vernon, Penticton, Salmon Arm, Revelstoke)
Selkirk College (Castlegar, Nelson, Trail, Grand Forks, Kaslo, and Nakusp)
Vancouver Community College (Vancouver)
Applied institutes
There are three public institutes in British Columbia. In addition to certificates, diplomas, and associate degrees, these three public institutes may also grant applied baccalaureates, bachelor's degrees, and applied master's degrees, if they received the authorization to do so from a provincial minister. These three public institutes include:
British Columbia Institute of Technology
Justice Institute of British Columbia
Nicola Valley Institute of Technology
Private training institutions
A private training institution is a private post-secondary vocational school that is accredited by the Private Training Institutions Branch of the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills. These types of institutions offer at least one career-related program, most of whom are regulated under the Private Training Act. As of 2023, there were 551 private training institutions based in British Columbia.
Not all private training institutions use the word college in its name, with many private training institutions opting to use the term academy instead.
A select list of private training institutions include:
Columbia College
Coquitlam College
Educacentre College
Pacific Link College
Sprott Shaw College
Stenberg College
The Salvation Army War College
VanArts
Vancouver Film School
First Nations-controlled institutions
As of 2023, there were 43 First-Nations controlled institutions that offer post-secondary courses in British Columbia. However, only four use the term college in their names. They include
Chemainus Native College
Heiltsuk College
Native Education College
Seabird College
Theological colleges
Several theological colleges operate in British Columbia. These private post-secondary institutions are specialized to teach Christian scripture and theology, and were granted the authority to operate these specific types of degree and diploma program through provincial legislation. Several theological colleges use the term seminary in its name instead of college.
Theological colleges based in British Columbia include:
Canadian Baptist Seminary
Canadian Chinese School of Theology
Carey Theological College
Columbia Bible College
Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary
Millar College of the Bible
Okanagan Bible College
Pacific Life Bible College
Northwest Baptist Seminary
Regent College
Seminary of Christ the King
St. Mark's College
Summit Pacific College
Trinity Western University
Vancouver School of Theology