This page contains information about advanced standing, also known as transfer credits, based on the curriculum and level of education you’ve completed.
Please note: At uOttawa, credits are referred to as “units.”
Your advanced standing depends on several factors:
We assess what units you can transfer for advanced standing only after you’ve accepted your offer of admission.
Your institution must be accredited or recognized by your country’s ministry of education. If your institution isn’t on our list of recognized institutions, you must submit proof of accreditation.
To receive your bachelor’s degree, you must complete more than half the units of your program at the University of Ottawa. We can only grant you advanced standing for less than half the units you require for your bachelor’s.
Some programs don’t offer advanced standing:
We don’t grant advanced standing in a bachelor’s program for graduate courses (master’s, PhD, etc.) you’ve taken.
Transfer credits (units) will be posted under Academic Advisement in uoZone, and you will receive a revised offer of admission.
Once you’ve accepted your offer of admission, the Admissions Office will make an initial assessment of your advanced standing.
You’ll receive a revised offer of admission. Log into your uoZone account and download the revised offer to see your advanced standing and read all the information pertinent to it. You don’t have to accept our revised offer even if you accepted our original offer.
When assessing your advanced standing, the Admissions Office or your school or faculty may grant you credits (units) for the following:
Optional courses count towards your elective courses. If we don’t have specific descriptions of courses you’ve taken, we’ll recognize your prior learning by granting you OPT course units. If so, this will be on your offer of admission.
We grant you advanced standing based on what we believe would be most advantageous in your program. Please note that you can substitute certain courses if you choose a second discipline or request a change of program. For substitution requests, contact your faculty.
Engineering students: Advanced standing is normally granted for non-engineering courses. You can make a request for advanced standing for specific engineering courses through the Faculty of Engineering.
The University of Ottawa doesn’t grant advanced standing for high school courses except for the following curriculums:
Students entering uOttawa for first year who’ve taken courses in one of the above curriculums may be eligible for advanced standing. Advanced standing is automatically assessed when we receive your official final grades in the summer.
The maximum number of units we grant varies depending on your program.
You can receive up to 15 credits (units) if you’ve passed 12 CEGEP courses.
If you’ve completed more than 12 CEGEP courses, you can receive up to 30 units, which usually represents one year of university study.
| Faculty | Number of units |
|---|---|
|
Arts Sciences Social Sciences Telfer School Management |
Up to 30 units |
| Engineering |
For Computer Science : Up to 30 units |
| Health Sciences |
For Nursing: Up to 21 units |
| Law (Civil Law Section) | Up to 9 units for graduates of a technical legal program |
You may be eligible for advanced standing:
If you’re in a bachelor’s program, see the “University transfer students” section.
If you’re applying after one year of college in a certificate or diploma program, we won’t grant you advanced standing.
Faculties that grant advanced standing do so based on your discipline, courses completed and length of studies
|
Faculty |
Number of units |
|
Arts, Science and Social Sciences |
Up to 30 units |
|
Telfer School of Management |
With a two or three-year non-business diploma: Up to 15 units |
|
Engineering |
For Computer Science: Up to 30 units |
|
Health Sciences |
For Nursing: Up to 21 units |
The University of Ottawa has agreements with certain colleges. If you’re applying from one of these colleges, our agreement may affect your advanced standing
You must declare all studies you’ve attempted or completed on your OUAC application to qualify for advanced standing. Failure to do so is considered academic fraud.
If you’re seeking advanced standing for a specific course, you must submit a detailed course syllabus.
You must have a minimum grade of 60% to be granted advanced standing. This doesn’t apply to students transferring from Carleton University or Saint Paul University (who require 50%).
Please note that you require a minimum grade of 65% for Nutrition (NUT) and Nursing (NSG) courses.
You must submit detailed course descriptions for us to assess your advanced standing. If you don’t submit course descriptions (when required) by the end of your first term, you’ll be considered to have declined the credits (units).
Your course syllabus or outline must include the following information:
You may be eligible for up to 30 units of advanced standing for the courses you’ve completed depending on your program requirements.
Current uOttawa students transferring from one program to another have the courses related to the new program transferred automatically.
All courses you’ve passed at uOttawa, as well as any advanced standing you had received related to this program, are automatically applied towards your program requirements, subject to University and/or faculty policies.
You can explore the My Academic Requirements application in uoZone before the enrolment period.
To take one or more courses at a university with which the University of Ottawa has no formal agreement, you must have a letter of permission from your faculty. You can find more information about the general policy on credit (unit) transfers.
To receive a degree from the University of Ottawa, you must complete at least 50% of your program requirements at uOttawa. You must also meet all specific program requirements.
