On Site Program
Overview

Our curriculum is designed to ensure students gain the knowledge and experience that will enable them to function as competent, ethical, and compassionate art therapy professionals. It is also designed to foster critical thinking, so students are actively involved in creating the learning environment, questioning dominant discourses in the field, and taking part in the production of new ideas. Graduates of the program become leaders in the field of art therapy in the areas of professional practice, research, and theory.
The Toronto Art Therapy Institute provides a 16 month accelerated graduate level diploma training program in art therapy. 700 hours of practicum are required and a thesis or major project must be completed. Upon completion of all of the program requirements students graduate as Professional Art Therapists.
We offer the program twice a year with start dates in September and January. We accept 14 students per cohort.
Info Sessions:
Online information sessions are held before each admissions period and are hosted by TATI instructors, practicum staff, and administrators to share information about art therapy, the TATI program, and application process, and to answer questions.
Past info session:
January 2024 admissions
(onsite and distance learning programs)
Thursday June 15, 2023
12:00-1:30 ET via Zoom
Sign up here if you’d like to be notified when registration opens for the September 2024 admissions (onsite program) info session.
Curriculum
For further details including course descriptions, please see the On-Site Program Calendar.
Tuition Fees
Tuition fees are paid in four installments of $4,440. Tuition payments are due at the beginning of each 4 month quarter of the 16 months of coursework. The total tuition for the program is $17,760.00.
An additional fee of $1,300.00 is required for Thesis/Major Project Advisement to be paid at the end of coursework or earlier depending on when the student begins their thesis or major project.
Program Extension Fees:
The completion due date of all practicum hours and the thesis or major project is 2 years from the last day of semester 4. If students do not maintain contact with the program and progress in practicum and/or thesis/major project after coursework, and the two-year completion due date has passed:
- The student will be recorded as inactive in the program.
- If at or after this time the student would like to continue practicum and/or thesis or major project, they must pay a fee of $200 in order to reinstate their active student status in the program.
- If the student does not maintain contact and progress in the program after 6 months from last contact, they will be recorded as inactive in the program.
Tuition fees are tax deductible
The Toronto Art Therapy Institute is registered as a private career college under the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 and receives no government funding.
We are not registered with the Ontario Student Loans Program (OSAP) due to changes in their policies which would require TATI to be responsible for the loans of students who default on their loans.
Important Dates
September 2024 Program Admissions:
Applications for the September 2024 On-Site Program will be accepted between February 1-15, 2024.
January 2025 Program Admissions:
Applications for the January 2025 On-Site Program and the January 2025 Distance Learning Program will be accepted between May 31-June 14, 2024.
All application documents and payment of the application fee must be received by 12:00 p.m. (NOON) ET on the application deadline for each admissions period in order for an application to be processed (Thursday February 15, 2024 for Sept 2024 program admissions, and Friday June 14, 2024 for January 2025 program admissions).
Due to our review timeline and process we do not accept late applications. Incomplete applications are kept on file for one year and can be transferred over for completion during another admissions period within the year, by request.
Prerequisites and Application Process
Testimonials
Thanks so much for everything… I am currently making a living as an art therapist at 6 different worksites (including groups and individual sessions with people with addictions, brain-injured clients, survivors of domestic violence, children and teens who have witnessed domestic violence, and people with severe mental illness) and I am always looking to expand my practice — I am currently proposing seniors groups at the various local retirement homes. I’m working in Lindsay, Sutton, Port Perry and Port Hope.
I cannot tell you what a difference my time at TATI has made in my life, and how grateful I am to you, and to all my instructors and supervisors.
I am so proud to say that I am an art therapist.
In 2013 The Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General awarded me a Victim Services Award of Distinction for textile art project with survivors of domestic violence in Kawartha Lakes.
Annalisa Danowski
DTATI
International Students
Language Requirements:
If you apply to either the On-Site or Distance Learning programs at TATI, TATI reserves the right to request a successfully completed language proficiency test. Language test scores are reviewed in combination with academic credentials to determine your admissibility to TATI.
You may meet our English-language requirements if you have successfully completed one of the following:
TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language
- Computer: 220
- Paper: 560
- iBT: 83
IELTS: International English Language Testing Service
- Score in Academic: 6.5
Degree Equivalency Certificate
If your degree was completed outside Canada, the United States, or the United Kingdom, we require a degree equivalency certificate from an organization such as WES or ICAS. Transcripts from academic institutions outside of the above countries without equivalency certificates will not be processed.
International Credential Assessment Service of Canada (ICAS): www.icascanada.ca
World Education Services (WES): www.wes.org/ca

Practicum
Students are required to complete 700 hours of practicum and a thesis or major project in order to qualify for graduation.