Bachelor of Disability Management (BDM)

This program is offered under the written consent of the Minister effective August 2013 having undergone a quality assessment process and been found to meet the criteria established by the Minister. Nevertheless, prospective students are responsible for satisfying themselves that the program and the degree will be appropriate to their needs (for example, acceptable to potential employers, professional licensing bodies, or other educational institutions.

The Bachelor of Disability Management is a degree with an applied focus. It is the first and only degree of this nature and level internationally. The Bachelor of Disability Management (BDM) provides graduates with the underpinning of knowledge, skills, and competencies, on the one hand, to assist absent workers to return to work and, on the other hand, to assist employing organizations, service providers, and insurers in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors to introduce and operate cost-effective and responsive DM and return to work programs.

The program will be of interest to working adults who seek a credential related to their current field of activity – most frequently health, human resources, occupational health and safety, insurance, union representation, or government services, and to students graduating from high school who wish to pursue a career in workplace health science. In the evolving field of disability management, the degree has been designed to give students the necessary technical skills and to empower them as leaders in reshaping the approach and systems involving workers with disabilities.

The content and structure of the BDM has been designed and developed to ensure that successful graduates have the underpinning knowledge and skills, which are congruent with the International Disability Management Standards Council (IDMSC) Occupational Standards. This places BDM graduates in a favorable position, once they have fulfilled the work practice requirements, to embark on the certification process for the Certified Disability Management Professional (CDMP) or Certified Return to Work Coordinator (CRTWC).

The degree is comprised of 120 credits.

Admission is typically Directly into Year 3 (i.e., the 2+2 program), by transfer of 57-60 credits from an associate degree, 2-year diploma, or other relevant educational prerequisite in a range of disciplines, or by Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR). Applicants who qualify for the 2+2 program are deemed to have met the breadth requirement for the BDM. Such applicants can complete all of the remaining requirements (60-63 credits) for the BDM in as little as two years. Students will be required to enrol in WHDM 306 Applied Research unless they have achieved course equivalency.

Please see the Academic Calendar for more details on these and other admission pathways to the BDM program.

Students may study Full-time or Part-time, for completion of the 2+2 program in as little as 2 years studying full-time.

Examples:

Full-time study:

  • Completion of the 2+2 BDM Program in 2 years
  • Completion of a minimum of ten (10) or eleven (11)* 3-credit courses per year
  • Example: 4 courses in the Fall trimester, 3 courses in the Winter trimester, 3 or 4 courses in the Spring trimester

Part-time study:

  • Completion of the 2+2 BDM Program in 4 years
  • Completion of five (5) or six (6)* 3-credit courses per year

*The 11th or 6th course is WHDM 306; if required, WHDM 306 can be taken in Year 1 of full-time study, or Year 2 of part-time study, once credit has been obtained for the prerequisite courses. 

Please see the Academic Calendar for definitions of full-time and part-time students.

Please note that students studying under a scholarship administered by NIDMAR/PCU-WHS may have a fixed schedule of study.

Registration is now available directly through the University’s website as follows:

  • For New Applicants who do not have a PCU-WHS student ID number, please click here to apply: https://mypcu.pcu-whs.ca
  • For current students who already have a PCU-WHS student ID number, please login through the My PCU-WHS in order to register for and log in to courses.
  • To register for new courses, once a student has a PCU-WHS student ID number and has logged in to their “My PCU-WHS” homepage, please click on the “Registration” link in the side menu, then click “Register for Course”.

Information regarding the University’s flexible admissions process for students who do not meet the standard admission criteria can be found on the Admissions page.

Full details of the program are available in the Academic Calendar.

If you have a specific inquiry, please email: [email protected]