Admission requirements

College eligibility

The minimum admission requirement for post-secondary programs is one of the following:

Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent
General Educational Development (GED); Basic Training for Skills Development (BTSD) College Prep Level
Mature Student Status (MSS)

Mature student status

Applicants aged 19 or older as of the first day of school, and who do not possess an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent, may be considered for admission as mature students.

For all program admissions, students are required to complete the prerequisite subject credit(s) and provide successful grade(s) to be used in the admissions selection process. All applicants must complete all program eligibility requirements to be considered for admission and are considered on an individual basis.

Meeting the minimum admissions requirement does not guarantee entrance to the program.

Program eligibility

Some programs require applicants to meet additional admission criteria. These may include specific academic prerequisites; an essay, test or questionnaire; or the submission of a portfolio or entry immunization form. The admission eligibility requirements for each program are listed in detail in the program description section of this calendar. It is the responsibility of each applicant to complete these requirements as part of the admission process.

NOTE: It is the student’s responsibility to know what is required to enter a particular profession (i.e. physical attributes/qualifications, eyesight, drug free, criminal reference checks etc.).

Equivalent admissions requirements other provinces and territories

Applicants whose secondary school studies have been completed outside Ontario must submit evidence of equivalent standing. Recognized equivalents to an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) may be accepted if the applicant meets the requirements for admission to the college levels, subjects and overall averages required. Generally the requirement is successful completion of a Grade 12 diploma, except for Quebec where the equivalent is Secondary V.

Equivalent admissions requirements outside of Canada

If you already have a Credential Assessment Report issued by World Education Services (WES) or International Credential Assessment Service (ICAS), contact the agency to see if the report can be forwarded to OCAS (Ontario Colleges Application Service). They will distribute the results to all the Colleges you have applied to.

You will be required to submit either a post graduate comprehensive – course by course report from ICAS or a comprehensive report from WES. This assessment must be received at ontariocolleges.ca on or before February 1st to be considered for the oversubscribed programs. In some cases the assessment could take as long as 5 weeks. We suggest that you submit both your Secondary (High School) documents report and Post Secondary (College/University) documents; this will assist Durham College in assessing your marks for entry.

To obtain a Credential Assessment Report visit either ICAS (1.800.321.6021) or WES (1.866.343.0070) for information about obtaining a report and having it transmitted to Colleges. Additional information is also available at ontariocolleges.ca.