Bachelor of Applied Arts in Art and Design (Formerly Visual Communications)

at Medicine Hat College Canada

This two-year program provides learners with the ability to pursue flexible degree options and develop a variety of transferrable skills to support diverse career paths, while empowering them to think creatively and with an inquisitive mind.

The path to recovery for those with compulsive behaviours such as substance abuse, gambling, sex addictions, and eating disorders requires trained professionals with theoretical knowledge and practical skills. This program prepares you for a variety of challenging and rewarding careers dealing with individuals with a variety of compulsive behaviours. If you are compassionate with a high level of self-awareness, Addictions Counselling may be a good fit for you.
This rigorous and unique diploma program is the only one of its kind in Canada, and prepares you with knowledge of a range of dependencies, while teaching multi-level intervention skills. 
Due to the nature and demands of the addictions counselling profession, the program invites both emotional involvement and an ongoing commitment to self-awareness as an integral component of becoming educated as a professional addictions counsellor.
Medicine Hat College Addictions Counselling graduates are eligible for certification with The Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation (CACCF) and The Addiction Professionals Association of Alberta (APAA).

As a Speech-Language Pathologist Assistant, you will find a rewarding career supporting Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP) in their assessment and treatment of people with communication difficulties and disorders.

A communication disorder may be evident in a person’s ability to pronounce sounds, to understand what is spoken, to use vocabulary and grammar skills, to speak without stuttering, and to use their voice. You may provide treatment based on the SLP’s goals, make and develop materials and activities, document and report results, carry out screenings, maintain equipment, and assist with clerical duties. Working one-on-one and in groups, you will have the opportunity to help people of all ages to improve their ability to communicate and interact with others and make a positive difference in their daily lives.

Your future success in business rests on the foundation of knowledge and skills you’ll build in the Business Administration Diploma program. This program offers you the opportunity to focus on your strength and career goals, with majors in Accounting, Financial Services, Hospitality & Tourism, Marketing, Management, and Administrative Office Professional. All students are admitted into a common first year before concentrating on a specific area through declaring a major in your second year.

Many of the courses completed in the Business Administration program may be used for credit towards a variety of professional designations and university programs. Students interested in these possibilities, please consult with the Business Administration Academic Advisor.

Hospitality and Tourism Management Program prepares students for entry-level designation management positions with opportunities to work in areas related to: Food and Beverage Management; Marketing; Front Office Procedures: Transportation; Tours and Ticketing.

The Bachelor of Nursing degree is a competitive entry program. Meeting minimum published admission averages does not guarantee admission to the program.

The Bachelor of Nursing program is offered at Medicine Hat College in partnership with the University of Calgary, meaning you can study the entire program at the MHC campus and graduate with a University of Calgary degree.

As a student in this program, you will have?a variety of?learning experiences through:

• Practice settings,
• Home visits,
• Faculty-guided seminars and practice,
• Low and high fidelity simulation, and
• Student directed practice.?

The curriculum emphasizes the full scope of Registered Nurse practice, critical practice, evidence-based practice and inter-professional practice.

This collaborative program?will prepare you to write the required licensure exam to work as a registered nurse. The program has been accredited by the nationally based Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (2007-2012) and has been approved by the provincially based Nursing Education Program Approval Board (2007-2012).

You apply to Medicine Hat College and are a MHC student for years one and two of the nursing program. Upon successful completion of your first two years, you then apply to the U of C as a third year student and are guaranteed acceptance if you have met all the requirements. You take the remainder of the program as a U of C student, but remain on the MHC campus.

When lives are on the line, the skills and knowledge of a paramedic can make the difference between life and death. The Bachelor of Applied Health Science – Paramedic degree program prepares learners to be an integral part of the health care team, primarily within the pre-hospital environment.

MHC’s Bachelor of Applied Health Science (Paramedic) Degree has been created to meet the emerging needs of patients, practitioners and employers. It enables you to move seamlessly through the various levels of preparation for careers in Emergency Medical Services, ultimately allowing you to attain the Advanced Care Paramedic Diploma or to continue on to the Bachelor of Applied Health Science Paramedic Degree.

Prospective students must be mature and highly motivated to deal with the stress of emergency care, critical care and shift work. Paramedics must think independently, exercise good judgment, communicate effectively with others and work well in multidisciplinary environments. The training provided not only addresses the necessary skills of a paramedic but also the skills required to perform with confidence in a variety of situations, effectively interact with others and maintain professional decorum whether in simple or complex situations.

There is a high demand for paramedics who are employed by public and private ambulance services provincially, nationally and internationally. Paramedics also work in a variety of industrial and community-based emergency health settings.

It has been widely recognized that the early years of a child’s life are essential for healthy development. Child care providers play an important role in this time of a child’s life and they need to have an understanding of working with children, families and communities. Child care providers are now being recognized and valued by both families and government more than ever, making this an ideal time to enter the field.  

In the Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) program, you will learn the importance of play in the lives of children, and our classes give you lots of hands-on learning opportunities. We play with art materials, story props, and science and math materials to better understand how children learn and how we can help teach them. Our program also gives you the opportunity to apply theory to practice every semester through a five-week practicum setting. You’ll be able to practice your communication skills, better understand child development, and provide developmentally appropriate programming for children.  

Our ELCC program will help you work with children in a variety of settings or move on to other educational programs. Many students have said our program helped them grow on a personal level and was very useful when they became parents themselves. Others have entered specialized areas of child care, or assumed leadership responsibilities in a variety of settings.  

An education in Humanities and Social Sciences (Arts) is often misunderstood and underrated. Some may take a look at the classes and claim that subjects like philosophy and history have little relevance in daily life. But when you consider the challenges we face as a society—war based on religious idealism, globalization, medical problems like HIV, and more—you will soon realize how relevant these topics are. If we fail to understand other cultures for example, how can we do business successfully overseas? How can our society address any complex problem without looking inward?
The courses you take in UT Arts will help you develop critical thinking skills to consider and interact with the vast amount of information available. The result can be creative approaches and problem-solving skills that you will need to make decisions and succeed in a complex world.
At MHC, you’ll have the advantage of building strong rapport with faculty who possess qualifications on par with university professors. The result is a high quality, yet personal learning experience. The range of courses available is broad, allowing you to build an individualized program that meets your interests and the degree you have in mind. The college helps you develop a suitable class schedule, as there is a very high degree of flexibility.
Medicine Hat College has transfer agreements with the University of Alberta, University of Calgary, University of Saskatchewan, University of Regina, as well as an agreement with Athabasca University that allows you to complete a Bachelor of General Studies (Arts and Science) at Medicine Hat College.

Improving client health, movement and quality of life is the reward for a career as an Occupational Therapist Assistant/Physical Therapist Assistant (OTA/PTA). As an OTA/PTA, you will work under the direction of occupational therapists (OT) to help clients of all ages and health conditions successfully perform daily activities related to self-care, leisure, and work, school or play. You will also work under the direction of physiotherapists (PT) to provide treatment that helps patients recover from illness or injury to increase mobility, relieve pain, and prevent or lessen physical limitations.

This two-year diploma program offers extensive classroom training and valuable practicum experiences with potential employers in hospitals, private clinics, home care settings, schools, and community programs. Through the use of games or crafts, group activities, exercises, assistive devices, and various electrotherapy and physical modalities, you’ll have opportunities to bring your compassion and creativity to a health care and rehabilitation team.  

Becoming a teacher offers you the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of young people and to shape the future through interaction with youth. Most of us, at some point in our lives, felt the influence of a teacher who affected how we see the world and our place in it. If you love working with children and young adults, have a passion for learning and teaching, and imagine yourself influencing future generations, a career in education is a great fit for you.

There are two options for pursuing a degree in education at Medicine Hat College (MHC).

• In partnership with Mount Royal University, you can complete all four years of your Bachelor of Education at MHC. This pathway includes two years of study for degree completion and teacher certification with a focus on elementary education after you have completed the first two years of the B.Ed. Elementary program (60 credits).
• If you’re interested in starting your studies at MHC and completing your degree at another institution, our University Studies Education program offers the opportunity to study at MHC for up to two years and transfer to a variety of post-secondary institutions in Lethbridge, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, and Regina.