In this section you will find answers to some of our most commonly asked questions. Use the links below to jump to a specific set of FAQs.
If you cannot find the answer to your question, please contact us.
Admissions FAQs
Application deadlines are posted on the Important Deadlines page. On that page, you will also find the deadlines to submit required documents, including the Online Student Profile.
All candidates are required to apply online through the Ontario Universities' Application Centre by the posted deadlines.
U of T Engineering has a broad-based admissions process that takes into account applicants' academic and non-academic achievements as demonstrated in the Online Student Profile.
In recent years, admission consideration for Canadian high school applicants began in the following grade ranges. Note that meeting the minimum averages does not guarantee admission. Admission averages are calculated using the following prerequisite subjects: English (ENG4U); Advanced Functions (MHF4U); Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U); Chemistry (SCH4U); and Physics (SPH4U) or out-of-province equivalents. Where grade 12 grades are not available, grade 11 results will be used in their place. The Admissions Committee considers results in individual grade 11 and 12 courses in addition to the overall average.
| GRADE RANGE | PROGRAMS |
| Low to Mid 90's | Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Science, TrackOne, Undeclared Engineering |
| High 80's to Low 90's | Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mineral Engineering |
While we do not discourage applicants from repeating courses, it is the policy of the University of Toronto Engineering Admissions Committee to consider only first attempt marks. However, applicants are given the opportunity on the Online Student Profile to provide information regarding extenuating circumstances that may have had a negative effect on academic performance.
If you require special consideration due to serious personal, health or accessibility issues, complete the Request for Special Consideration Form available through the Engineering Applicant Portal. Please note, you will be required to provide appropriate documentation.
Please note, if prerequisite courses have been completed more than five years from the applicant's intended start date at the University, they will be required to complete them again at the high school level.
All applicants to the U of T Engineering program are required to present Chemistry at the senior level (SCH4U or the equivalent) for the education system they are studying in.
Alternatively, students may complete the Ontario curriculum's Grade 12 Chemistry (SCH4U) course online via a service accredited by the Ministry of Education in Ontario such as the Independent Learning Centre to meet this requirement. For more information, visit the Important Deadlines page.
Prerequisite courses must be completed within five years of your intended start date. For example, an applicant’s whose intended start date is September 2024 must have completed the prerequisite requirements after September 2019 for admissions consideration. If you have completed the prerequisite requirements more than five years before your intended start date, you will be required to complete them once more.
No, the Engineering Applicant Portal is the primary portal for Engineering applicants. It is where you will complete your Online Student Profile , submit documents and more and where all updates to your application, including admissions decisions, will be posted.
The JOIN Portal is only for applicants who have applied to University of Toronto divisions other than U of T Engineering. No update to your Engineering application will be posted to JOIN. However, Engineering Applicants should use the JOIN Portal to access the Awards Profile.
Applicant choice is a factor among many that we use when making our admission decisions. Where we have a select number of spaces to offer to students that are found to be equally competitive, we give consideration to those applicants who have listed U of T Engineering as one of their top choices.
Students who rank U of T Engineering below 3rd choice on their OUAC application will be disadvantaged in the admissions process.
Applicants to U of T Engineering are required to fully disclose all test scores. If you did not sit for the SAT or ACT you will need to briefly explain why and upload your explanation to the Engineering Applicant Portal under the document upload tab. If you are taking AP courses, you are required to sit for AP exams. If admitted, the results of the official AP exam will be requested as part of the conditions of your offer letter.
Please visit the English Language Requirements page to determine how to send us proof of English facility for your respective test/qualification. Methods of submission will vary depending on the type of proof submitted. Scores not sent as directed may cause delays in the assessment of your application.
Please note, the transmission of electronic test scores may take 2-3 weeks to be processed. Therefore, we recommend that you request to have your results sent to us shortly after submitting your OUAC application and well before the deadline as we cannot assess your application with unofficial scores.
NOTE: It is very important that you register for a test using the same first names(s), surname(s) (last/family name), date of birth, and gender as on your application for admission. We cannot match your results to your application if the information differs and this will delay your assessment.
Ontario Secondary school students are not required to present AP courses as part of their pre-requisite requirements. If an AP exam will be/was taken, applicants can choose to declare their results on their Online Student Profile.
Applicants are considered for scholarships on the basis of academic excellence and extracurricular involvement as demonstrated in the Online Student Profile. Engineering applicants may also be considered for university-wide scholarships, for which a separate application is required.
For more information about scholarships, awards which may require an application and financial aid please visit the Finances page.
Applicants are encouraged to submit their Online Student Profile and supporting documents by December 1 for early consideration. The deadline for students to complete their Online Student Profile and submit all supporting documents is January 15. For a more comprehensive list of important dates and deadlines, please visit the Important Deadlines page.
If you are a current Ontario high school student, your high school will automatically send us your grades for your current Ontario high school courses.
If you completed or are completing studies outside of Ontario, review the documents required for your education system and submit your required documents using the Document Upload feature in the Engineering Applicant Portal.
You can check the status of your application online through the Engineering Applicant Portal website. The Admissions Committee uses this website to communicate with candidates and outline documents received and documents that are requested or missing. You will have access to this website once we have received your application from the OUAC. Please check this site regularly for updates.
Ontario Secondary school applicants who complete their Online Student Profile and submit all available required documents by December 1st will be considered in the February and/or March round of admissions.
Ontario Secondary School applicants who completed their Online Student Profile and submit all available required documents by January 15th will be considered in the March round of admissions.
Ontario Secondary School students who begin their OUAC application after January 7th, 2024 will be considered in the May round of admissions.
Non-Ontario Secondary School applicants who complete their Online Student Profile and submit all available required documents by December 1st will be guaranteed a response by April 30th, 2024.
Non-Ontario Secondary School applicants who complete their Online Student Profile and submit all available required documents by January 15 will be sent to the admissions committee by late April.
Non-Ontario Secondary School applicants who begin their OUAC application after January 7th, 2024 may receive a decision after April 30th, 2024.
Transfer applicants can typically expect to receive a decision in July.
Secondary school applicants must apply before the Early Consideration deadline for their application to be reviewed in February. However, this does not guarantee an earlier decision, as the Admission Committee may hold applications to await more information or for further review. Please refer to the Important Deadlines page to view the deadlines for early consideration. Once a decision is made, a letter and status update will be available in the dashboard of the Engineering Applicant Portal.
U of T Engineering offers only one intake period a year, in September. It is not possible to begin our programs in January or May.
Applicants who have already obtained an undergraduate engineering degree from a recognized university are not eligible to apply to U of T Engineering. Please visit the School of Graduate Studies program page for information on further studies.
Online Student Profile
Yes, we believe that marks alone do not provide a complete picture of your potential. This is your opportunity to highlight your achievements outside of the classroom and will be considered by the Admissions Committee when reviewing your application.
We do not require reference letters; however, references are required for extracurricular activities so that we may verify the activity if requested by the Admissions Committee.
A reference for extracurricular activities should be a teacher, employer, or someone who otherwise supervised you in the position. A family member cannot be a reference. If a supervisor is not available, you may provide another form of confirmation of your involvement in the activity (portfolio, certificate, registration confirmation, etc.).
Applicants are encouraged to update their grades, extracurriculars and documents, including English Language Requirement (if applicable) as new information becomes available. Your documents must be submitted by January 15.
Note that while your application is under review by the Admission Committee, it will be locked and you will not be able to make any changes during that time.
Personal Profile
The Personal Profile is a component of the Online Student Profile that takes about 30 minutes to complete online.
It consists of three randomly-selected questions:
Question 1: You will have 10 minutes to prepare and type a 300–350 word written response
Question 2: You will record a two-minute video response after two minutes of preparation
Question 3: You will record a three-minute video response after three minutes of preparation
Applicants access the Personal Profile via a link in the Online Student Profile; no separate login or password is required.
No specific preparation is required to answer the questions contained in the Personal Profile. We recommend that you practice getting familiar with the technology being used a few days in advance to avoid any last-minute issues.
You will need a:
- Laptop or desktop computer with a webcam and microphone
- Stable internet connection
- Pen and paper for taking notes
- Quiet location
- 30 minutes of uninterrupted time
No. Once you begin the Personal Profile submission (by clicking “Start Interview”) you must complete your entire Personal Profile at one time. There are no opportunities to redo your Profile later. You may complete the practice questions as many times as you like until you feel comfortable. Your official response will not begin until you click “Start Interview.”
The Admissions Committee will use all information available to make a decision; this includes all components of the Online Student Profile and your complete academic record.
Please contact the Engineering Undergraduate Admissions Office by e-mail at admissions@engineering.utoronto.ca to arrange appropriate accommodations.
The individuals who evaluate the Personal Profiles are members of the University of Toronto community who have been specially selected and trained to ensure that all Profiles are fairly evaluated.
Your Personal Profile will only be used in the evaluation of your application for admission. Your responses will not be made public.
We recommend that you first speak to your high school or a local library to determine if they have technology that meet the requirements for the Personal Profile. If this is not successful, please contact the Engineering Admissions Office .
We understand that some students may be nervous on camera. Please do your best to be yourself — you will be assessed on the content of your answers.
The choice of location is up to you. We recommend that you complete the Personal Profile in a quiet, well-lit location where you are not likely to be interrupted. Please note that no one else should be in the room (in person or virtually) while you are completing the assessment.
No. While you are welcome to take notes on paper, we ask that applicants type their response directly into the Kira Talent platform.
No. The Personal Profile must be entirely your own work and therefore it is important that no one else be present (in person or virtually) during the completion of your assessment.
If you experience technical challenges during the submission of your video, visit kiratalent.com/support or contact the Engineering Admissions Office.
U of T Engineering Applicant Census
U of T Engineering is committed to attracting students, staff, and faculty from a wide range of backgrounds to build a community that reflects the society we serve. Asking these questions allows us to collect information to better understand the diversity of our prospective students in order to gauge our performance to this commitment. The questions we ask provide applicants the ability to optionally self-identify features such as race, religion, sexual orientation, gender and (dis)ability. These categories were chosen as a result of these identities being common points for community group building within our current student body and/or have historically had disproportional impact on access, representation, inclusion and success within STEM and post-secondary education.
The Ontario University Application Centre (OUAC) provides applicants the option to identify their gender and if they are an Indigenous Person of Canada. The Engineering Applicant Census allows applicants who wanted to provide more depth within these features of identity the ability to do so.
If you have already completed the U of T Applicant Census through the Join Portal, you do not need to complete the Engineering Applicant Census.
At an individual level, sharing this information will have no impact on the success of an application as no one in the admission selection process is able to see this information. However, within the Engineering Applicant Census, applicants can give permission to be contacted about specific scholarships, institutional resources, or student communities that may be of additional/particular interest to them. For example, incoming students who self-identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples) will be given the option to connect with First Nations House and other members of the highly supportive Indigenous community at the U of T.
At a community level, the collective aggregate information will let us know whether we are adequately engaging and considering students from diverse, intersecting backgrounds, particularly those who are historically underrepresented in post-secondary engineering education, and take steps to address large gaps or discrepancies.
The University of Toronto is committed to the protection of privacy and protects your personal information consistent with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). This includes all personal information provided as part of your application to the University and the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering.
Only staff within the U of T Registrar’s Office and Enrolment Services with responsibility for maintaining and analyzing the Census data will have access to the information. The representatives responsible for making admission decisions will not have access to this information.
If you give permission to be contacted based on the information that you provide, your contact information may be shared with the Engineering Student Recruitment Office so that they may contact you to connect with services within the U of T community (e.g. U of T Engineering’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Professionalism, First Nations House Indigenous Student Services, Engineering Positive Space, Accessibility Services, etc.). No individual applicant information will be shared outside of the U of T community.
No, the information collected through the Engineering Applicant Census will not become part of your student record unless you provide permission upon registration.
Information provided in this tool will be stored for up to three years after the application deadline to facilitate data analysis before being cleared from the Registrar’s Office database.
More questions?
If your question has not been addressed, please email us: engineering@utoronto.ca. Current applicants can contact us through the Engineering Applicant Portal.