Summer Intensives

Join us at CapU Squamish this summer for a transformative learning experience where learning meets adventure.

Summer program intensives at CapU Squamish

Summer intensives are rich learning experiences designed to allow individuals to immerse themselves in specific subjects within a condensed timeframe, useful for those who want to get ahead or upskill quickly.

CapU offers an interactive, place-based approach that allows you to engage with your surroundings, connect with peers and work with world-class instructors.

A unique learning experience:

Live in campus residences, walking distance from class (option);
Enjoy catered meals from CapU's newest eatery (option); and
Immerse yourself in the mountains and breathtaking scenery of Squamish, B.C., the recreation capital of Canada.

Below are detailed course descriptions, dates and program rates. For information about course transfers with CapU credits, see the BC Transfer Guide.

Summer 2025 offerings

REC 152 & TOUR 234 – Environmental Stewardship & Responsible Tourism Management (6 credits)

This program immerses students in the principles and ethics of environmental stewardship and responsible tourism management. Participants will have the opportunity to explore relationships with the land, identify best practices in visitor management strategies, apply basic stakeholder management frameworks and critique different approaches to resource productivity within sustainable tourism.

Delivered in a hybrid format, this program combines eight weeks of online learning with a seven-day immersive, hands-on and place-based educational experience at our beautiful Squamish campus.

Professionals from tourism businesses focused on destination management and marketing, hospitality, transportation, events and conferences, attractions, travel, outdoor recreation, and food and beverage will benefit from taking the courses.

Prerequisites: none

Dates:

Online: May 12 – July 11, 2025, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:30 – 9 p.m.
In person: June 8 – 15, 2025, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Check in: June 7, 2025
- Check out: June 15, 2025

Application deadline: April 13, 2025

Program fees:

Full program (accommodation, meals, tuition, university fees, and all activities): $3335
Program, with meals (meals, tuition, university fees, and all activities): $2535
Program, with activities (tuition, university fees, and all activities): $2145

Note: Fees listed are for domestic students. A $50 application fee may also apply for new domestic students. For international course fees, please inquire at squamish@capilanou.ca.

Instructors: Blake Rowsell and Andrew Stegemann

Blake Rowsell bio: Blake is an outdoor enthusiast who is passionate about teaching and learning. His previous roles include managing several sports businesses and organizations, working with the Vancouver Olympic Committee to host the 2010 games and teaching high school. Outside of teaching, his interests include mountain biking, alpine skiing, hiking, towed water sports and surfing.

Andrew Stegemann bio: Andrew is an executive level professional, changemaker, environmental advocate and lifelong learner. Prior to CapU, Andrew was the Director for Our Living Waters, a network to uplift the health of fresh water across Canada, and ran his own consultancy focused on strategic planning, group facilitation and capacity building services for environmental organizations. He brings his wealth of experience and enthusiasm to his current role as convener and faculty for Capilano University's Outdoor Recreation Management Program.

COMP 115 – Learn to Code (4 credits)

An introduction to the principles and practices of writing quality code for students with little or no coding experience.

Students learn to apply fundamental principles and strategies for thinking clearly about problems, managing complexity, and designing creative, structured solutions.

Students learn to develop the data structures and algorithms to express their solutions, evaluate and test their designs, and code them in a modern, high-level programming language like Python.

This course is open to current high school students.

Prerequisites: One of the following: Pre-calculus 11, Foundations of Mathematics 11, Workplace Mathematics 11, Computer Science 11, BMTH 044, BMTH 048, Math Placement Test (Precalculus MPT), MATH 097, MATH 123, or COMP 101 (B-)

Dates: July 7 – 18, 2025 (classes are Monday – Friday, with the weekend open)

Check in: July 6, 2025
Check out: July 18, 2025

Application deadline: May 31, 2025

Program fees:

Full program (accommodation, meals, tuition, university fees, and all activities): $3040
Program, with meals (meals, tuition, university fees, and all activities): $1840
Program, with activities (tuition, university fees, and all activities): $1240

Note: Fees listed are for domestic students. A $50 application fee may also apply for new domestic students. For international course fees, please inquire at squamish@capilanou.ca.

Instructor: Jason Madar

Jason Madar bio: An experienced technology professional, Jason Madar has served as chief technology officer for multiple startups, driving technical strategy and product development.

Bridging academia and industry, Jason teaches software development, databases, security and cloud computing, to shape the next generation of technology professionals.

BIOL 120 – Environmental Field Studies (3 credits)

Students are introduced to the exceptional biodiversity in their environment through place-based, experiential learning at a field research station. They will visit diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems to familiarize themselves with ecological monitoring and natural history.

Field projects and seminars will emphasize major environmental topics, including the region's biogeography, principles of ecology, human impacts and conservation.

This course is open to current high school students.

Students will complete a small group project, contributing to scientific knowledge with meaningful discoveries.

Prerequisites: None

Dates: July 21 – August 1, 2025 (classes are Monday – Friday, with the weekend open)

Check in: July 20, 2025
Check out: August 1, 2025

Application deadline: May 31, 2025

Program fees:

Full program (accommodation, meals, tuition, university fees, and all activities): $3110
Program, with meals (meals, tuition, university fees, and all activities): $1910
Program, with activities (tuition, university fees, and all activities): $1310

Note: Fees listed are for domestic students. A $50 application fee may also apply for new domestic students. For international course fees, please inquire at squamish@capilanou.ca.

Instructor: Alana Schick

Alana Schick bio: Alana is a biologist with an extensive background in evolutionary and ecological research, fueled by a deep commitment to teaching and environmental stewardship. Her research involves investigating and modelling how communities adapt to novel environments and exploring the emergence of diversity through ecological specialization.

When not in the classroom or lab, Alana can be found in the mountains doing some combination of ski-mountaineering, climbing, biking, and running. Alana brings a unique blend of technical expertise and hands-on field experience to her teaching, promoting first principles thinking and robust quantitative reasoning.