Holland College’s Bioscience Technology program is a perennial favourite with both domestic and international students. The program’s blend of applied and theoretical learning prepares graduates to enter the field with the skills employers are seeking. In addition, the program offers three different streams to accommodate students at various stages of their education. These options are attracting highly talented students. So many students, in fact, that this year Bioscience Technology welcomed its largest class ever – almost doubling the number of students expected to graduate from the program this year! The program is designed for students interested in obtaining rigorous and broad training in biotechnology for a career in the bioscience sector. It can also enhance their access to post-graduate opportunities.

The two-year Bioscience Technology program is for students who have graduated high school with credits in Grade 12 academic English, biology, and chemistry, as well as either Grade 11 or Grade 12 academic math. They earn a Bioscience Technologist diploma.

The Bioscience Joint Degree program sees students complete part of their course work at UPEI, and then come to Holland College for one year plus an intersession (summer school). They receive a Bioscience Technologist diploma from Holland College and a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology from UPEI.

The most recent addition as an option for taking the Bioscience Technology program is for students who already have a Bachelor of Science in chemistry or biology or a Master's degree or PhD in a related discipline. The one-year Bioscience Technology Post-Graduate Certificate program offers practical and applied courses and gives students hands-on training to compliment the theoretical science courses they have already taken.

Program Manager Paul Murnaghan sees the three program options as an effective way to provide students with the right amount of training based on their previous experience and their employment aspirations.

“By offering the program in three different ways, we are enabling students who already have post-secondary credentials to acquire the right blend of theory and training to enhance their employability or their options to pursue further education,” he said.

“The Bioscience Technology program is a one-of-a-kind program in the region and has had great success due in part to the strong ties with the local bioscience industry,” said Rory Francis, CEO, PEI BioAlliance. “As a result, students graduating from this program will have a competitive advantage in growing a career in the bioscience sector, an industry with a high demand for skills and talent.”