Graduation Requirement
BC 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
write the Grade 10 Numeracy Assessment and Grades 10 and 12 Literacy Assessments
The 80 credits must include 52 credits for required courses (please see below) and a minimum of 28 elective credits with 16 credits at the grade 12 level. Once you have satisfied the requirements listed below, all additional credits are counted as 'electives'.
Dogwood Diploma - Standard English High School Diploma
The B.C. Certificate of Graduation or "Dogwood Diploma" is awarded to students who successfully complete the provincial graduation requirements.
Students require a minimum of 80 credits to graduate.
Of these 80 credits:
At least 16 credits must be at the Grade 12 level, including a required Language Arts 12 and Career Life Connections
At least 28 credits must be elective course credits
Effective July 1, 2023: At least 4 credits must have an Indigenous focus (EFP10, EFP11, EFP12 or BC First Peoples 12)
52 credits are required from the following:
Career-Life Education (4 credits), and Career-Life Connections (4 credits)
Physical and Health Education 10 (4 credits)
Science 10 (4 credits), and a Science 11 or 12 (4 credits)
Social Studies 10 (4 credits), and a Social Studies 11 or 12 (4 credits)
A Math 10 (4 credits), and a Math 11 or 12 (4 credits)
A Language Arts 10, 11 and a required 12 (12 credits total)
An Arts Education 10, 11, or 12 and/or an Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies 10, 11, or 12 (4 credits total)
In addition, students must also complete three graduation assessments:
The Grade 10 Numeracy Assessment
The Grade 10 Literacy Assessment
The Grade 12 Literacy Assessment
Dual Dogwood Diploma - French Immersion
French Immersion students can earn both a British Columbia Certificate of Graduation (Dogwood Diploma) and a Diplôme de fin d’études secondaires en Colombie-Britannique.
To graduate with both diplomas, French Immersion students must meet the graduation requirements for the Dogwood Diploma above and, of these 80 credits, they must earn:
At least 16 credits at the Grade 12 level (including a Français langue seconde-immersion course at the Grade 12 level)
Français langue seconde-immersion 10 (4 credits)
A Français langue seconde-immersion course at the Grade 11 level (4 credits)
Français langue seconde-immersion 12 (4 credits)
At least 12 credits in Grade 10, 11, or 12 courses that are in French with at least 4 of these credits at the Grade 11 or 12 level. At HSS, the courses we offer that meet this criteria are: Sciences Humaines 10 (which meets the Socials 10 requirement), Sciences Humaines 11 (which also fulfills the Socials 11 requirement), and French 10 Art (earning the 4 credits and fulfills Art Education requirement).
In addition, students must also complete four graduation assessments:
The Grade 10 Numeracy Assessment
The Grade 10 Literacy Assessment
The Grade 12 Literacy Assessment
The Grade 12 French Immersion Literacy Assessment