Applicants seeking advanced standing must specify the faculty, program, and year of study to which they are requesting admission. All programs, with the exception of Architecture, Engineering (including Software Engineering), Optometry, and Pharmacy, operate on a course-credit system where students' progress is measured by courses completed rather than by years completed. Applicants to faculties that operate under the course-credit system will have previous work evaluated on an individual course basis. For other applicants, advanced standing will be determined to the appropriate year or term.
Applicants must submit an official academic transcript from all secondary and post-secondary institutions they have previously attended or are currently attending. Applicants must also submit course outlines to facilitate the evaluation of previous work and assist in the assessment of possible transfer credits.
The University of Waterloo subscribes to the following General Policy on the Transfer of Course Credits, as adopted by the Council of Ontario Universities:
- Acceptance of transfer credits among Ontario universities shall be based on the recognition that, while learning experiences may differ in a variety of ways, their substance may be essentially equivalent in terms of their content and rigour. Insofar as possible, acceptance of transfer credit should allow for maximum recognition of previous learning experience in university-level courses.
- Subject to degree, grade, and program requirements, any course offered for credit by one Ontario university shall be accepted for credit by another Ontario university when there is an essential equivalency in course content.
The University of Waterloo grants transfer credits from accredited institutions based upon the assessments performed by academic units and within our residency requirements for all types of transfer students.
At the University of Waterloo, the assignment of transfer credits to a specific degree program will be at the discretion of the admitting authority for the faculty or other academic unit concerned.
Find out more about current transfer policies.