We have a straightforward application that is designed to help us get to know you better. Our goal is to find out about your passion and help you achieve it.

STEP 1
Fill out your personal information.

STEP 2
Pay your $50 CAD application processing fee.

STEP 3
Answer a few questions about who you are and what you are aiming to achieve from the College Diploma Program.

STEP 4
Upload up to 10 images representing your current photographic and/or visual arts work.

STEP 5
Applicants selected for further consideration will be scheduled for a casual interview with the Creative Director + senior team member.

Click here to access the application for admission. We look forward to getting to know you!

Yes!

Whether you are a recent high school graduate, an accomplished visual artist, an international student or a retiree looking to pursue your creative passion, we want to support you. We value creative vision, dedication and community spirit over prior photographic experience.

All that is required is proof of a high school diploma OR SPAO can administer a 12 minute wonderlic test ($30 CAD).

Applicants considered for an interview must have completed steps 1 - 4 of the application process.

The interviews are meant to be casual and informal, so don’t worry! For us, it’s an ideal opportunity to get to know you better and to show us your creativity and passion towards photography and the arts.

We’ll also allocate a few minutes to go over the images that you’ve submitted in Step 4 of your application.

Ultimately, we place value on passion and eagerness towards learning, so you’re not assessed purely on the work you have created or on a demonstration of your technical skills.

Yes! SPAO is able to accept international students.

International students pay no additional fees. If you are committed to completing the Diploma Program, we can help. Being an international student in Canada requires a little bit of extra work. We strongly suggest you contact us at admin@spao.ca for more information.

Click here to learn more about applying as an international student.

Perfectly located within a dynamic urban village and a few minutes walk from Dow’s Lake, SPAO’s unique space is filled with a community of diverse and passionate creatives. SPAO students and staff work together on community projects and events, engage in exciting conversations over coffee breaks as well as keep one another motivated when things get tough. It’s a place where your ideas will come to life and where life-long friendships are formed.

Our college diploma is heavily focused on film photography; the bulk of students’ first year at SPAO is spent working in the darkroom but we also train our full-time students in the skill of scanning film and working on it digitally. Students are encouraged to pursue whatever photographic path speaks to their artistic vision and language, which for many students is film.

Click here to view the Diploma Program Modules for Year 1 and Year 2.

Your SPAO faculty and mentors are respected industry professionals and experts in their field of focus. They are the recipients of numerous awards and their work has been featured in media, textbooks and exhibitions around the world.

Visit Our Team page to learn more about the experiences and qualifications of individual faculty members.

The program is currently only offered on a full-time basis. We have several instructors who teach in the full-time program as well as in our evening and weekend courses, but the two are not related other than that and the evening and weekend courses are non-vocational (enrolment in the part-time classes does not provide advanced standing in the program except in very specific circumstances). The full-time program classes take place mostly during the day-time, with mandatory seminars occurring occasionally on Friday evenings.

Once you complete the SPAO College Diploma Program you will have the skills and experience needed to begin your career as a photo-based artist, pursue a commercial photographic practice, and/or work within arts and cultural administration. Unlike other post-secondary educations that focus on image-making alone, we will teach you the skills and provide you the knowledge required in order to build an arts practice. Visit our Alumni Achievements page to see the most recent successes of students who have graduated.

We believe that the SPAO College Diploma Program is your best chance at making your artistic dreams a reality.

All dollar amounts below are in CAD.

Application Fee: 50.00
Enrolment Deposit Fee: 450.00
Kit Fee: 1530.50 (covers photography tool kit, book fee, and field trip fee)

YEAR 1
Tuition Payment 1: 3751.60
Tuition Payment 2: 3751.60

YEAR 2
Tuition Payment 1: 3726.60
Tuition Payment 2: 3726.60

Optional Fees:
Wonderlic SLE (Second Language Evaluation) Test: 30.00
Payment Plan Processing Fee: 225.00
Hasselblad Camera Kit Rental Fee: 425.00