Coast Mountain College

Tucked away in the coastal mountains of British Columbia near the Great Bear Rainforest, Coast Mountain College offers experiential, place-based education. Formerly known as Northwest Community College, the school has campuses in Hazelton, Haida Gwaii, Prince Rupert, Smithers and Terrace. The college offers 91 certificates, diplomas, associate degrees, trades, apprenticeships and upgrading programs. Coast Mountain emphasizes Indigenous programming, and more than 600 of the college’s students self-identify as Indigenous. The First Nations fine arts program focuses on the northern style of West Coast First Nations art. 

Intensive summer field schools condense a full semester into a few weeks. In one, students are paired with RCMP members to investigate a crime using forensic studies. In another, students examine the geography of northern B.C. and Alaska during a two-week trip to mines and glaciers. 

Students at the Terrace campus can live in a new student housing complex with suites for visiting family members, an Elder’s suite and bike storage. 

Quick facts

School size:
Small

Tuition:
Associate Degree $6,700
Diploma $4,800-$15,900
Certificate $4,800-$7,400
Post-Grad $4,800-$6,000

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Residence offerings:
Yes

Popular programs

Trades 
Business Administration Diploma
Early Childhood Care and Education Diploma
Northern Collaborative Baccalaureate in Nursing
Applied Coastal Ecology Diploma

Cool options

Professional Accounting: In this post-degree diploma program, students gain prerequisites to enter the Chartered Professional Accountants Professional Education Program (CPA PEP). 
First Nations Fine Arts: Named after the Haida artist, the Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art offers courses about the art of the First Nations of the Pacific on B.C.’s northwestern coast.
Applied Coastal Ecology: Blending biology, geography and oceanography, this program teaches students to examine how coastal ecosystems react to the stresses imposed by humans.