The OUAC processes undergraduate and professional applications for admission to the province’s universities. Which one is right for you?
The OUAC forwards applications to all requested universities and/or programs regardless of your qualifications. We do not make any admission decisions.
Application Types
Undergraduate
Description: Undergraduate study is the first level of academic work available at a university and leads to a bachelor’s degree. Normally (but not always), undergraduate applicants do not already hold a university degree.
Requirements: Admission to undergraduate study usually requires the completion of high school qualifications or higher.
Note: The OUAC does not process applications to the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC).
Graduate
Description: A graduate program is a higher level of university study that normally requires a previous undergraduate (bachelor’s) degree, or the equivalent. Successfully completing a graduate program results in a masters or doctorate degree.
Each program’s application process is different. Please refer to each university’s website for details about their graduate programs.
Professional
Description: A professional degree is a program of advanced learning that leads to an occupation governed by a mandatory regulatory body.
Requirements: Professional programs usually, but not always, require an undergraduate degree.
In addition to the university degree, candidates are usually working toward a professional designation. Practicing members of the profession must complete a licensing exam before they can actively practice and must keep their credentials current, through additional education mandated by the regulatory body.
Examples of professional programs include medicine, law, teacher education, rehabilitation sciences, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, architecture, accounting (CA, CPA, CGA) and engineering (P.Eng.) etc.
OUAC professional applications include:
Postsecondary Education
Description: Postsecondary education in Ontario refers to academic study after high school at institutions that grant recognized academic credentials.
Universities grant undergraduate degrees at the bachelor’s level and, in many cases, graduate degrees at the master’s and doctoral level. Some of these upper-level degrees are referred to as professional degrees.