Upper Year Entry
Applicants who have successfully completed one or more years at an accredited post-secondary institution in a program equivalent to the OCAD U program of interest, may apply for upper year entry.
Applicants are welcome to search our current program guides and course catalog to see the courses our students take in each program.
Applications for admission are made online through the Ontario Universities' Application Centre using the appropriate upper year entry program code.
To qualify for upper year entry into our studio-based art or design programs, we look for studio experience in a related discipline from an accredited post-secondary institution.
- The portfolios of Upper Year applicants are evaluated to enter at the Year 2 or Year 3 level. If successful, these students will receive a block transfer of studio courses based on the strength of their portfolio and academic transcript (normally 3.5 credits for those who start at Year 2 and 7.0 credits for those who start at Year 3).
- Upper year entry considers studio courses only. Transcripts will be reviewed for additional credits to transfer in Arts & Sciences courses after offers are made.
- Upper year entry students may be required to take lower-level studio courses if skills and experience are lacking in the portfolio and transcript.
- Upper year applicants who are not successful for the Year 2 or Year 3 level, will be considered for First Year entry.
- Upper year applicants must meet our English Language Proficiency requirement.
- OCAD U does not admit students into fourth year. All students must meet our residency requirement which means that at least 50% of the program must be completed at OCAD U.
To confirm if you are eligible to apply through the upper year category, or if you have questions, please fill out the Upper Year Entry Inquiry Form. You will be asked to upload or email your previous post-secondary academic record.