University transfer applicants

This page covers admission requirements for students currently or previously enrolled in another university. 

Admission requirements and procedures vary so determine your applicant type based on your current academic status.

How to apply

All university applicants submit their applications through the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre website.  

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that all supporting documents, including high school and post-secondary transcripts are submitted by the stated deadlines.  Some post-secondary institutions may be equipped to transmit transcripts electronically, and others may require the submission of hard copy documents by mail.  Please consult with your school administration for more details. 

Admissions timeline and deadlines page.

Course requirements

All applicants are required to complete subjects in mathematics (including calculus and algebra), chemistry, physics, and English.  Students with university experience may demonstrate this experience using university subjects (if completed) or high school courses. 

Note that required subjects taken three or more years ago may no longer qualify for admission, and students may be asked to refresh these courses.  Refreshed courses must be taken at the highest level last completed.

Students must achieve a minimum university average of 75%, and high school grades should also be competitive. At least mid-80s are recommended in any related university-level math and science subjects to be in the competitive range for consideration. University course descriptions are required for review, particularly for relevant subjects. Some Engineering programs are more competitive than others. Transfer applicants are considered on a case-by-case basis but are rarely granted. Students should only apply for a transfer if they have a compelling reason for doing so and if they are willing to start over in first year.

Advanced admission

Waterloo Engineering’s curriculum is program-specific starting in first-year, and we require 4 to 8 months of relevant technical work experience by second-year. Therefore, applicants will usually only be considered for admission to first year. If transfer credits are awarded, the program will generally still take 5 years to complete and includes a total of 2 years of work experience. Please review our transfer credit policies. Contact the Engineering Admissions Office for more information. 

Degree holders

We give preference to students without prior related university experience.  If you have significant experience (3 or more years), or have already earned a university degree in engineering, or a related area (e.g. computer science, mathematics, or physical science), your application may only be considered after all other candidates have been reviewed. 

Due to the extreme competition for admission, you are encouraged to investigate other universities, where competition may be less intensive.  Engineering degree holders are also encouraged to consider graduate studies.

Other requirements

All applicants to engineering programs will be asked to submit a personal profile, called the Admission Information Form (AIF).  

Applicants to Software Engineering are also required to have experience developing well-structured, modular programs.  Learn more about our required programming experience.

If your first language is not English, you may need to meet our English language requirements.