University Diploma - Kinesiology

The University Diploma in Kinesiology is a two-year human movement science credential delivered exclusively at CapU’s Squamish campus, covering the first half of the Bachelor of Kinesiology with full transfer into the degree.

Students take human anatomy and physiology, biomechanics, motor learning and control, exercise physiology, nutrition, and introductory research methods and statistics, with applied work in exercise prescription, fitness assessment and injury prevention. Laboratory sessions are hands-on and, given the cohort size at Squamish, unusually well supervised.

The setting is a genuine part of the offer here. Squamish is the outdoor recreation capital of the Sea-to-Sky corridor, which puts a movement-science program next to a concentration of climbing, mountain biking and adventure sport employers — and housing costs materially below Metro Vancouver. Students planning physiotherapy or occupational therapy should continue into the full degree, since those graduate programs require a bachelor’s.

Capilano University is a fully public teaching university (DLI O19280078102) holding university status since 2008, and the credential earned here is identical to the one awarded at the North Vancouver main campus — the transcript does not distinguish between campuses. Classes are small, faculty teach rather than delegate to assistants, and tuition sits well below the big Vancouver research universities.

CapU Squamish is an 18-acre purpose-built campus at 3200 University Blvd, opened to serve the Sea-to-Sky corridor — roughly 10 minutes from downtown Squamish, 45 from Whistler and an hour from Vancouver. It has its own library, athletic centre, sports field, dining and student housing on site rather than functioning as an outpost. Cohorts are very small, and housing costs materially less than Metro Vancouver, which is the practical reason many international students choose this campus over the main one.

Its field maps to CIP 31.0505 (Kinesiology and exercise science). Important: this is a non-degree credential, so unlike CapU’s bachelor’s programs it is not exempt from the November 2024 PGWP field-of-study restriction — eligibility depends on this CIP field appearing on IRCC’s current eligible list at the time you apply. Confirm the live list with an Apply Study Visa counsellor before committing. Final decisions rest with IRCC.