The Diploma in General Fire Leadership is designed to give Fire Service Officers the knowledge and skills to become leaders and managers within their fire departments. The diploma is offered completely online. Courses are a combination of self-study as well as live online sessions. Successful completion of at least 324 hours of coursework is required to be awarded the diploma.
Graduates of the Diploma in General Fire Leadership who have also obtained their Fire Officer II certification will meet the criteria for Fire Officer III.
Who Should Take This Diploma?
- Firefighters with at least 3 years experience working or volunteering in the fire service
- Firefighters who aspire to management roles within their departments
- Firefighters with Fire Officer II certification that would like to obtain Fire Officer III certification
How Will You Benefit?
The Diploma in General Fire Leadership can help:
- provide essential knowledge for the supervision and leadership of firefighters in fire stations; and
- instill a breadth and depth of knowledge that will enable participants to better manage their fire departments.
Diploma Requirements
Completion of three (3) fire service certificates totalling at least 324 course hours is required. The following certificates are mandatory in the diploma program:
- Certificate in Fire Service Leadership
- Certificate in General Fire Service Administration
Students may choose one of the following certificates to complete the diploma program:
- Certificate in Advanced Fire Service Administration
- Certificate in Operational Planning
- Certificate in Training Officer Education
- Certificate in Emergency Management
- Certificate in First Responder Health and Wellness
- Certificate in Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility in the Fire Service
- Certificate in Wildfire and Climate Change Adaptation Management
- Certificate in Fire Service Human Resource Management
Please note: There is a separate application for Fire Officer III, which can be found within the student portal here, called the OLCD Fire Officer Accreditation Application. The application fee for Fire Officer III is non-refundable. Upon submitting an application for Fire Officer III, program staff will check your application for completeness. If gaps are found, you will be notified by Dalhousie University staff. Once your application has been approved, your request will be submitted to the Nova Scotia Firefighters School. After all requirements have been verified, you will receive Fire Officer III certification.
Fees and Schedule
See each course for the applicable tuition fee. Each course is offered at least once a year.
For assistance or more information, please contact openlearning@dal.ca.
Recognition of Prior Learning
It may be possible to receive advanced standing in this diploma based on your prior learning from work or life experience. We provide two types of recognition of prior learning:
- Prior Certified Learning: Assessment of prior coursework or training through a provider, that is neither a university or college, for the purpose of advanced standing. Examples of certified learning may include military courses, accredited certificates, workplace training programs, etc.
- Prior Experiential Learning: Assessment of previous work and life learning that may be equivalent to learning outcomes of university courses / programs, for the purpose of advanced standing. Relevant prior learning may come from work or volunteer experience, participation on committees or boards, independent study, etc.
To discuss how to use your prior learning to apply for advanced standing, please contact rpl@dal.ca.