Graduation Requirements

To earn a British Columbia Certificate of Graduation (Dogwood Diploma), students must successfully complete a minimum of 80 credits and write the Grade 10 Numeracy Assessment, Grade 10 Literacy Assessment, and Grade 12 Literacy Assessment. Of the 80 credits required, 52 credits must come from required courses (including 8 credits in Career Education) and at least 28 credits must be elective credits.

Required Courses

Students must earn credits in the following courses and subject areas:

• A Language Arts 10 (4 credits)
• A Language Arts 11 (4 credits)
• A Language Arts 12 (4 credits)
• A Social Studies 10 (4 credits)
• A Social Studies 11 or 12 (4 credits)
• A Mathematics 10 (4 credits)
• A Mathematics 11 or 12 (4 credits)
• A Science 10 (4 credits)
• A Science 11 or 12 (4 credits)
• Physical and Health Education 10 (4 credits)
• An Arts Education and/or an Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies 10, 11, or 12 (4 credits)
• Career Life Education (4 credits)
• Career Life Connections (4 credits)
• Indigenous-focused (4 credits)

The BC Ministry of Education's online Course Registry provides a complete list of courses that may be used to meet these requirements. Additional information regarding the Arts Education and/or Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies requirement can be found in the Handbook of Procedures for the Graduation Program. Students should also review the Indigenous-Focused Graduation Requirement for further details.

Elective Credits

In addition to the required courses, students must earn a minimum of 28 elective credits. These credits may be obtained through Ministry-Authorized courses, Board/Authority Authorized (BAA) courses, post-secondary courses, or recognized external credentials. Locally Developed courses do not count toward elective credit requirements. Once the required credits in a subject area have been completed, any additional courses in that area may be counted as elective credits.

Provincial Graduation Assessments

To satisfy graduation requirements, students must complete the following assessments:

• Grade 10 Numeracy Assessment
• Grade 10 Literacy Assessment
• Grade 12 Literacy Assessment

Additional Credit Requirements and Opportunities

Students are required to complete at least 16 credits at the Grade 12 level, including a Language Arts 12 course and Career Life Connections. These Grade 12 credits may be earned through required courses, electives, Independent Directed Studies, external credentials, or dual-credit post-secondary courses. Further information is available through the BC Ministry of Education's website.

International Students

Most international students are subject to specific graduation credit requirements and policies. Students and families should review the International Student Graduation Credit Policy for details on how graduation requirements may differ.

Students Requiring Additional Support

Students who are concerned about meeting graduation requirements are encouraged to speak with their school counsellor to review their progress and discuss available options.

For more information, please consult Certificates of Graduation - Province of British Columbia or contact a school counsellor for guidance and clarification.

Graduation Requirements

In order to meet graduation requirements and be awarded a British Columbia Certificate of Graduation (Dogwood Diploma), students must earn a minimum of 80 credits and write the Grade 10 Numeracy Assessment and Grades 10 and 12 Literacy Assessments. The 80 credits must include 52 credits for required courses (including 8 credits of Career Education courses) and a minimum of 28 elective credits.

Required Courses:

Credits must be earned in the following subject areas or courses: 

• A Language Arts 10 (4 credits) 
• A Language Arts 11 (4 credits) 
• A Language Arts 12 (4 credits) 
• A Social Studies 10 (4 credits) 
• A Social Studies 11 or 12 (4 credits) 
• A Mathematics 10 (4 credits) 
• A Mathematics 11 or 12 (4 credits) 
• A Science 10 (4 credits) 
• A Science 11 or 12 (4 credits)
• Physical and Health Education 10 (4 credits)
• An Arts Education and/or an Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies 10, 11, or 12 (4 credits) 
• Career Life Education (4 credits)
• Career Life Connections (4 credits)
• Indigenous-focused (4 credits)

A list of all courses that may be used to satisfy these requirements is found in the online Course Registry through the BC Ministry of Education's website.  Information about options for satisfying the Arts Education and/or Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies requirement (4 credits) is found in the Handbook of Procedures for the Graduation Program.  See Indigenous-Focused Graduation Requirement for additional information.

Electives

Students must complete a minimum of 28 elective credits. These 28 credits may be from Ministry-Authorized or Board/Authority Authorized (BAA) courses,  post-secondary courses or external credentials, but not Locally Developed courses. Once the credits for required courses have been met, additional courses in that subject area count as elective credits.

Provincial Graduation Assessments

Students must write the following Graduation Assessments:

• Grade 10 Numeracy Assessment 
• Grade 10Literacy Assessment
• Grade 12LiteracyAssessment

Other requirements and options for credits

Students must complete a minimum of 16 credits at the Grade 12 level, including a required Language Arts 12 course and Career Life Connections. These Grade 12 credits may be for required courses, electives, Independent Directed Study, External Credentials, or dual credit post-secondary courses (see the Earning Credit through Equivalency, Challenge, External Credentials, Post-Secondary Credit and Independent Directed Studies Policy for additional information).

International Students:

Special rules concerning options for satisfying graduation requirements apply to most international students. See the International Student Graduation Credit Policy for further information.

Students unable to satisfy graduation requirements should connect with their counsellor to explore options.

Please see the following links for further information, and connect with a counsellor for any further information and/or clarification.

• Graduation Program
• Handbook of Procedures for the Graduation Program