Canada University Admission Requirements for International Students

To get into a Canadian university as an international student, you need a school-leaving certificate (for a bachelor's) or degree (for a master's or PhD) that the university accepts as equivalent to Canadian studies, a competitive average with the right prerequisite subjects, and proof of English such as IELTS Academic 6.5 for many undergraduate programs. Graduate programs often add references, a statement of purpose and sometimes a supervisor.

There is no single national rule. Each institution has full authority to decide whether it recognises your credentials, checks their authenticity and compares them with Canadian ones (CICIC). That is why the details below always point to the official university page.

Bachelor's requirements: your school certificate

For undergraduate programs, Canadian universities compare your final secondary-school certificate with their own provincial Grade 12. Most publish a list by country that names the accepted certificate and sometimes a minimum average. You then also need the prerequisite subjects for your program, for example senior mathematics for engineering or business.

Supplementary applications and tests

Some programs add their own steps. The University of Toronto lists supplementary applications for Engineering, Rotman Commerce, Computer Science, Music and Daniels; Waterloo Engineering requires an Admission Information Form and online interview; McMaster Nursing and Thompson Rivers Nursing require the Casper test. The University of Victoria says home-country graduation or university entrance exams may be required, and accepts SAT, ACT or AP in their place.

Master's and PhD requirements

Graduate admission is decided by the faculty of graduate studies and the department. Common patterns from official pages:

• Four-year bachelor's: the University of Alberta, University of Victoria, Dalhousie and Trent ask for a four-year bachelor's (or equivalent) for master's admission. If your degree is three years long, ask the graduate office before applying.
• Minimum average: typically a B (3.0 on a 4-point scale) in the last two years at Alberta, Dalhousie and UVic; Trent asks for B+ (77%); the University of Toronto asks for at least mid-B in the final year, many programs B+.
• PhD: usually a master's degree; UVic also considers an A- average in the last two years of a bachelor's.
• Supervisor: research programs at UVic, Trent and others expect you to find a supervisor before applying.
• GRE/GMAT: required only by some programs. HEC Montreal requires the GMAT, GRE or TAGE MAGE for its MSc Finance applicants educated abroad and strongly recommends it for other applicants who studied abroad.

English language requirements

Unless you studied in English in a country your university accepts for an exemption, you need a test. Note that TOEFL iBT introduced a new 1 to 6 score scale for tests from 21 January 2026, and universities now list both scales.

Graduate programs often ask for more: the University of Toronto's graduate minimum is IELTS 7.0 with each band at least 6.5, and Dalhousie's graduate minimum is IELTS 7. Nursing and education programs also tend to ask for IELTS 7. For more, see English-taught programs in Canada.

If your English is below the requirement: pathways

Canada does not have a German-style Studienkolleg, but many universities offer English pathways or conditional admission:

• The University of Toronto runs an International Foundation Program in selected divisions for applicants who meet academic but not English requirements.
• The University of Ottawa offers conditional admission with its English Intensive Program from IELTS 4.5 to 5.
• Memorial University's Intensive English Program at Grenfell allows early acceptance for applicants below the English requirement.
• The University of Regina and UPEI mention conditional admission with an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program.

Requirements for applicants from Afghanistan

Many universities publish an Afghanistan entry in their country tables. They do not all ask for the same thing, so check each one:

For master's admission, the University of Alberta lists a minimum of 80% for Afghan degrees, UBC asks for at least four years of study with an overall grade of 85%, and Concordia asks for a four-year Afghan bachelor's at B-grade equivalent. Afghanistan is often not on English-exemption lists, so plan for an English test.

Transfer students and applicants with some university study

If you already started a degree at home, you may apply as a transfer student. Rules differ a lot, and transfer credit is never automatic. Examples from official pages:

• Kwantlen Polytechnic University treats applicants with at least 9 post-secondary credits as transfer applicants.
• Crandall University asks transfer students for a GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.3 scale.
• Trinity Western University requires an evaluation by a member of the Alliance of Credential Evaluation Services of Canada for transfer credit from foreign institutions, and recommends ICES.
• Tyndale University allows up to 2 years of transfer credit into a 4-year degree.
• The University of Toronto lists Medical Radiation Sciences as a program that requires some prior university study.

Bring detailed course descriptions (syllabi) from your home university, translated if needed. Without them, many universities cannot assess transfer credit, and you may have to repeat courses you have already passed.

How strict are document rules?

Universities usually want official transcripts sent directly by your school or university, or uploaded and verified later. Saint Mary's University, for example, says official graduate transcripts must come directly from the issuing institution and English scores older than 2 years are not accepted. The University College of the North only treats an international application as complete once a WES evaluation and all documents arrive.

Small details matter: your name must match your passport on every document, translations must be complete, and grade scales should be explained. Universities such as the University of Northern British Columbia even publish grade conversion tables for Afghan certificates, which helps you estimate where you stand before you pay a fee.

Credential evaluations: WES and others

Some institutions ask for an evaluation from an external service. The Alliance of Credential Evaluation Services of Canada lists six members: CES (University of Toronto), ICAS, IQAS, ICES, MIFI (Quebec) and WES (Alliance). Only order one if your university asks for it. Read more in Canada documents, translation and legalization.

Checklist before you apply

1. 1.Find your country on the university's international requirements page.
2. 2.Check program prerequisites (subjects and grades).
3. 3.For graduate programs, confirm a four-year degree requirement and minimum average.
4. 4.Book an English test that meets every band score, not just the overall.
5. 5.Check whether supplementary applications, interviews or portfolios are required.
6. 6.Ask whether an external credential evaluation is needed.
7. 7.Save the official page and track deadlines for free on FindUniPath.

Then follow the application steps in how to apply to universities in Canada, or return to the Canada country hub.