Transferring credits from college to university in Canada

Can you transfer from college to university in Canada?

You can, and many students do it on purpose. Starting at a college can mean smaller classes, lower fees, a chance to live at home longer or a second shot at grades that were not strong enough for direct university admission. What surprises people is that transfer credit is never automatic. The university you move to decides what counts, and two universities can treat the same college course differently.

There are two kinds of decision. Admission is whether you get in at all, usually based on your college grade point average and sometimes your high school courses. Transfer credit is how much of your college work counts towards the degree. You can be admitted and still receive less credit than you hoped, so plan for both.

How transfer credit is evaluated

Universities compare your college course with their own: the topics covered, the level, the hours, how it was assessed and your grade. That is why the course outline matters so much. Credit usually comes in one of these forms.

Universities also set rules that limit the total. York University's policy on ONTransfer is a useful, concrete example: Ontario college studies receive block credit after at least one full completed semester of an eligible program, applicants need a minimum overall GPA of 3.0 on a 4-point scale (70 percent, a B), and students must complete at least 30 credits and at least half of the credits in each major or minor at York. Engineering transfers are further limited by accreditation rules. Other universities use different numbers, so treat this as an illustration of the kind of rule to look for. If your college reports grades on a different scale, our guide to Canadian GPA scales helps you compare.

Province by province: the official transfer tools

Start with the province where the university is, because that is where the agreements are recorded.

• British Columbia: the BC Transfer Guide, run by the BC Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT), shows course to course equivalencies, block transfers (groups of courses recognized as a whole), degree partnerships, and how AP and IB results transfer. Associate degrees are one form of block transfer.
• Alberta: Transfer Alberta, a Government of Alberta site, lets you check whether post-secondary courses and programs transfer between Alberta institutions. Day-to-day operation of the Alberta Transfer System is handled by Alberta Advanced Education staff.
• Ontario: ONTransfer, managed by the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT), shows transfer pathways between programs, individual course transfers, and each institution's admission and transfer credit policies.
• Quebec: the system is built differently. Students usually complete a two-year pre-university DEC at a CEGEP before university. Three-year technical DEC programs prepare students for work, and some technical graduates can also be admitted to university.
• Other provinces: look on the university's own transfer credit page, and ask the admissions office whether it keeps a database of past decisions for your college.

The Quebec route has a knock-on effect for students moving in and out of the province. McGill's School of Computer Science, for example, explains that its programs are 120 credits for students from high school, while CEGEP students are usually granted 30 credits on admission and start in the 90-credit part of the program. If you are applying from a CEGEP, our explainer on the R score covers how your grades are ranked.

Diploma to degree pathways

Many colleges and universities sign formal agreements that promise a set amount of credit if you finish a specific diploma with a minimum grade. These are often the best value, because you know the result in advance. Search the provincial tool for your diploma name, then read the agreement itself: it will name the minimum average, the year you enter and any bridging courses.

Bridging courses are common when moving from an applied diploma to a degree. A business diploma student heading into a commerce degree may need extra statistics or calculus, for example. If math is the gap, our calculus readiness deck and the University Calculus course are a free way to rebuild before you start.

Mistakes that cost students credit

Most lost credit comes from timing and paperwork, not from the courses themselves. These are the problems that come up again and again.

• Taking courses first and checking transfer later. Plan the courses around the transfer guide from the start.
• Ignoring minimum grades. A course you passed may still not transfer if the grade is below the university's cut-off.
• Throwing out course outlines. Universities may ask for the official outline from the year you took the course, and colleges do not always keep old ones.
• Assuming one university's decision applies everywhere. Each university decides for itself.
• Forgetting the residency rule. Even generous transfer policies require a large share of the degree at the university.
• Missing the review window. Some universities only assess or review transfer credit within a set period after admission.

Checklist before you transfer

Rules vary by university, program and province, and they change. Use this as a list of questions to settle on official pages and with the admissions or transfer office.

1. Pick the university program you are aiming for and read its admission page for transfer applicants.
2. Look up each of your courses, or your diploma, in the provincial transfer tool and note the result and the date checked.
3. Find the minimum grade for transfer credit and the minimum GPA for admission.
4. Find the maximum transfer credit and the residency requirement for your program.
5. Save every course outline as a PDF, with course code, hours, topics and textbook.
6. Order official transcripts early; processing can take weeks.
7. Ask whether transfer credit is assessed before or after you accept an offer, and how to request a review.
8. Keep written copies of every decision and email.

Once you arrive, the jump can feel bigger than expected. The university study skills deck and our Research and Study course help with the independent study habits most programs assume, and our article on university versus college in Canada explains the differences in teaching style.