After you have started your studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science, you may be eligible for transfer credit for courses you complete at other universities. There are four pathways by which you might be eligible for transfer credit as an Arts & Science student:
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A Letter of Permission for courses taken at Canadian universities by students not participating in the Explore Program. See below for more information about Letters of Permission, including application deadlines and important documentation submission deadlines if you have requested graduation..
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A post-admission transfer credit application for courses taken at universities outside of Canada by students not participating in Learning Abroad or Exchange Programs
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Participating in a Learning Abroad or Exchange Program
If you have questions about Letters of Permission, contact the Office of the Faculty Registrar.
A Letter of Permission (LoP) is a prior confirmation that a course you intend to take at another Canadian university would be eligible for an Arts & Science transfer credit.
Some Canadian universities may require you to obtain a Visiting Student Permission as part of their course registration process. Check the requirements and deadlines carefully for the university that you want to attend.
Transfer Credit Eligibility
In order for a Letter of Permission to be granted, you must:
- Be pursuing an undergraduate degree in the Faculty of Arts & Science
- Have completed your first session (Fall/Winter or Summer) in the Faculty of Arts & Science
- Have a minimum cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 1.50 and be in good standing in the Faculty of Arts & Science when you take courses at the other Canadian university
- Have not previously received credit for the same or similar course(s)
If you do not meet the eligibility requirements above, your application for a Letter of Permission will be cancelled.
The courses that you plan to take should meet the following conditions:
- Courses must be taken at an accredited Canadian university. Transfer credits are not normally granted for online or distance courses unless you can demonstrate, through your application, that there are extenuating circumstances. Please note, transfer credits are not normally granted for courses at York University or Ryerson University due to their proximity to the three U of T campuses unless you have extenuating circumstances.
- Courses must not be offered by the Faculty of Arts & Science in the session for which you are requesting the Letter of Permission. You are expected to complete courses at U of T when it’s possible to do so.
- Courses should have a similar number of instructional hours and duration (i.e., weeks) as a Faculty of Arts & Science course. Note that courses offered in a significantly condensed format and/or intersession courses (for example, courses offered during U of T’s winter break) may not be eligible for transfer credit.
- Courses cannot be practical or clinical, an internship, or courses that are more appropriate for programs in other faculties of the University (e.g., the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, the Faculty of Music, the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, or the School of Graduate Studies).
- Courses must not be graded on a pass/fail or credit/no credit basis. You must obtain a final mark of 60% or higher in the courses taken at the other university (provided that the passing mark in these courses is 50%) to receive transfer credit.
- Courses must not exceed the Faculty of Arts & Science’s maximum term loads. You can receive up to 2.0 transfer credits for courses completed during the Summer session, and up to 6.0 transfer credits for courses completed during the Fall/Winter session, to a maximum of 3.0 credits for each of the Fall and Winter terms. If you plan to complete more credits than this, you must request permission for a course overload through your College Registrar’s Office. When calculating the maximum term load, include courses taken in the Faculty of Arts and Science and those taken on a Letter of Permission, post-admission and exchange in the same session.
In addition to the points above, it is important to take note of the following points concerning the Letter of Permission transfer credits:
- 300- and 400-level courses: No more than 1.0 credit at the 300+ level in transfer credit from a Letter of Permission may be counted towards the minimum number of 300- and 400-level credits required for your degree.
- Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA): Transfer credits will appear on your U of T transcript but they will not count towards your CGPA. Transfer credits also do not count towards the credit count for the Dean’s List Scholar.
- Business courses: If you are not pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce degree, you will not be eligible to receive RSM or MGT transfer credits for business courses taken at another institution. If you meet the eligibility requirements for transfer credit, you will be instead be awarded SII (breadth requirement 3, Society and Its Institutions) unspecified transfer credits, for example SII1**H.
Transfer Credit Information
If you have questions about any of the Letter of Permission processes or need help with your transfer credit assessment, contact the Office of the Faculty Registrar.
If you have already received on-admission transfer credits, the number of post-admission and/or Letter of Permission transfer credits that you can use toward the 20.0 credits required for your degree may be reduced.
Review the chart below to determine how many post-admission and/or Letter of Permission transfer credits can contribute toward the 20.0 credits required for your degree.
|
Transfer credits received as a newly admitted student |
Potential post-admission and/or Letter of Permission transfer credits that can be used toward the 20.0 credits required for your degree Note: All students must complete at least 10.0 credits in Faculty of Arts & Science courses toward their degree. Any post-admission or Letter of Permission transfer credits that exceed the number in this column can contribute toward prerequisites and program requirements, but not toward the 20.0 credits required for your degree. |
|---|---|
|
None |
10.0 |
|
0.5 |
9.5 |
|
1.0 |
9.0 |
|
1.5 |
8.5 |
|
2.0 |
8.0 |
|
2.5 |
7.5 |
|
3.0 |
7.0 |
|
3.5 |
6.5 |
|
4.0 |
6.0 |
|
4.5 |
5.5 |
|
5.0 |
5.0 |
|
5.5 |
4.5 |
|
6.0 |
4.0 |
|
6.5 |
3.5 |
|
7.0 |
3.0 |
|
7.5 |
2.5 |
|
8.0 |
2.0 |
|
8.5 |
1.5 |
|
9.0 |
1.0 |
|
9.5 |
0.5 |
|
10.0 or more |
0.0 |
There are firm deadlines by which you must apply for a Letter of Permission and late applications are not accepted. You should also take into consideration when the courses are scheduled to start and whether the institution at which you want to take courses has an application deadline for visiting students.
Once your completed application has been submitted, which includes the application, payment, and any required course outlines or other documents, it can take up to six weeks to receive a Letter of Permission.
The deadlines to submit your application for a Letter of Permission and all required documents are:
| Session in which you will be taking courses at another Canadian institution | Applications open | Application and documentation deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Fall (September-December) | May | July 1 |
| Winter (January-April) | May | November 1 |
| Summer (May-August) | January | April 1 |
If you miss the deadline to apply for a Letter of Permission, you can apply for post-admission transfer credit (without a Letter of Permission) after you complete the course(s).
You will have to submit separate applications for the Fall term, the Winter term and the Summer session. If you are planning to take courses that start in September and end in April, include these courses in your Fall term application. You should only apply for a Letter of Permission for one Canadian university per term or session.
For the Fall term you can apply for a Letter of Permission for up to eight courses, for the Winter term you can apply for a Letter of Permission for up to eight courses, and for the Summer session you can apply for a Letter of Permission for up to six courses. Keep in mind you can only receive 3.0 transfer credits for each of the Fall and Winter terms, and 2.0 transfer credits for the Summer session.
If you wish to change the courses listed in your application before the Letter of Permission has been issued, please update your application using the addendum functionality in the online payment system. You can submit one addendum for a maximum of four additional courses. If your Letter of Permission has been issued you will not be able to change the courses listed on the Letter of Permission and you can apply for post-admission transfer credit if you complete additional or different courses.
To apply for a Letter of Permission you must:
- Complete the Letter of Permission application (one application for up to eight courses for the Fall term, eight courses for the Winter term, and six courses for the Summer session)
- Pay the non-refundable assessment fee of $40
- Check Transfer Explorer to see if your course is available. If the course is available in Transfer Explorer, you do not have to provide a detailed course outline. If the course is not listed in Transfer Explorer or was evaluated five years or more ago, you will need to provide a detailed course outline. Email all course outlines/web links to transfer.artsci@utoronto.ca.
- Subject line: Course outlines for a Letter of Permission
- Include your first and last name and your U of T student number
- List all courses separated by subject areas and attach course outlines in PDF format, or include links to online course outlines
- For each course, include the following information:
- Number of hours
- Length of the course
- Grading scheme
- Number of essays, tests, and exams
- Reading list
Your Letter of Permission cannot be finalized until you have submitted any course outlines that are required. There is no guarantee that a specific course will transfer until it is confirmed to be eligible for transfer credit in your Letter of Permission. Once finalized, your Letter of Permission will be sent directly to you at your University of Toronto email address.
You are responsible for sending a copy of the Letter of Permission to the host university, if required. Keep in mind that providing a Letter of Permission does not guarantee that you will be able to enrol in the course(s) at the host university.
If you decide not to use the Letter of Permission, please notify the Office of the Faculty Registrar at ask.artsci@utoronto.ca.
Once you have received final marks for the courses that you completed, arrange for the host university to send your official final electronic transcript directly to transfer.artsci@utoronto.ca. Transcript copies issued to you will not be accepted. When requesting your transcript from your host university, please include your first and last name and, if possible, your U of T student number.
If your host university cannot provide an electronic final transcript, please contact ask.artsci@utoronto.ca.
If you have requested graduation, there are important deadlines for you to submit all required documentation and final transcripts. If you miss these deadlines you may need to delay your graduation.
- June graduation: The deadline to submit final official transcripts is May 1.
- November graduation: The deadline to submit final official transcripts is October 1.
If your Letter of Permission has been issued and the deadline to apply for a Letter of Permission has not yet passed, you can submit a new application. If the deadline has passed, you can apply for post-admission transfer credit once you complete the courses.