Transfer credits from university, college, or CEGEP

It's possible to receive transfer credits for up to half of the courses needed for a Waterloo degree. However, the transfer credits you receive may vary depending on the program to which you have been admitted.

In most cases, transfer credit assessments are completed once you've been admitted to Waterloo. Our admission requirements list the maximum amount of transfer credits for your program(s) of interest.

Which courses are eligible for transfer?

Transferred courses will count toward the credits needed for your Waterloo degree; however, the grades you obtained in these courses will not be included in your Waterloo averages. You must meet all requirements of your Waterloo academic plan (major) in order to graduate, regardless of the number of transfer credits that you receive.

College and CEGEP courses

You’re eligible for transfer credit for relevant courses in which you have earned a grade of 70% or better, except if you are admitted to the Faculty of Science which requires a minimum grade of 75%.

Bible college courses

You'll be considered for admission and possible transfer credits when minimum admission requirements have been met. Email myapplication@uwaterloo.ca for details.

University courses

You’re eligible for transfer credit for relevant courses in which you earn a grade of 60% or better.

Studied at college or university in Ontario?

If you’re enrolled at or have completed courses at a college or university in Ontario, visit the course-to-course guide on ontransfer.ca for the most up-to-date information on how your previous/current courses may transfer to Waterloo. If you’re admitted to Waterloo, you’ll then receive an official assessment of how many transfer credits will count toward your degree here.

Transfer credit policies

Not sure which faculty offers your program? View a list of programs grouped by faculty.

Faculty of Arts, including Accounting and Financial Management and Sustainability and Financial Management

Honours Arts, Honours Arts and Business, Global Business and Digital Arts, and Social Development Studies programs

  • Courses completed within the past 10 years will be considered for transfer credit. Courses completed more than 10 years ago will be considered on a case-by-case basis and will most often receive general elective transfer credits (i.e., PSYCH 1XX, not PSYCH 101).
  • Applicants who receive 7.0 units (equivalent to 14 term courses) or more in transfer credits are not normally eligible for co-op programs. Applicants who are not eligible for co-op will be considered for the regular version of the program, if available.

Accounting and Financial Management, Sustainability and Financial Management

  • If you have a degree in any field, you're not eligible for admission to Accounting and Financial Management or Sustainability and Financial Management. You're encouraged to speak directly with CPA – Ontario to discuss your next steps to achieve your designation.
  • If you're applying to transfer into Accounting and Financial Management or Sustainability and Financial Management from another degree program, you'll be considered for admission to the first year of the program.

Faculty of Engineering, including Architecture

Engineering programs

  • Admission for transfer students to Engineering programs is considered on a case-by-case basis.
  • Transfer students are usually eligible for admission only to the first year of Waterloo’s five-year, co-op only Engineering programs.
  • University courses completed within the past three years may be considered for possible transfer credit. In some cases, you may receive a couple of transfer credits if you’re transferring from another Canadian university. Transfer credits are not available in the Biomedical Engineering or Systems Design Engineering programs. Please email the Engineering Admissions Office for more information.
  • No transfer credits will be awarded for courses taken at college.

Architecture program

  • Transfer students are eligible for admission to the first year of the program only.
  • Students transferring from a university may receive up to 1.0 transfer credits (equivalent to two term courses). Eligibility will depend on when the course was taken, the course content, and the course grade.
  • No transfer credits will be awarded for courses taken at a college.

Faculty of Environment
  • Courses completed within the past 10 years will be considered for transfer credit. Courses completed more than 10 years ago will be consider on a case-by-case basis and will most often receive general credits (i.e., GEOG 1XX, not GEOG 101).
  • Applicants who receive 7.0 units (equivalent to 14 term courses) or more in transfer credits are not normally eligible for co-op programs. Applicants who are not eligible for co-op will be considered for the regular version of the program, if available.

Faculty of Health
  • Courses completed within the past 10 years will be considered for transfer credit. Courses completed more than 10 years ago will not receive transfer credit.
  • Kinesiology, Recreation and Leisure Studies
    • Applicants who receive 7.0 units (equivalent to 14 courses) or more in transfer credits are not eligible for co-op programs. Applicants not eligible for co-op will be considered or the regular version of the program, if available.
  • Health Sciences, Public Health
    • Applicants who receive 4.0 units (equivalent to 8 courses) or more in transfer credits are not eligible for co-op programs. Applicants not eligible for co-op will be considered or the regular version of the program, if available.

Faculty of Mathematics

  • Applicants who receive 6.5 units (equivalent to 13 term courses) or more in transfer credits are not normally eligible for co-op programs. Applicants who are not eligible for co-op will be considered for the regular version of the program, if available.

  • Transfer students are not eligible for

    • Business Administration (Laurier) and Computer Science (Waterloo) Double Degree,

    • Business Administration (Laurier) and Mathematics (Waterloo) Double Degree,

    • Computing and Financial Management, and the

    • Mathematics/Chartered Professional Accountancy programs.

  • Courses completed within the past 10 years will be considered for transfer credit.

  • The Faculty of Mathematics transfers failed courses. Courses with a failing grade will be transferred to your Waterloo record; however, these grades will not be included in your Waterloo average. Failed courses will count as a “transfer failure.”

Faculty of Science
  • Courses completed within the past 10 years will be considered for transfer credit.
  • Applicants who receive 7.0 units (equivalent to 14 term courses) or more in transfer credits are not eligible for co-op programs. Applicants who are not eligible for co-op will be considered for the regular version of the program, if available.
  • Transfer credits for PHYS 111 and 111L cannot be awarded for programs that require PHYS 121 and PHYS 121L.
  • Transfer credits for PHYS 112 and PHYS 112L cannot be awarded for programs that require PHYS 122 and PHYS 122L.
  • Biotechnology/Chartered Professional Accountancy
    • A maximum of 2.0 transfer credit units (equivalent to 4 term courses) is allowed for students entering the Biotechnology/Chartered Professional Accountancy program.
  • Science and Aviation
    • A maximum of 5.0 transfer credit units (equivalent to 10 term courses) is allowed for students entering the Science and Aviation program.

How to transfer credits

If you’re admitted to Waterloo, we'll automatically review your application for possible transfer credit and send your transfer credit assessment by email. You don't need to request an assessment and there is no cost. Transfer credits from post-secondary institutions are applied to your Waterloo student record automatically and cannot be declined.

You'll need to have any colleges and/or universities you've attended send official transcripts directly to Waterloo's Office of the Registrar.

How we assess your courses

We'll review each of your courses to see if the content matches a course offered at Waterloo. Transfer credits can be granted as specific Waterloo courses (e.g., PSYCH 101 – Introductory Psychology) or general electives in a particular subject (e.g., PSYCH 1XX – a first-year level Psychology credit). Transfer credits will be granted according to what is most appropriate for your Waterloo academic plan and according to our transfer credit policies.

Assessing transfer credits takes time. Please submit all required documents (if requested) as soon as possible. The sooner we receive this information, the faster we can finalize your transfer credit assessment!

How to interpret your transfer credit letter

A transfer credit weight of 0.50 is equivalent to a one-term course at Waterloo (four months in length). A weight of 1.0 is equivalent to a full-year course (eight months in length).

You must meet all requirements of your Waterloo program in order to graduate, regardless of the number of transfer credits that you receive. Your Waterloo academic advisor can help you determine how long it will take to complete your Waterloo degree.

Before you begin selecting courses, we recommend you discuss your transfer credit assessment with your academic advisor.

We may require course syllabi/outlines

To assess courses for transfer credit, we may ask you for pdfs of detailed course syllabi.

Syllabi generally include the course description, contact hours, schedule of topics, required textbooks, evaluation methods, etc., and need to be from the year you completed the course. See an example of a course syllabus.

Common questions about transfer credits

Can you transfer credits from one university or degree to another?

Yes! Generally speaking, you can transfer credits from one university to another. At Waterloo, you can transfer up to 50 per cent of the courses toward the degree you would like to earn. Some programs limit the number of credits which can be transferred. An official assessment is completed after you accept your Waterloo Offer of Admission. You may need to submit some or all of your course syllabi, depending on what we have previously evaluated.

What credits can you transfer?

Transfer credits are reviewed and awarded based on a few factors.

  • The course content, how rigorous the content was, and how closely it matches a course that Waterloo offers.
  • How long ago you took the course.
  • The relevance of the proposed transfer credits towards your Waterloo degree.
  • You must have a final grade of at least 60% for a university course or at least 70% for a college course (with the exception of Faculty of Science programs which require 75%) for a course to be considered for transfer credit.
  • Courses with a grade of pass, successful, credit, etc., are not considered for transfer credits.
We will consider only courses that are academic in nature. Courses that are vocationally specific, e.g., Nursing Techniques, may not receive any credits.

Is it hard to transfer from college to university?

The transfer process is relatively straightforward. You'll apply for admission through the Ontario Universities' Application Centre and then send your high school and post-secondary transcripts to Waterloo. The admissions committee will then review all of this information to determine admissibility.

While most programs will consider college courses in place of high school courses to meet admission requirements, some programs, such as Engineering, require you to meet the admission requirements based on your academic background from high school (in addition to performing well in your college program).

How do you transfer college credits?

Transfer credits are assessed automatically for students who accept their offer of admission to Waterloo. You may need to submit some or all of your course syllabi, depending on what we have previously evaluated.

If you're transferring from a college or university in Ontario, you can use the ONTransfer.ca course transfer guide to see what courses might be transferred from one institution to another. Your grades, and in some cases, the program you are pursuing will be considered by the university you plan to attend.

How do transfer credits work?

Transfer credits can be used to meet the requirements for your Waterloo degree. If you receive an offer of admission, we'll automatically assess your previous courses for possible credit. This process takes place after you accept your Offer of Admission to Waterloo.

Transfer credits will be awarded in one of two ways.

  • If a course you complete at a different school is equivalent to a course offered at Waterloo, you'll receive credit for the equivalent Waterloo course. For example: University of Guelph PSYC 1000 = Waterloo’s PSYCH 101 (first-year psychology)
  • If a course you complete at a different school is either not offered at Waterloo or is significantly different from a course we teach, then you may receive an indirect or unspecified credit. For example: Wilfrid Laurier University’s PS 101 = Waterloo’s PSYCH 1xx.
    • An unspecified transfer credit can be counted toward the number of courses you take, but cannot be used to replace a specific required course in that discipline. For example, if you receive PSYCH 1xx as a transfer credit and PSYCH 101 is a required course for your program, you would still be required to complete PSYCH 101 at Waterloo. PSYCH 1xx cannot be used to replace a required PSYCH 101 credit but it will count as an elective PSYCH course.

When we transfer any credits from your prior learning, we do not transfer the associated grade from your previous institution. Thus, you'll begin with a “fresh slate” in terms of your average at Waterloo.

Can you transfer credits from a degree you've already completed?

Yes! If you have previously completed a full degree, you're eligible to transfer up to 50 per cent of the courses required for a Waterloo degree if the courses meet the minimum grade requirement. The admissions committee will review your entire academic history and will transfer the credits that are most useful towards your Waterloo degree.

Can you choose not to transfer any credits?

No, you're not permitted to decline any college or university transfer credits.

Learn more

Search for program-specific transfer credit information (admission requirements page)

Read about Waterloo's undergraduate programs