Applying for Transfer Credit

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Earn credit for your previous studies

A transfer credit may be granted when a course completed at another institution is deemed equivalent to a course in the Faculty of Arts & Science. This page outlines the transfer credit process for newly-admitted Arts & Science students, including eligibility, applying for transfer credit and planning for course enrolment.   

 

Follow the steps below to learn how to receive transfer credits for your previous studies. 

Step 1: Review Your Transfer Credit Eligibility

Click on the links below to learn how many transfer credits you may be eligible for based on your previous studies. 

Note that courses from previous studies are not guaranteed to transfer to Arts & Science. 

Step 2: Apply for Transfer Credit (if required) 

Applying for transfer credit is not required for students who have completed courses at: 

  • University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM)
  • University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC)
  • John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design (Daniels Faculty) 
  • Secondary school

If you are not required to apply for transfer credit, you can proceed to Step 5.  

Applying for transfer credit is mandatory for students who have completed courses at:

  • Canadian colleges 
  • CEGEP (depending on credits completed)
  • University of Toronto (except for the divisions listed above) 
  • Other accredited universities

If you are required to apply for transfer credit, you must:

  1. Complete the mandatory transfer credit application
  2. Pay the $30 assessment fee 

These steps can be completed through the transfer credit application portal

You can apply for transfer credit as soon as you receive your offer of admission. It may take up to five business days following your offer of admission for you to have access to the portal. 

The deadline to apply for transfer credit is no later than the deadline to accept your offer, as detailed in your offer of admission in your JOIN U of T portal. You will receive an email confirming that your transfer credit application has been received.

Step 3: Submit Supporting Documents

In order for us to assess your prior studies for transfer credit, you must submit official transcripts and you may also be asked to submit official course outlines.

We may consider unofficial documents uploaded to your JOIN U of T portal to issue a provisional transfer credit assessment — an initial assessment of the transfer credits you will likely receive provided you meet all of the outlined conditions and complete any required next steps. See Step 4 for more information about provisional transfer credit assessments.  

To receive a final transfer credit assessment, you must arrange for your official final transcript(s) to be sent to the University of Toronto (electronically or as indicated in your JOIN U of T portal) by the deadline detailed in your offer of admission. Final transcripts uploaded to your JOIN U of T portal are not considered official documents.

Submit required documents as early as you can. Once your transfer credit application is complete, the transfer credit assessment can take up to ten weeks.

Step 4: Review Your Transfer Credit Assessment 

Once your transfer credit assessment is ready, you will receive an email with instructions on how to view and interpret your transfer credit assessment.

You will receive a provisional transfer credit assessment if: 

  • You have not yet cleared the admission conditions outlined in your offer letter
  • We have not received your official final transcripts  
  • Some of your courses are still under review 

Your provisional transfer credit assessment will provide you with instructions for submitting any additional documents required to finalize your transfer credit assessment.

You will receive a final transfer credit assessment when you have:

  • Cleared all of your admission conditions
  • Submitted all required documents, including your official final transcripts

Learn more about how to interpret your transfer credit assessment and contact ask.artsci@utoronto.ca if you have any questions.

Step 5: Course Enrolment 

If your transfer credits have not yet been confirmed by the time course enrolment begins, you should still enrol in courses at your assigned enrolment date and time. 

Prioritize enrolling in any courses that are required for entry into the Arts & Science programs that interest you, even if you think you may receive transfer credits for them. Many courses fill up quickly, and you can always drop a course later and replace it with another if you end up receiving a transfer credit for it.

Review the information below to help with your course planning and contact your College Registrar’s Office if you need guidance:

  • Secondary school students: Review the transfer credit equivalency chart for your secondary school curriculum to see what transfer credits you will receive.
  • Post-secondary and CEGEP students: Check Transfer Explorer to see if your courses have been previously assessed for transfer credit by the Faculty of Arts & Science. While your transfer credit assessment results may differ from what you see on Transfer Explorer, the information there is generally a good indicator of what kind of transfer credits you will receive. 

Once you receive your final transfer credit assessment, review it carefully to determine if you need to drop a course that you have received transfer credit for. Be sure to also review your transfer credit assessment for information about exclusions. You cannot enrol for degree credit in courses listed as exclusions in your assessment. For more information about exclusions, see the Understanding Your Transfer Credits page

Step 6: Learn More About Using Your Transfer Credits

Select your previous studies from the list below to learn how your transfer credits may be used to fulfil degree requirements, program requirements and course prerequisites:

Transfer Credit Frequently Asked Questions

Incoming students are advised not to enrol in summer courses outside of the Faculty of Arts & Science prior to beginning their studies in the fall. The consequences of doing so vary depending on the applicant type:

 

  • Secondary school applicants: Secondary school applicants are not eligible to apply for transfer credit for courses taken at another post-secondary institution prior to the start of their first year at Arts & Science.
  • Post-secondary applicants (Canadian and international): Transfer credit will not be granted for courses not reported on your U of T application. If you report that you have enrolled in summer courses, your eligibility to meet the admission conditions outlined in your offer letter will be reassessed once these courses are completed. This will delay your final transfer credit assessment and impact your ability to plan your course enrolment. Should you fall below the admission conditions outlined in your offer letter based on your summer course results, you may be withdrawn from your courses and your registration will be cancelled. 
  • Internal U of T transfer applicants: If you enrol in summer courses at another U of T campus or division, your eligibility to meet the admission conditions outlined in your offer letter will need to be reviewed again once these courses are completed. This can lead to a delay in receiving your retained credits and will impact your ability to plan your course enrolment. Should you fall below the admission conditions outlined in your offer letter based on your summer course results, you may be withdrawn from your courses and your registration will be cancelled. Transfer credit will not be granted for summer courses outside of the University of Toronto taken prior to beginning your studies in the fall, and that were not reported on your U of T application.

 

If your official transcript sent by the deadline lists courses without a final grade, you will be required to send an updated transcript when the final marks for your courses are available. Your transfer credit assessment will be updated once the final grades are received.

No. Transfer credits awarded from previous post-secondary studies cannot be refused.

When you are admitted to the Faculty of Arts & Science, you are not automatically enrolled in a program of study. Transfer students are admitted into upper-year general studies in an Honours Bachelor of Arts (HBA) or an Honours Bachelor of Science (HBSc) based on the admission category selected on your application. How and when you can enrol in a program will depend on the outcome of your transfer credit assessment, the enrolment requirements and timelines of the program(s) you wish to pursue.

If you receive up to 3.5 transfer credits, you can enrol in a program at the end of your first Fall/Winter session in Arts & Science.

If you receive 4.0 or more transfer credits, you may be eligible to enrol in a program right away. Some programs are open for enrolment between March and mid-September, while others may only be open for enrolment in March and April. Some programs require an application, so you have to wait to find out if you are eligible for admission to the program. Even if you receive 4.0 or more transfer credits, you do not have to enrol in any programs until the end of your first Fall/Winter session in Arts & Science.

For detailed program enrolment requirements, deadlines and application instructions, review the Arts & Science Program Toolkit

Transfer students have until the end of their first semester in the Faculty of Arts & Science to request a reassessment.

The same time limit applies to all department interviews (if applicable) and submission of detailed course outlines (syllabi). If you have questions or concerns about your assessment, please email ask.artsci@utoronto.ca. Supporting documentation and a written explanation for reassessment of a transfer credit decision may be requested.