Get credit for prior learning or experience

Overview

When you apply for admission into a post-secondary program in Alberta, the institution may assess your prior:

• education
• training
• volunteer or work experience

Results can be used for admission or earned credits toward a credential.

How your education and experience is assessed depends on each institution's admission process and program requirements, and the type of prior learning or experience you have and its relevance to your program.

Transfer in Alberta

Alberta’s post-secondary system supports students in transferring between programs and institutions. You can use credits you earn at a publicly funded institution in Alberta for:

• admission to another program, such as a graduate degree
• credit towards another program
• transfer to a similar program at another institution

Learn how transfer credit works in Alberta.

Transfer throughout Canada

Alberta works with other provinces and territories to help post-secondary students learn anywhere in Canada.

You may be able to transfer post-secondary credits earned in other Canadian provinces or territories to Alberta programs.

Find out how to transfer your post-secondary education between provinces.

International credentials

If you’re coming directly to Alberta after finishing high school, or post-secondary coursework in another country, courses you have taken are assessed according to the post-secondary program’s admission requirements.

Post-secondary students coming to Alberta from outside Canada are assessed in different ways, depending on how much higher education you have taken, or credentials you have earned.

Read about:

• how Alberta post-secondary institutions assess your prior learning
• International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS) assessments of credentials earned outside of Canada
• IQAS education guides that outline how several country's education credentials compare to Alberta standards

If you’re coming to Alberta to work, you may have to take additional training and certification first. Read more about IQAS for immigration.

Assess your prior experience

You may be able to use your prior volunteer or work experience for credit towards:

• a post-secondary program
• apprenticeship training or a trade credential

When you are accepted into a program in Alberta or another province or territory in Canada, your prior experience may be evaluated by the post-secondary institution according to their Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) process. This process may include an assessment fee. Your assessment may also depend on:

• learning outcomes for the program you want to take
• how you can demonstrate your prior knowledge or experience with those learning outcomes

Learn more about prior learning assessment and recognition.