Frequently Asked Questions

Seneca’s new Strategic Plan is a muti-year road map that sets Seneca on a distinct path. We are committed to offering students a unique polytechnic experience – the invaluable combination of academic rigour and practical, professional skills with exposure to their career before they graduate.

By combining the best of college and university approaches to learning, Seneca offers our students a seamless transition from education to employment.

Our student-first approach means Seneca is committed to offering students the polytechnic experience – the invaluable combination of academic rigour and practical, professional skills with exposure to their career before they graduate.

We offer a vast breadth of learning opportunities, including degrees, diplomas and certificates in niche, emerging and applied fields.

Seneca must keep pace with demand from employers and industry. New careers are being invented every day, and by providing the breadth of learning opportunities as a polytechnic, Seneca is uniquely positioned to pivot quickly to meet the changing needs of students, employers, and the community.

By combining the best of college and university approaches to learning, Seneca offers our students a seamless transition from education to employment.

The goals in our new Strategic Plan are underpinned by the three pillars of Seneca Au Large:

• Equitable: At Seneca, we teach, we employ and we are a community gathering space that embraces our responsibilities for reconciliation, diversity and inclusion.
• Sustainable: Seneca builds thriving, diverse and resilient communities through environmental health, social equity, cultural vitality, and economic responsibility.
• More virtual: Seneca is blending the best of online and in-person, offering more choice for students and employees for how and when they learn and work.

Our student-first approach means we are committed to:

• Deliver a great student experience, in person and online;
• Offer a vast breadth of learning opportunities, including four-year honours bachelor’s degrees, three- and two-year diplomas, post-graduate certificates, short certificates, and many part-time options in niche, emerging and applied fields;
• Ensure that all students have an opportunity to gain exposure to their chosen careers before they graduate;
• Give students more flexibility in building programs and in choosing courses and learning modes;
• Imbed human skills development in curriculum;
• Engage alumni as advisers, teachers, mentors, experts, employers, and supporters to enrich the value of a Seneca education; and,
• Provide students with the mental health, wellness and advising supports they need to succeed.

Seneca cultivates a healthy work environment that supports and empowers our employees. In our new Strategic Plan, we commit to continuing to:

• Reward excellence with recognition, training, developmental and growth opportunities;
• Build employee experiences on- and off-campus and through virtual channels to provide opportunities for meaningful connections; and,
• Continue with our capital plan that is providing world-class spaces for the Seneca community through new construction and updated facilities.    

A Seneca is a leader in fostering strong working relationships with employers and industry – and that’s why our students are ready for the workplaces of today and tomorrow.

In our new Strategic Plan, we are committing to broadening the work of our employment and career service hub to:

• Engage with employers to identify not just their current demands, but also their future skills and workplace-related needs;
• Work closely with employers to ensure they have access to well-prepared and high-quality co-op students and graduates; and,
• Strengthen the ties between curriculum and the workplace through Seneca’s program advisory committees.

Seneca offers students a polytechnic education – the invaluable combination of academic rigour and practical, professional skills with exposure to their career before they graduate. We offer a vast breadth of learning opportunities, including degrees, diplomas, and certificates in niche, emerging and applied fields.

We think Seneca Polytechnic best captures that comprehensive and distinct approach to postsecondary education. Unfortunately, unlike the word “university” which is protected by government, “college” can be adopted by virtually any organization, including the for-profit private career colleges that confuse the marketplace.

PolytechnicsCanada.ca defines polytechnics as “… postsecondary institutions that offer advanced technical education. The polytechnic model is hands-on and industry-responsive. Programs encourage learning by doing, developing the practical skills and competencies required in today’s workplaces and giving our graduates a leg-up in the labour market. Distinct among Canada’s postsecondary pathways, polytechnics focus on applied, industry-aligned learning — with real-world experience built into the curriculum. The result is highly employable graduates who are ready to hit the ground running with the skills employers demand.”

That is Seneca.

Seneca isn’t becoming a polytechnic – we are a polytechnic. In fact, we were a co-founder of Polytechnics Canada more than 20 years ago. We were the first college to offer a degree in Ontario and we are now the first to co-deliver a master’s degree with our partner Niagara University, which is delivering its programs on a Seneca campus.

In today’s ever-evolving world, higher education must keep pace with the speed of industry. New careers are being invented every day. By providing the breadth of learning opportunities as a polytechnic, Seneca can pivot quickly to meet the changing needs of students, employers, and the community.

Seneca remains committed to its polytechnic roots, offering such learning options as certificates, apprenticeships, two and three-year diplomas, four-year honours bachelor degrees in niche, emerging and applied fields, post-graduate certificates, and continuing education.

This change to Polytechnic will not change your Seneca credential. The credential on all certificates, diplomas and degrees identifies Seneca by its official name: Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology.

This will not have an impact on admission requirements.

Seneca is already a polytechnic and we will continue to deliver a range of learning options, including certificates, apprenticeships, two and three-year diplomas, four-year honours bachelor degrees in emerging and applied fields, graduate certificates and continuing education.

Seneca is proud of our college roots when we first opened our doors in 1967. Since then, we have evolved into an institution that pioneered in our sector the delivery of honours baccalaureate degrees, a vast array of graduate certificates recognized by universities as master’s level education, and now as the first polytechnic or college to be co-delivering master’s degrees on our campus in partnership with Niagara University. 

Polytechnics offer academic rigour and practical career-focused learning, combining the best of a university’s theoretical approach with the best of a college’s training approach. And, our experiential approach to education means graduates get exposure to their careers before they graduate.

The Ontario Government has not yet formally recognized polytechnics as a category of higher education institutions – even though all four western provinces have. Seneca’s breadth and depth of programming was recognized by the Ontario government many years ago when we were given the opportunity to designate ourselves as an Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (ITAL) and given the right to offer more degrees than other colleges.

We have and will continue to advocate for that. We aren’t asking the government to change our legal name or give us more funding by virtue of branding ourselves as Seneca Polytechnic. We will continue the dialogue with the government on an official recognition of that category of institution.

That will be up to the government, but we are not asking for more funding as a result of being a polytechnic. However, the entire postsecondary system in Ontario is underfunded and we – along with all colleges and universities – are advocating for a more sustainable financial environment for higher learning.