How to get into York University starts with one clear baseline: the Ontario Secondary School Diploma plus six Grade 12 4U/M courses including ENG4U, along with every prerequisite your program names. York University admission requirements then vary sharply by program, from the low 70s to the low 90s, and Ontario students apply through OUAC 101.
This guide walks through the requirements at a glance, the step-by-step application process, all five applicant pathways, program-specific prerequisites and averages, and how admission averages are actually calculated.
About York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, founded in 1959. It operates three campuses in the Greater Toronto Area: the Keele Campus in north Toronto, the bilingual Glendon Campus in midtown Toronto, and the Markham Campus in York Region. It also maintains international sites in Hyderabad, India and an EcoCampus in Costa Rica.
The university is organized into 11 Faculties. Its most-searched destinations include the Schulich School of Business (BBA), the Lassonde School of Engineering (Engineering, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Digital Media), the Faculty of Health (Direct Entry Nursing, Kinesiology & Health Science, Psychology, Neuroscience), Osgoode Hall Law School, the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (Design, Theatre, Music, Visual Arts, Cinema & Media Arts), the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (Criminology, Commerce, Social Work), the Faculty of Science, and Glendon College, which delivers programs in an English–French bilingual environment.
York University Admission Requirements at a Glance
The core requirement for Ontario applicants is the OSSD plus six 4U/M courses, including ENG4U. Everything else — prerequisites, minimum grades in individual courses, language testing, supplementary applications — layers on top of that baseline depending on your program and your background.
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Diploma basis (Ontario) | Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent |
| Grade 12 courses | Six 4U or 4M courses, including ENG4U |
| French-language alternative | Francophone applicants and French-language high-school graduates may present FRA4U in place of ENG4U for applicable programs |
| Program prerequisites | Vary by program—commonly MHF4U, MCV4U, SBI4U, SCH4U, and SPH4U; some programs set minimum grades in individual prerequisites |
| Recency rule | Science and math prerequisites for Science, Lassonde, and Nursing normally must have been completed within the previous five years |
| Competitive average | Published as descriptive bands by program, from the low-to-mid 70s up to the low 90s |
| Conditional offer condition | Each program also states a final average you must maintain to keep your offer |
| English proficiency (general) | IELTS Academic 6.5 · TOEFL iBT 88 (before January 2026) or iBT 4.5 (January 2026 onward) · PTE Academic 60 · CAEL 60 · Duolingo 120 · Cambridge C1 Advanced, with no score below 180 |
| Higher-threshold faculties | Nursing and Schulich: IELTS 7.0 · TOEFL iBT 94 / 5.0 · PTE 67 · CAEL 67 · Duolingo 130 |
| French proficiency | Available as an alternative route for Glendon Campus programs |
| Application portal | OUAC 101 (Ontario high school) · OUAC 105 / 105D (everyone else) |
Per York’s admissions office, meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission — competitive programs regularly admit above their published bands.
How to Apply to York University (Step by Step)
Ontario high-school students apply through OUAC 101; all other applicants use OUAC 105. The process is the same regardless of pathway: apply, receive a reference number, then upload documents through York’s MyFile portal.
- Choose your program and confirm its prerequisites using York’s admission requirements tool. It lists the prerequisites, target average band, and OUAC program code for every undergraduate program.
- Apply through the correct portal. Ontario high school students must use OUAC 101. Out-of-province, international, mature, and transfer applicants must use OUAC 105, including form 105D if they have previous postsecondary study. Applicants applying only to York may use York’s online application, except AMPD BFA and BDes applicants, who must apply through OUAC.
- Pay the required application and supplementary fees. AMPD BFA and BDes applicants must pay an additional $20 supplementary application fee through the OUAC application.
- Record your York reference number. York sends an acknowledgement email shortly after you apply, and the reference number is required to log in to MyFile.
- Submit your documents through MyFile. Official transcripts are required for all applicants except mature applicants and visiting students studying on a Letter of Permission. Course descriptions are also required for postsecondary studies completed outside North America.
- Complete any required supplementary application. Schulich, AMPD, Concurrent Education, Creative Writing, the Glendon dual degree, and Social Work each have separate supplementary processes and deadlines.
- Submit language proficiency results if required. IELTS and TOEFL results must be sent electronically by the test centre using York’s institution code 0894. Uploading these results to MyFile is not permitted.
- Track your application and respond to your offer. York assesses applications as they arrive and issues conditional offers on a rolling basis. Processing may take six to eight weeks after all required documents have been received.
Admission Pathways to York University
York assesses applicants against a different set of criteria depending on where you are applying from and what you have already completed. Five pathways cover almost every applicant.
(a) Ontario Domestic Students
Ontario Grade 12 students apply through OUAC 101. The requirement is the OSSD plus six 4U/M courses including ENG4U, plus all program prerequisites. Ontario applicants face the earliest September-entry deadline of any group, and some programs — including Schulich BBA and Social Work — close entirely at that deadline rather than continuing to accept applications.
(b) International Students
International applicants apply through OUAC 105 and are assessed against curriculum-specific requirements. US-curriculum applicants need Grade 12 graduation with a minimum overall “B” average across Grade 11 and Grade 12 academic courses, with SAT/ACT optional. IB applicants need the IB Diploma with passes in six courses — three at Standard Level and three at Higher Level, or two SL and four HL — including program prerequisites; Math Studies does not satisfy a math prerequisite. GCE applicants need at least two A-Level passes plus three GCSE or IGCSE O-Level passes with a minimum average of C. York also publishes requirements for CAPE, Baccalauréat français, Bachillerato, Devlet Lise, Hong Kong, Indian, Chinese, Tawjihyah and WASSCE/NECO curricula.
Language proficiency is a separate hurdle. Applicants who have not completed four full years of study in English at an accredited high school generally need a test score — IELTS Academic 6.5, TOEFL iBT 88 (or iBT 4.5 for tests from January 2026), PTE Academic 60, CAEL 60, Duolingo 120, or Cambridge C1 Advanced. Nursing and Schulich set higher thresholds, and Lassonde’s engineering programs add per-section minimums. Scores are valid for two years. York offers conditional admission while it waits for results, plus bridging options through the York University English Language Institute.
Study permits are handled separately by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Most undergraduate applicants also require a Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) from Ontario, requested by the institution rather than by the student, confirming a space under the province’s share of the federal study-permit cap. Note that primary and secondary students in Kindergarten to Grade 12 are exempt from the PAL requirement — relevant if you are completing Ontario high-school credits before applying.
(c) Mature Students
York’s mature student basis of admission is for applicants who are at least 21 years old by the end of the calendar year of admission, have been out of full-time high-school studies for at least two years, and have not attempted studies at an accredited college or university. Mature applicants apply through OUAC 105 and submit a statement describing skills and activities that have prepared them for university — work and volunteer experience, professional development, personal study — along with explanations for any previous weak academic performance. Applicants who experienced barriers in high school or did not complete high school can also consider York’s Transition Year Program.
(d) Transfer Students
College transfer applicants need a completed diploma program, or at least two full semesters (one year) of full-time academic study at an accredited college, with an overall average of 3.0 on a 4-point scale (B/70%). University transfer applicants are assessed primarily on their most recent studies. Both groups apply through OUAC 105D.
Transfer credit is capped at 90 credits toward a four-year honours degree, 60 credits toward a three-year degree, and 30 credits for a Bachelor of Engineering. York’s residency requirement means a minimum of 30 credits, and at least half of the credits in each major or minor, must be taken at York. Courses in Computer Science, Computer Security, Information Technology, Kinesiology, Mathematics & Statistics and Commerce (ADMS) must have been taken within the last five years to count as prerequisites or waivers. York also maintains articulation agreements with Ontario colleges that specify transfer credit in advance.
(e) Out-of-Province Canadian Students
Canadian students outside Ontario apply through OUAC 105 and are assessed against their own province’s graduation standard — for example, an Alberta diploma with five Grade 12 academic courses including ELA 30-1, or a British Columbia diploma with four academic Grade 12 courses including English 12, plus program prerequisites in each case. Quebec CEGEP applicants present one year of CEGEP with a minimum of twelve academic courses, and may be awarded up to a full year of transfer credit with the DEC. Out-of-province applicants have a later September-entry deadline than Ontario 101 applicants.
Program-Specific Requirements & Prerequisites
Prerequisites and competitive averages vary widely across York’s Faculties. The table below covers high-demand programs; check York’s admission requirements tool for the full list, since prerequisites differ even between the BA and BSc versions of the same major.
| Program | Prerequisite Courses (beyond OSSD) | Approx. Competitive Average Range | Supplementary? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Administration – BBA (Schulich) | ENG4U (minimum 70%), MHF4U (minimum 70%), MCV4U or MDM4U, plus three additional 4U/M courses | Low 90s | Yes—leadership profile, video interview, and timed writing exercise |
| Engineering – BEng (Lassonde) | ENG4U, MHF4U, MCV4U, SCH4U, SPH4U, plus one additional 4U/M course | Mid-80s | Optional BOOST co-application |
| Nursing – Direct Entry BScN (Health) | ENG4U, 4U math, SBI4U, SCH4U or SPH4U, plus two additional courses; no prerequisite below 70% | High 80s | No |
| Computer Science – BSc (Lassonde) | ENG4U, MHF4U, a second 4U math course, SCH4U or SPH4U, plus two additional courses | Low 80s | No |
| Commerce – BCom (LA&PS) | ENG4U, MHF4U, plus four additional 4U/M courses | Low 80s | No |
| Criminology – BA (LA&PS) | ENG4U plus five additional 4U/M courses | Low 80s | No |
| Social Work – BSW (LA&PS) | ENG4U plus five additional 4U/M courses | Mid-80s | Not for Canadian high-school applicants |
| Design – BDes (AMPD) | ENG4U plus five additional 4U/M courses | Low 80s | Yes—supplementary evaluation |
| Kinesiology & Health Science – BSc (Health) | ENG4U, 4U math, SCH4U or SPH4U, plus three additional courses | Mid-70s | No |
| Psychology – BA (Health, Keele) | ENG4U plus five additional 4U/M courses | Mid-70s | No |
| Biology – BSc (Science, Keele) | ENG4U, SBI4U, SCH4U, MHF4U, plus two additional courses | Mid-70s | No |
| Neuroscience – BSc | ENG4U, SBI4U, SCH4U, MHF4U, plus two additional courses; no prerequisite below 80% | Mid-to-high 70s | No |
| International Studies & Business Administration – iBA/BBA (Glendon) | ENG4U or FRA4U, MHF4U, MCV4U or MDM4U, plus three additional courses; no prerequisite below 70% | Low-to-mid 70s | Yes—bilingual digital portfolio and interview |
| Most LA&PS and Glendon BA programs | ENG4U (or FRA4U at Glendon) plus five additional 4U/M courses | Low-to-mid 70s | No |
Admission Averages & Competitiveness at York University
York calculates your admission average from your top six 4U/M courses, with your required prerequisites always included in that count. Prerequisites cannot be dropped in favour of higher-scoring electives — if your program requires MHF4U, that grade is in your average whether it helps or hurts.
Rather than publishing a single annual cut-off, York states a descriptive target band for each program — “low-to-mid 70s,” “mid-80s,” “low 90s” — which makes the structure stable year to year even as actual competition shifts. Alongside that band, each program publishes a separate final average you must maintain to keep a conditional offer. These two numbers are not the same, and the gap can be significant: Schulich BBA targets the low 90s for admission but requires 88% to hold the offer, while Direct Entry Nursing targets the high 80s and requires 88%.
Three additional factors shape competitiveness. Some programs impose minimum grades in individual prerequisites regardless of your overall average — 70% in ENG4U and MHF4U for Schulich, 80% in every prerequisite for Neuroscience, 75% in MHF4U for Data Science. Some restrict how many 4M courses count. And because York assesses on a rolling basis and programs fill, an application submitted early in the cycle competes for a larger pool of seats than the same application submitted late.
Application Timeline Structure
York’s admissions cycle runs on a predictable annual shape, with different deadlines for different applicant groups. Confirm current dates on York’s deadlines page and through OUAC before you apply — the structure below stays constant, but the specific dates change every cycle.
- Autumn of your graduating year: OUAC 101 opens for Ontario Grade 12 students. York begins accepting applications for the following September.
- Mid-winter: the earliest September-entry deadline, applying to Ontario high-school (101) applicants. Schulich BBA and Social Work close permanently at this point; most other programs continue accepting until full.
- Late winter into early spring: supplementary application deadlines cluster here — AMPD evaluations, the Schulich supplementary application, Creative Writing portfolios, Concurrent Education forms and the Glendon dual-degree portfolio all fall in this window. Direct Entry Nursing has its own separate early deadline—scholarship applications also close in this period.
- Mid-spring: the September-entry deadline for out-of-province, international, transfer and mature (105) applicants.
- Rolling throughout: York assesses applications and issues conditional offers as complete files arrive; processing typically takes six to eight weeks after all documents are received.
- Separate cycles: May/summer entry has a spring deadline, and January/winter entry has a deadline in the autumn of the preceding year.
International applicants should work backward from the study permit and Provincial Attestation Letter process, which adds weeks to the timeline and is subject to annual provincial allocations that can run out.
How Canadian Virtual School Can Help You Qualify
Most students who fall short of a York program are short one specific thing: a missing prerequisite, or a single Grade 12 grade dragging down their top-six average. Canadian Virtual School is an Ontario Ministry of Education–inspected private online high school (BSID #882250) that has granted OSSD credits since 2008, which means credits earned there appear on the Ontario Student Transcript and are transmitted to universities through OUAC exactly like any other Ontario credit.
There are four situations where that matters for a York application:
- Earning a missing prerequisite. If you want Lassonde's Computer Science but never took MHF4U, or Faculty of Science Biology but skipped SCH4U, you need the course before you can be considered — no average will substitute for it.
- Upgrading a course to raise your admission average. Because York counts your top six 4U/M courses including prerequisites, repeating a weak prerequisite can move your average more than adding a new elective.
- Earning recognized Ontario credits as an international student. Completing ENG4U and other 4U courses through an Ontario-accredited school lets you apply on the OSSD basis rather than through a curriculum-conversion assessment, and four full years of study in English at an accredited high school can also address York's language proficiency requirement.
- Fast-tracking a prerequisite before a deadline. Continuous-intake online courses can close a gap between realizing what you're missing and the OUAC deadline.
Canadian Virtual School is one option among several — Ontario students can also use night school, summer school, or another Ministry-inspected provider. What matters is that the school is Ministry-inspected and the credit lands on your transcript in time. Nothing guarantees admission to a competitive York program; an upgraded transcript only makes you eligible to compete.
You can browse Grade 9–12 online courses, review the course upgrading process, or start a registration. Students in the GTA can also read about online high school options in Toronto and compare local options in our guide to the [top public and private schools in Toronto]([INSERT WHEN PUBLISHED]).
Student Experiences
Success Stories
Stories like these are common among applicants who use online courses strategically.
Frequently Asked Questions
What average do you need to get into York University?
It depends entirely on the program. York publishes descriptive target bands rather than fixed cut-offs: most Liberal Arts, Glendon and Environmental & Urban Change programs target the low-to-mid 70s, Science and Health programs the mid-70s, Computer Science and Commerce the low 80s, Engineering and Social Work the mid-80s, Nursing the high 80s, and the Schulich BBA the low 90s. Meeting the band does not guarantee admission.
What courses do I need to get into York University?
Ontario applicants need the OSSD plus six 4U or 4M courses including ENG4U, plus every prerequisite their program names. Common prerequisites include MHF4U, MCV4U, SBI4U, SCH4U and SPH4U. Francophone applicants and French-language high-school graduates may present FRA4U instead of ENG4U for applicable programs.
What are the English language requirements for York University?
General minimums are IELTS Academic 6.5, TOEFL iBT 88 (or iBT 4.5 for tests taken from January 2026), PTE Academic 60, CAEL 60, Duolingo 120, or Cambridge C1 Advanced with no score below 180. Nursing and Schulich require higher scores. IELTS General is not accepted. Scores are valid for two years, and Glendon applicants may satisfy French-language requirements instead.
How do international students apply to York University?
International applicants apply through OUAC 105 and are assessed against curriculum-specific requirements — IB, GCE A-Levels, US high school, CAPE and many national curricula each have published standards. You will also need to meet a language proficiency requirement unless exempt, then apply separately to IRCC for a study permit, which for most undergraduate applicants requires a Provincial Attestation Letter requested by the institution.
Can I upgrade a course to get into York University?
Yes. York calculates your admission average from your top six 4U/M courses including required prerequisites, so improving a weak prerequisite grade can raise your average meaningfully. Upgraded credits from a Ministry-inspected school such as Canadian Virtual School appear on your Ontario Student Transcript and are transmitted through OUAC like any other Ontario credit.
Does York University accept online high school credits?
Yes, when they come from a school inspected by the Ontario Ministry of Education. Ministry-inspected private online schools such as Canadian Virtual School (BSID #882250) issue OSSD credits that appear on the Ontario Student Transcript and are reported to universities through OUAC. What matters is Ministry inspection, not the delivery format.
What is the difference between OUAC 101 and OUAC 105 for York?
OUAC 101 is for students currently attending an Ontario day high school who have not attended a postsecondary institution. OUAC 105 is for everyone else — out-of-province Canadian students, international applicants, mature applicants and transfer students, with form 105D used by those who have completed previous postsecondary study. The two streams have different deadlines.
Which York University programs require a supplementary application?
The Schulich BBA requires a leadership profile, video interview and timed writing exercise. AMPD’s BFA and BDes majors require a supplementary evaluation plus a $20 OUAC fee. Creative Writing requires a portfolio, Concurrent Education a Supplementary Information Form, and the Glendon International Studies & Business Administration dual degree a bilingual digital portfolio and interview.
Does York University offer entrance scholarships automatically?
Yes. According to OUAC, York Automatic Entrance Scholarships are available to domestic high-school applicants admitted to a direct-entry undergraduate program with an admission average of 80% or higher, ranging in value from $1,000 to $3,500 per year. They are awarded automatically, with no separate application.
What is the difference between York’s admission average and the average I must maintain?
The admission average is the competitive band York targets when reviewing your application; the maintained average is the final Grade 12 average you must achieve to keep a conditional offer. They are often different — the Schulich BBA targets the low 90s but requires 88% to hold the offer, and Direct Entry Nursing targets the high 80s with the same 88% condition.
Conclusion
Getting into York University is less about clearing one high bar than about matching the specific bar your program sets. The OSSD plus six 4U/M courses including ENG4U is the floor; from there, the prerequisites, the target average band, the maintained-average condition and any supplementary application are what actually determine your outcome — and they vary enormously between a Liberal Arts BA in the low 70s and the Schulich BBA in the low 90s.
Map your program’s exact prerequisites early, check whether any carry individual minimum grades, and confirm the current deadlines on York’s official pages before you file. If you are missing a prerequisite or want to improve a Grade 12 grade before applying, explore Ontario online courses or contact our guidance team to talk through your options.
Plan Your University Prerequisites