University of Saskatchewan

Overview

The University of Saskatchewan was established by a University Act passed by the provincial legislature in 1907, and is a public research university on the bank of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon. Nearly all its colleges share one campus, which also hosts health sciences, a veterinary college and the Canadian Light Source, a national synchrotron facility.

USask is organized into colleges. Students coming from high school can enter a direct-entry college: Agriculture and Bioresources, Arts and Science, Education, the Edwards School of Business, Engineering, Kinesiology, or Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy. Programs such as medicine, dentistry and law require some university study first; you take pre-professional courses, usually in Arts and Science, and then apply to them.

How to apply

There is no provincial application system: you apply online through the USask admissions site, choosing a college and program. USask says requirements and deadlines depend on the program, the term you want to start and whether this is your first time at university, so look up your program on its requirements and deadlines page. Applying early in Grade 12 means an early decision can be made on your Grade 11 marks.

Students from US high schools, IB programs and other provinces have their own requirement pages. Our article on IB and AP at Canadian universities gives the general picture.

How grades are considered

For direct-entry programs, USask calculates an admission average from the subjects and grades on your transcript and explains the method on its admission average page. The timing matters: if you apply between September and February 1, the average uses your Grade 11 marks; from February 2 to June 30 it uses marks up to the end of the first Grade 12 term; after June 30 only Grade 12 marks count. Offers made before you finish high school are conditional, and USask checks them against your final Grade 12 marks. Each program publishes its required subjects.

USask also describes admission options for Indigenous students on its admissions site.

Applying from outside Saskatchewan

If you are finishing high school in another province or in the US, your transcript will not reach USask automatically, so plan to request it from your school. Look up how your own courses map onto USask's required subjects; for example, a US student needs to know which senior math course counts as the equivalent of Saskatchewan's Grade 12 math. If you are unsure, the admissions office can confirm before you apply rather than after.

Costs and funding

Tuition is set by college and by domestic or international status. USask posts current figures on its official tuition page. For study permits, start at the Government of Canada page on studying in Canada.

Getting ready with StudyBrix

• Pre-professional health students can build a base with biology readiness and chemistry readiness, and read our first-year chemistry study plan.
• Engineering students: check Grade 12 courses for engineering.
• Plan health program interviews early with the interview and MMI skills deck.

See also our guide to universities in Canada.