DIPLOMA OF TECHNOLOGY IN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
DESCRIPTION
Environmental protection technologists provide an invaluable service to society by helping protect and sustain the long-term health of our local and global ecosystems.
Environmental consultants, industry and government seek out graduates from our Environmental Protection Technology program. They do this because our graduates have developed the skills needed to offer professional advice on a wide range of subjects, including: environmental impact assessment; hazardous and non-hazardous waste management; waste reduction and reuse strategies; air, soil and water pollution prevention and monitoring; compliance auditing; and contaminated site investigation and remediation. This skill set is based on an integrated, hands-on training program that gives graduates a good working knowledge of physical and life sciences, including general biology, ecology, toxicology, chemistry, physics and statistics. Specific topics covered by the program include:
- Air, water and soil field sampling
- Solid, liquid and air treatment methods
- Waste minimization
- Hazardous goods and waste handling methods
- WHMIS implementation and compliance evaluation
- Emergency planning and spill response methods
- Recycling and waste minimization program design
- Environmental issues analysis
- Environmental law and ethics
- Written and oral presentation skills
- Computer software competency
Although graduates typically work within a team of professionals, they must also be able to work independently and take initiative as required; the program helps promote these attributes. Successful completion of the two-year program prepares graduates for employment at the technology level within industry or government often with excellent potential for upward mobility as job experience grows.
For more information, please visit the department web page at www.kwantlen.ca/environment
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
An advisory committee works closely with the program to maintain and update the curriculum and employment focus to ensure that graduates are well prepared for the job market. This committee consists of potential employers from the public and private sectors, as well as several graduates of the program who are currently well established in the field.
Graduates are employed with environmental consulting firms, with federal, provincial or municipal departments as environmental staff in large industries, or are self-employed.
Program graduates have experienced a high rate of employment in the environmental field. They are currently employed with government and industry in a variety of technology-level positions. The Co-operative Education component of the program has proved to be extremely valuable, with several of the graduates obtaining positions with their Co-op employers. Examples of the type of work performed by Co-op students and graduates include: air, water, and soil sampling; wastewater systems investigations; contaminated sites assessments; contingency planning and spills response; waste permitting and compliance investigations; laboratory analysis; habitat evaluation; environmental auditing; environmental policy and legislation; recycling; composting; solid waste management; and public education.
Some graduates continue their education towards a Bachelor’s Degree in management or environmental science, entering at the upper level of the degree through transfer credit recognition of their 2-year technology diploma.
ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS
In addition to the general University College admission requirements, applicants must have at least:
- C+ or better in English 12 or Technical and Professional Communication 12
- C or better in Principles of Mathematics 11 or Applications of Mathematics 12
- C or better in Principles of Physics 11 or Applications of Physics 11
- C+ or better in Chemistry 11
Students lacking any of these requisites must obtain their equivalent before being registered in the program.
All applicants must attend an information session (normally November and February) or, if from outside the Vancouver and Fraser Valley area, must complete a telephone interview.
CONTENT
The two-year program, which contains two four-month work terms, consists of the following sequence:
Note: Students who have already completed Principles of Math 12 (or equivalent) with C+ or better do not need to take MATH 1117; students who have already completed Chem 12 (or equivalent) with C+ or better do not need to take CHEM 1105. However, students still need a minimum of 60 semester credit hours in order to graduate with the diploma.
Note: Students with entrance requirements higher than the minimum requirements listed above, or with university transfer credits, will be assessed on a case-by-case basis for advanced standing on admission to the program. Please contact the Articulation Department in Registrar Services for more information or the Department of Environmental Protection for assistance.
Elective Courses for non-technology students
Environmental Protection also offers three courses to students from other disciplines who wish to learn more about the environment, and/or require it in their program of study.
ENVI 1112 is a hands-on course that teaches the basics of sampling and gathering knowledge about the environment without requiring a science background. It can count towards laboratory science credits for non-science students.
ENVI 3112 is a discussion course that studies the role the media, the artistic community, business, and cultural groups play in environmental disputes.
ENVI 3212 is a course that discusses urban environmental issues from a variety of political, social, activist, and scientific perspectives.
All of the above courses qualify as General Liberal Education electives.
ENVI 2305 is required for students who wish to take the Environmental Toxicology program at SFU.
Co-operative Education
This program operates with two four-month Co-op work terms. Kwantlen has been successful in arranging unique and challenging placements with government agencies like Environment Canada and the BC Ministry of the Environment, with environmental consultants, and with other industries. Most importantly, these Co-op placements facilitate their entry into successful careers by the Environmental Protection Technology graduates.
While successful completion of the two Co-op work terms is regarded as a requirement to graduate, it is sometimes possible to graduate without one or both Co-op components. This would be warranted by exceptional circumstances, and requires the documented recommendation of the Program Chair in consultation with the Co-op office. In every case, COOP 1101 is a required course for the Environmental Protection Technology diploma.
TRANSFER
Graduates are able to enter, either directly or at a later stage in their career, into upper levels of the following programs: Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science at Royal Roads University, Bachelor of Science at UNBC, Bachelor of General Studies at Thompson Rivers University-Open Learning, and Bachelor of Technology at BCIT (environmental engineering and environmental health). After completing a short bridging program graduates may also enter directly into the third year of the Bachelor of Business Administration in either Entrepreneurial Leadership or Human Resource Management, or the new Bachelor of Science in Integrated Pest Management at Kwantlen University College.
ACCREDITATION
The Environmental Protection Technology (EPT) program has been granted National Accreditation by the Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists (CCTT) www.cctt.ca. National Accreditation provides students, employers and contractors assurance that the EPT program contains high educational quality, and by measuring its curriculum against Canadian Technology Standards established by the industry that graduates have the employability skills competencies required. National Accreditation also provides access to membership with CCTT’s provincial affiliate, the Association of Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of British Columbia (ASTTBC) www.asttbc.org, which, aside from many other benefits, qualifies one to seek professional certification as an Applied Science Technologist. (AScT). This certification, while classified in different ways in other provinces, is transferable for work or moves across Canada and internationally in countries where partnerships with CCTT or ASTTBC have been established. This is a particularly important factor as many international contracts may demand that workers possess a national certification for quality control and assurance purposes.
While not a certifying body, membership in the Environmental Careers Organization (ECO) www.eco.ca, is also available, providing added benefits and services to the environmental graduate.
GRADUATION
Upon successful completion of this program, students in the normal co-op stream are awarded a Diploma of Technology in Environmental Protection, Co-op Option. Students who opt out of the co-op stream are awarded a Diploma of Technology in Environmental Protection.