Courses at Bow Valley College are primarily taught in Canadian English. To qualify for admission, learners must demonstrate their language proficiency, typically through their high school or college/university transcripts, or through a test of English language proficiency, depending on the individual program.

Open the drop-down items below to check the requirements for your specific program of interest.

 

Requirements by Program

The English proficiency requirements listed in this section applies to all post-secondary programs, except Health Care Aide Certificate, Pharmacy Technician Diploma, Practical Nurse Diploma, and Recreation Therapy Aide Certificate. 

 
Results Minimum required score
BVC Academic English 1 Not accepted
BVC Academic English 2 Minimum grade of Grade B-
Canadian Language Benchmarks  8 in each strand (listening, speaking, reading, writing)
IELTS Academic

6.0 with minimum band score of 5.5 (Spring and Fall 2019 only)

6.0 with minimum band score 6.0 (Winter 2020 onward)
Pearson Test of English (PTE) A 59-64
TOEFL 83

OR: Successful completion of an Alberta Education English Language Arts course that is consistent with the specified academic admission requirements for the Career Program

OR: Transcripts demonstrating successful completion of three years of full-time secondary education at a school where English was the language of instruction

OR: Transcripts demonstrating successful completion of one year of full-time post-secondary education at a school where English was the language of instruction

Test validity

CLB, IELTS Academic, and TOEFL results are valid for two years from the day of testing. Results that expire prior to the Start Date of the program cannot be accepted. Official results must be submitted.

English Proficiency Tests

The English proficiency requirements for Health Care Aide certificate are:

Health Care Aide
English test* / program Minimum required score
Canadian Language Benchmarks 7 in each strand
IELTS Academic 6.0 overall with no section score below 5.5
TOEFL*

71

OR: three (3) years of full-time secondary education at a Canadian high school where the primary language of instruction was English

OR: two (2) years full-time study at a recognized post-secondary institution in Canada where the primary language of instruction was English

Test validity

CLB, IELTS (Academic), and TOEFL results are valid for two years from the day of testing. Results that expire prior to the Start Date of the program cannot be accepted. Official results must be submitted.

English Proficiency Tests

The English proficiency requirements for Recreation Therapy Aide Certificate are:

Recreation Therapy Aide
English test* / program Minimum required score
BVC Academic English 1 Minimum grade of Grade B-
Canadian Language Benchmarks 7 in each strand
IELTS Academic 5.5 with minimum band score of 5.0
PTE A (Pearson Test of English) 42-50
TOEFL 71
 

OR: Successful completion of an Alberta Education English Language Arts course that is consistent with the specified academic admission requirements for the Career Program

OR: Transcripts demonstrating successful completion of three years of full-time secondary education at a school where English was the language of instruction

OR: Transcripts demonstrating successful completion of one year of full-time post-secondary education at a school where English was the language of instruction
 
Test validity

CLB, IELTS (Academic) and TOEFL results are valid for two years from the day of testing. Results that expire prior to the Start Date of the program cannot be accepted. Official results must be submitted.

English Proficiency Tests

Proof of English Proficiency is required for all Pharmacy Technician Diploma applicants who have not:

  • Graduated from a high school in Canada with three consecutive, first language English courses/credit

OR
  • Completed an undergraduate degree from a university in Canada, where instruction was provided in English

The English proficiency requirements listed in this section apply to the Pharmacy Technician Diploma program only.

English test* / program
Minimum required score
BVC Academic English 1
 Not accepted
BVC Academic English 2 Not accepted
Canadian Language Benchmarks
Not accepted
CanTEST*
 Minimum score of 4.5 in speaking, 4.0 in writing,
4.5 in reading, and 4.5 in listening
IELTS Academic* 6.5 with minimum band score of 6.0
MELAB*
Overall score of 81, with a minimum score of 3+ in speaking,
80 in writing, 83 in reading, and 80 in listening
PTE A (Pearson Test of English)* Not accepted
TOEFL* 91 with minimum scores, Listening - 21, Reading - 22,
Writing – 25, and Speaking -23

Important Notes

*Test validity

CLB, IELTS (Academic), MELAB, CanTEST, and TOEFL results are valid for two years from the day of testing. Results that expire prior to the Start Date of the program cannot be accepted. Official results must be submitted.

English Proficiency Tests

The English proficiency requirements listed in this section apply to the Practical Nurse Diploma and Practical Nurse for Internationally-Educated Nurses programs only.

English test* / program
Minimum required score
BVC Academic English 1
 Not accepted
BVC Academic English 2 Minimum Grade of B
Canadian Language Benchmarks
8  in each strand
IELTS Academic* Listening - 7.5, Reading - 6.5, Writing - 7.0, Speaking - 7.0
PTE A (Pearson Test of English)* Not accepted
TOEFL* 92

OR: Successful completion of an Alberta Education English Language Arts course that is consistent with the specified academic admission requirements for the Career Program

OR: Transcripts demonstrating successful completion of three years of full-time secondary education at a school where English was the language of instruction

OR: Transcripts demonstrating successful completion of one year of full-time post-secondary education at a school where English was the language of instruction


*Important Notes

Test validity

CLB, IELTS (Academic) and TOEFL results are valid for two years from the day of testing. Results that expire prior to the Start Date of the program cannot be accepted. Official results must be submitted.

English Proficiency Tests

 

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