About

Northwestern Polytechnic (NWP), previously known as Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC), was established in 1966 with Dr. Henry Anderson as Dean. The institution expanded in 2009 by taking over the administration of Fairview College and currently operates campuses in Grande Prairie and Fairview, Alberta.

Our institution is Alberta's newest polytechnic and offers something for everyone. We announced our first Master's credential in 2021, adding to our university transfer, diploma and certificate programs, apprenticeship and pre-employment trades training, and adult high school equivalency completion. Credit programs are diverse and include the areas of Liberal Arts, Science, Education, Physical Education, Nursing, Human Services, Fine Arts, Business, Technology, Academic Upgrading, Trades and Technical training, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.

The highly-qualified faculty, affordable tuition, small classes, and generous scholarship and awards program attract students from across Alberta. We also welcome international students from as far away as Zimbabwe. Collaborative partnerships with other institutions are ongoing and provide programming that rapidly and effectively meets the varied needs of our learners.

The institution is responsive to community and industry demand for specific training by providing customized non-credit pre-employment programming, skills development, safety training, and community interest courses.

Located in northwestern Alberta, Northwestern Polytechnic helps meet the cultural, recreational, athletic, and conferencing needs by partnering with community and regional stakeholders. In Grande Prairie, the institution offers sports, music, art, and science summer camps; and the Douglas J. Cardinal Performing Arts Centre hosts various concerts, community music festivals, dance recitals, speakers' series, and industrial seminars.

Northwestern Polytechnic strongly encourages and supports applied research and innovative scholarly activities that complement and enhance teaching and learning in program areas and within industry sectors where its academic expertise enables such a contribution.

We strive to provide learners with access to high-quality and diverse lifelong learning opportunities, as well as responsible educational, fiscal, and environmental stewardship of resources. In addition, we are a comprehensive community institution, publicly supported to provide opportunities in post-secondary education in northwestern Alberta and operate under the Post-Secondary Learning Act and the Ministry of Advanced Education, Province of Alberta.