Higher Education: Cannabis Courses and Post-Secondary Programs in Canada

Whether you’re interested in applied science, want to specialize in cultivation, or just want to learn more about your favorite plant, there are several cannabis-focused post-secondary programs and courses available across Canada.

From BC to the Maritimes, there are numerous opportunities for specialized cannabis education and training with programs in quality assurance, science, management and more. If you want to go back to school this fall, it’s not too late to apply.

Here are all of the current cannabis programs we could find at post-secondary institutions across Canada. While many of the programs offered in 2018 don’t have current launch dates, there are still over a dozen to choose from.

British Columbia

Okanagan College

The Okanagan College offers a variety of cannabis training courses on regulatory policies, business opportunities and more through its online learning platform.

Courses include Seed to Harvest – Cannabis Botany and Plant Science, Marketing Cannabis in Canada, Cannabis Legislation and Quality Assurance, and Fundamentals of Medicinal Cannabis for Healthcare Professionals, among others. Start dates vary, but many courses will begin in fall 2022.

Selkirk College

At a few different locations in the Kootenays, Selkirk College offers a handful of cannabis courses for those looking to expand their knowledge of the plant and its various uses.

Getting Started with Medical Cannabis offers start dates in November 2022 and February 2023, while Cannabis Compliance starts in September 2022 and promises students a hands-on look at license categories and the application process.

Other, more hands-on courses give students the opportunity to learn how to make cannabis ointments, infused beverages, or CBD oil.

College of the Rockies

The only online course currently offered online by College of the Rockies is quite specific: it provides participants with information about cannabis in the workplace and takes an in-depth look at disability. After completing the course, participants receive a certificate from the Red Cross.

alberta

Mount Royal University

Three online cannabis education courses offered by Mount Royal University will begin this September, including one on quality assurance, another on commercial cannabis production and a third on retail marketing. Her fourth retail cannabis management course will be offered for the first time this October.

Old college

Olds College offers a range of online continuing education courses focused on cannabis, two of which will be offered in Fall 2022. Extraction and Purification for the Cannabis/Hemp Industry will teach students how to extract cannabis oil with a focus on CO2 extraction. The College also offers a Quality Assurance course.

Norquest College

Norquest College in Edmonton offers both online and on-site courses, including a cannabis trimming and producing course and a hemp processing and processing course. Healthcare professionals interested in learning more about the medicinal uses of cannabis can sign up for an introductory course starting in October.

Increased Learning Academy

Beginning in October, this educational institution will offer a virtual four-month diploma program for cannabis and health professionals with a curriculum covering history, the cannabis plant, the endocannabinoid system, cannabis law and more.

Saskatchewan

University of Saskatchewan

The University of Saskatchewan’s Prairie Horticulture Certificate now includes a cannabis plant production course that covers propagation, genetics and harvest criteria, among other valuable pot skills. All courses, papers and exams are online.

Manitoba

Red River College

Following the federal legalization of cannabis in 2018, Red River College Polytechnic offered a Cannabis 101 course that covered cannabis policy, plant botany and genetics, the commercial industry, and medicinal uses. The course is currently not offered to students.

Assiniboine Community College

While Assiniboine Community College is not currently accepting new students, it has partnered with Durham College to develop a cannabis industry specialization microprogram so students can learn about industry fundamentals such as production management, product testing and tracking.

ontario

Niagara College

A year-long commercial cannabis production program is offered on-site at Niagara College’s Niagara-on-the-Lake campus, where students take courses in cultivation methods, biology and evolution of cannabis, plant pathology, business software applications and more. The certificate program is currently accepting applications for admission in September.

Loyalist College

Loyalist College in Belleville offers a year-long applied science cannabis certificate program that helps students learn about product development, process optimization, product quality, and safety.

If you are interested in becoming a formulation chemist, processing engineer or quality assurance manager, this could be the program for you. It starts this September.

Durham College

As part of its cannabis industry specialization program, Durham College offers a series of nine courses including Cannabis Ethics and Law, Medical Cannabis Fundamentals for Business Professionals, and Cannabis Import and Export. All courses are offered online and the program can be completed within one year.

Seneca College

Through Seneca College’s online Cannabis Industry Studies Certificate program, students take undergraduate courses in cannabis fundamentals, law and ethics, and health and wellness, and can take elective courses in retail and wholesale operations, human resources, and healthcare. Interested students can find out more about the program at an online information event on September 6th.

NACPT (North American College of Pharmaceutical Technology) Pharma College

NACPT offers a variety of cannabis-focused courses and programs, including a nine-month Industrial Cannabis Production Technology program and a nine-month Quality Control and Quality Assurance program, as well as master grower practices and modern extraction practices courses. Launch dates are in the range, some starting in late August.

AAPS (Academy of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences) College

AAPS, the Ontario-based vocational college, offers a four-month certificate program in cannabis operations, quality and edibles that includes courses on regulations, cultivation techniques, plant hygiene, clinical concepts and retail management, among others. The entire program is offered online.

Fanshawe College

Fanshawe’s 30-week, full-time Cannabis Science program, offered on-site at the college’s London campus, includes courses in analytical chemistry laboratory techniques, cannabis chemistry, microbiology and scientific communication. Interested students can enroll for September 2022 or January 2023.

Centennial College

Centennial College in Scarborough offers different levels of education for those who want to better understand cannabis cultivation. A three-week micro-credential course titled “Cultivating Cannabis at Home” provides an introduction, while the cannabis cultivation and processing program goes deeper with six part-time courses on regulations, theory and product formulation.

Quebec

McGill University

Unfortunately, McGill no longer offers his degree in commercial cannabis, which included plant science and genetics, product design, ethics, and an industrial internship program.

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia Community College

Nova Scotia Community College’s cannabis cultivation certification program, offered in person at its Kingstec campus in Kentville, includes courses in commercial cultivation practices, horticulture, quality assurance and industry relations. Although the next session starts in September, there is currently a waiting list to register.

Newfoundland

Academy Canada

While not cannabis specific, Academy Canada’s newest diploma program in greenhouse production is worth adding to this list. Licensed producer Atlantic Cultivation even endorsed the program.

Other institutions that have offered cannabis courses and educational programs in the past but are not currently enrolling students include Coast Mountain College and Kwantlen Polytechnic University in BC, Assiniboine Community College in Manitoba, McMaster University and Collège Boréal in Ontario, and the McGill University in Quebec.

Would you like to see your institution’s course on this list? Email our editor ashleykeenan@leafly.com.

By submitting this form, you are subscribing to Leafly news and promotional emails and agreeing to Leafly’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe from Leafly email communications at any time.