BC Graduation Requirements for High School Students
The educational environment in British Columbia is constantly changing. The curriculum is often changed to reflect the present environment, and the BC graduation requirements frequently alter to reflect this.
Meeting every criterion may appear to be a great deal of work. This will assist you in understanding all the BC graduation requirements for high school students and clarify on how to obtain those essential high school credits even faster.
First to note that high school students can earn credits by passing ministry-approved grade 10, 11, and 12 courses. In order to pass a course, students must achieve a minimum grade of C- (50%) or higher.
Dogwood Diploma – Regular B.C High School Certification
The B.C. Certificate of Graduation, also known as "Dogwood Diploma" is awarded to students who successfully complete the provincial graduation requirements.
Students require a minimum of 80 credits to graduate.
Of these 80 credits:
At least 16 credits must be at the Grade 12 level, including a required Language Arts 12 and Career Life Connections
At least 28 credits must be elective course credits
Effective July 1, 2023: At least 4 credits must have an Indigenous-focus (see Indigenous-Focused Graduation Requirements for additional information)
52 credits are required from the following:
Career-Life Education (4 credits), and Career-Life Connections (4 credits)
Physical and Health Education 10 (4 credits)
Science 10 (4 credits), and a Science 11 or 12 (4 credits)
Social Studies 10 (4 credits), and a Social Studies 11 or 12 (4 credits)
A Math 10 (4 credits), and a Math 11 or 12 (4 credits)
A Language Arts 10, 11 and a required 12 (12 credits total)
An Arts Education 10, 11, or 12 and/or an Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies 10, 11, or 12 (4 credits total)
In addition, students must also complete three graduation assessments:
The Grade 10 Numeracy Assessment was introduced in 2018
The Grade 10 Literacy Assessment was introduced in 2019/20
The Grade 12 Literacy Assessment will be introduced in 2021/22
Check the following link for a simplified and organized diagram for course requirement.
https://www.cityvanacademy.ca/program
For French Immersion/Francophone Dual Dogwood:
French Immersion students can earn both a British Columbia Certificate of Graduation (Dogwood Diploma) and a Diplôme de fin d’études secondaires en Colombie-Britannique.
To graduate with both diplomas, French Immersion students must meet the graduation requirements for the Dogwood Diploma and, of these 80 credits, they must earn:
At least 16 credits at the Grade 12 level (including a Français langue seconde-immersion course at the Grade 12 level)
Français langue seconde-immersion 10 (4 credits)
A Français langue seconde-immersion course at the Grade 11 level (4 credits)
Français langue seconde-immersion 12 (4 credits)
At least 12 more credits in Grade 10, 11, or 12 courses that are in French with at least 4 of these credits at the Grade 11 or 12 level
In addition, French Immersion students must also complete four Provincial Graduation Assessments, three in literacy and one in numeracy.
Francophone students can earn both a British Columbia Certificate of Graduation (Dogwood Diploma) and a Diplôme de fin d’études secondaires en Colombie-Britannique.
To graduate with both diplomas, Francophone students must meet the graduation requirements for the Dogwood Diploma and, of these 80 credits, they must earn:
At least 16 credits at the Grade 12 level (including a required Language Arts 12 course)
An English Language Arts course at the Grade 10 level (4 credits)
An English Language Arts course at the Grade 11 level (4 credits)
A required English Language Arts course at the Grade 12 level (4 credits)
At least 12 more credits in Grade 10, 11, or 12 courses that are in French with at least 4 of these credits at the Grade 11 or 12 level
A Français langue première course at the Grade 10 level (4 credits)
A Français langue première course at the Grade 11 level (4 credits)
Français langue première – Français langue et culture12 (4 credits)
In addition, Francophone students must also complete five Provincial Graduation Assessments, four in literacy and one in numeracy.
Adult Graduation Diploma – A certificate for 18 years of age or order.
Learners who are 18 years of age or older can combine credits earned at both secondary schools towards a B.C. Adult Graduation Diploma (Adult Dogwood). Adult learners may also pursue a regular B.C. Dogwood Diploma.
To graduate with an Adult Dogwood, students must have 5 courses required:
A required Language Arts 12 course
A Math 11 or 12 course
At least three additional Grade 12 electives, or a Grade 11 Socials Studies course
Two additional Grade 12 electives
Of the five courses required for the Adult Dogwood, at least three must be completed after the adult student has entered the Adult Graduation Program.
This means that students can receive credit toward the Adult Dogwood for no more than two qualifying courses completed while in the B.C. (school-aged) Graduation Program. You cannot receive an Adult Dogwood using only courses completed prior to enrolling in the Adult Graduation Program.
Adult learners are not required to complete the Graduation Numeracy or Literacy Assessments to graduate with the Adult Dogwood.
Requirements for the British Columbia Adult Graduation Diploma (Adult Dogwood)
B.C. Post Secondary System Qualifying Courses
A Provincial Level (Grade 12) English or higher OR
An Advanced (Grade 11) or Provincial Level or higher Mathematics* OR
Three additional courses at the Provincial Level or higher or Advanced Social Sciences and two Provincial Level courses or higher OR
Total: 5 courses
B.C. Secondary School System Qualifying Courses
A required Language Arts 12 course (English Studies 12, English First Peoples 12, or Francophone equivalent) (4 credits)
A Mathematics 11 or 12 (4 credits)
Three Grade 12 Ministry-Authorized courses (4 credits each) or a Grade 11 Social Studies course (4 credits) and two Grade 12 Ministry-Authorized courses (4 credits each) (12 credits total)
Total: 20 credits
*A student is also able to take and obtain credit towards the Adult Dogwoord for both Advanced level and Provincial level (or higher) Mathematics. In the latter case, Mathematics would be one of the electives.