The following program goals are specific to Trauma-Sensitive Practice:

• Develop a nuanced understanding of what trauma means/is and understand the obvious and less-obvious causes of trauma
• Acquire a critical understanding of “kinds of” trauma and the different theories and approaches used to address trauma in diverse learning environments
• Engage in processes and practices such as somatic, contemplative, expressive-centred arts and practices, including reflection that can be used to support psycho-social, emotional, physical, and spiritual learning and trauma-impacted learning
• Demonstrate ways to integrate processes and practices such as expressive arts, journaling, movement, contemplation, and reflection across ages and disciplines relevant to your learning contexts

The GCES Trauma-Sensitive Practice program helps professionals build multi-perspectival knowledge and skills required to meet a wide-range of needs of children, youth, and adults, including trauma-based responses. The four courses are an experiential sequence to extend understanding of neurobiological, evolutionary, psychodynamic, and collective trauma theories.

As such, this program may be experienced as demanding and we encourage applicants to consider the following before applying to the program:

• Interested applicants should commit to all four courses. The program runs on a cohort model so the ethos of community is very important. An essential element of the cohort relates to community-building and interpersonal relations with ritual, which are healing modalities.
• A key feature of the program is the integration of multiple trauma theories. Each theory calls for "right hemispheric engagement" or somatic, metaphoric, imagistic, poetic, symbolic, tactile, sensorial practice which promotes embodiment and somatic empathy. That is, this program does not privilege left hemisphere dimensions such as examination, comparison, categorization, exposition, and ranking. Certainly, dimensions of thinking are required yet always in-relation to emotions, affect, and the body.
• Central to the courses are the integrated elements of somatic, relational, contemplative, place-centred, and creation-centred practices. This integration aims to create and develop body/self awareness, capacity, and resilience. Doing so takes time and dedication by all.
• The material speaks to multiple forms of trauma, including but not limited to early childhood trauma, interpersonal betrayal, and Indigenous - settler relations. While instructors are attentive to individual and group challenges that may arise and seek to create safety through predictable learning structures (similar assignments; reiterated modules; pattern of delivery), cohort-community activities, small cohort size, and links to supports and mental health services, it is highly recommended that applicants have or put into place, before the first course, informal and formal resources (which may include professional services such as therapy).

Each course is structured with interdependent modules integrating somatic, relational, contemplative, nature, and creation-centred processes as well as PowerPoint presentations, video clips, forums, and Q/A sessions. Each module is structured with discussion, practice, reflection, and application, which invite diverse professional contexts and concerns (schools, hospitals, psychological services, adult learning centres, political organizations, and so on).

Assignments draw from select required texts and assigned module readings (provided). There are no exams.

Note: you must take a course in the term for which you apply. Course offerings are dependent upon sufficient enrollment.

Fall Term I
EDST 595 Understanding Multiple Trauma Perspectives ★3
Trauma can be personal, familial, cultural, ethnic, and collective (national, religious, geographic). Without a witness and a means to express and release the event, trauma often manifests as a symptom, disturbing multiple areas of functioning (education, health, vitality, relationships, vocation, even financial capacity). Traumatic experiences leave traces, whether large scale—on our pasts, societies, and cultures—or small—on our families, pets, students, patients, and communities, with dark effects imperceptibly passed down through generations. They leave traces on our minds and emotions, on our capacity for joy, vitality, and intimacy, even on our biology and immune systems. This course considers current theories of trauma as well as ways to explore healing trauma through engaging processes that extend beyond the intellectual, such as breathing, grounding, storying, moving, rhythm, image-making, reflecting, and writing—all of which can be integrated into diverse learning context.

Winter Term I
EDST 595 Mediating Trauma through Place-Conscious Learning and Relationships ★3
This course intends to further skills for effective trauma-sensitive practice by focusing on the relational activities of place-conscious learning. Just beyond the introductory eco-critical examination of literature highlighting decolonizing, Indigenist, analytical psychological, and psychogeographical approaches to placeful learning will be opportunities to build capacity through the practice and design of activities to deepen knowledge of:

• the ethics of place
• somatic experiencing
• places of otherness
• emotional topography
• archetypal terrains

Additional time will be allotted for collaborative learning to explore how place-bonding experiences, memories, and relationships can be applied as support for intercultural understanding and the recovery of health in schooling conditions.

Fall Term II
EDST 595 Embodying Images: Trauma and the Mythopoetic Imagination ★3
This course offers in-depth understanding of the relationship between body, words, and memories by focusing on the familial, cultural, gendered, ancestral, and archetypal underpinnings of traumatic responses. It explores and adapts strategies and tools from trauma specialized approaches to trauma relevant to learning spaces. Embodied reading and writing, found poetry, archetypal amplification, fragmentation journaling, and pastisching are gateways to the mythopoetic imagination—a form of metaphorical and symbolic knowing, sensitive to the unconscious movements of the bodymind. The practical objectives of the course are how to use such knowledge for personal wellbeing and to enhance learning with trauma-sensitive instruction and assessment.

Winter Term II
EDST 595 Embracing Expressive Processes as Trauma-Sensitive Practice ★3
This transdisciplinary course further develops the multiple trauma perspectives introduced and developed in the previous courses. It looks more deeply at memory, attachment theory, neural integration (with bilateral and sensorimotor practices), and contemplation. It draws upon place, land, and the arts to enter creative processes so to reconnect deeply with the self and relations. Developing practices (breathing, grounding, visualizing, amplifying, and imagining) in this way helps us move through trauma, loss, grief, and life transitions.

In order to be considered for the GCES program, you must meet the following requirements:

• A four-year baccalaureate degree from a recognized university with a 3.0 GPA on the last 60 credits of course work (6.5 on the 9 point scale).
  Note: For lower GPAs, admission may be granted based on work experience - see Guidelines for Considering Life Achievement.
• Two years of pedagogic experience
• English Language Proficiency

Domestic Tuition

2026-27 tuition for domestic students (Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents) is $1,549.00 per course (subject to change). Tuition is assessed each semester, by course.

Note: Tuition for these courses may be listed at a higher rate in the Academic Calendar. However, the Faculty of Education will provide a bursary to keep the amount paid by domestic students consistent across all Professional Learning courses. If applicable, the bursary will be applied after the add/drop deadline. The amount of the bursary varies by program; it is not applicable to U of A staff, doctoral students or international students. All fees and bursary amounts are subject to change.

• Non-instructional fees are assessed by the university
  Note: students can opt out of the Students' Union Health and Dental plans.
• Texts - a list of textbooks will be provided prior to the first course, some of which may be used for more than one course. Other online resources are available to borrow from the University of Alberta library system.

Fees must be paid by the specific deadline for your starting semester. Please review this page for complete information and dates.

Because this is a part-time, course-based program, students do not qualify for University of Alberta scholarships.

• You may be eligible for funding through your local school division and/or the Alberta Teachers Association.
• ARTA 101 Continuing Education Scholarship for active teachers who are current ARTA 101 Members (membership is free until you retire).
• Métis students may be eligible for funding through the Belcourt Brosseau Métis Awards.
• You may be eligible for funding through Alberta Student Aid (apply 60 days before the start of classes for best results).

Once you have finalized your application (see instructions below), you will be able to upload these required documents to the Graduate Studies Application Centre (GSAC). Having them ready in advance will expedite your application process.

1. A 1-2 page résumé outlining teaching and other relevant work experience

2. A letter of intent (1-2 pages). In your letter, please indicate how your current work would benefit from participation in the program and/or how you may be able to enter or alter your career because of receiving the certificate. 

3. Scanned, up-to-date transcripts from all of the post-secondary institutions you have attended (including incomplete studies, exchange and transfer credit courses). Note: your application will not be processed until up-to-date transcripts from all post-secondary institutions are provided.

• Up-to-date is defined as transcripts dated or issued in the fall/winter session of the year of application (if currently registered) or within a year of the term for which you are applying (if not currently registered). For example, if you are a new student applying for the Fall term, the print date on your transcript must be no later than September 1 of the previous year.
• The transcript must be scanned legibly and in its entirety (front and back pages), including the transcript legend typically printed on the back of the transcript. Ensure that no information is cut off during scanning.
• The following are acceptable for uploading to the GSAC:
  • PDF copies of transcripts that have been mailed to you from the issuing institution, scanned front and back
  • PDF copies from Bear Tracks for U of A students
  • PDF copies from other institutions' student portals (must have the institution's URL clearly visible)
  • PDF copies from MyCreds (email to yourself, then upload).

Please review the Application Requirements for Academic Documents page to ensure that your transcripts meet ALL of the listed requirements.

When you receive your letter of admission from the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS), you will be asked to send official transcripts directly to them. Instructions will be provided in the letter.

This is a part-time, online program. International applicants are welcome, but admission will not qualify the applicant under the Canadian Study Permit and/or Post Graduation Work Permit programs. For more information, visit International Education + Enrolment's page on Immigration. If you are looking for full-time graduate studies, visit the Faculty of Education's Graduate Programs page.

For this program, international applicants must meet the minimum eligibility requirements as defined by the program. Check out our page on International Academic Requirements for information on application documents, academic requirements, and English Language Proficiency.

International Tuition
Tuition for international students is higher than for domestic students. See the information provided here: Programs with Non-Standard Fees for International Students (look for Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies). 

Applications are not being accepted for this program.

A Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies (GCES) from the University of Alberta provides students with up to 12 credits in advanced standing in the Master of Education in Educational Studies General Ladder Program*.

• Alternatively, any GCES may ladder into the M.Ed. in Elementary Education, Curriculum and Pedagogy, or Secondary Education - contact essgrad3@ualberta.ca. 

*Completion of a GCES does not guarantee acceptance into any master's program. Course availability is dependent upon sufficient enrollment.

Do these courses count toward the TQS salary scale?
Yes. Each graduate-level course counts as 0.125 years on the TQS salary scale. More information is available here (see section 15.02).

Will I receive Alberta Teacher Certification through this program?
No. These certificates are not a path to teacher certification. The University of Alberta offers the Internationally Educated Teachers Bridging Program for educators who have earned their teaching qualifications in a country other than Canada and are interested in acquiring certification to teach in Alberta.

How will a break in my studies affect my program?
In most cases, you have 4 years to complete the certificate. However, course availability is dependent upon sufficient enrollment. If you intend to interrupt your program for any reason, contact gcesinfo@ualberta.ca to discuss your options.

What grading system does the program use?
These programs use the University of Alberta's 4-point scale grading system (graduate).

What if I don't quite meet all of the requirements?
Contact gcesinfo@ualberta.ca to discuss your options.

What if I have already completed some graduate level courses?
You may receive transfer credit for one of the prescribed GCES courses. Contact gcesinfo@ualberta.ca to confirm.