Carleton Journalism admission requirements: the 78-82% cut-off range, 4U English and the BJ options

Carleton asks Ontario students for an OSSD (the Ontario Secondary School Diploma) with six Grade 12 courses at the 4U or 4M level. For the Bachelor of Journalism, the only required course is 4U English. Prerequisites must be 4U, with no single grade below 60%.

If you want the Health Sciences concentration, you also need one 4U math and either 4U Biology or 4U Chemistry. Grade 12 co-op work experience credits don't count among the six courses. Plan your courses with our course planner.

Carleton lists a minimum cut-off range of 78-82% for Journalism and 80-82% for Journalism and Humanities. The range applies to your overall average and your prerequisite average.

Carleton sets the average each year, program by program, and says all its programs have limited enrolment, so admission isn't guaranteed. Carleton doesn't publish a Journalism acceptance rate; our Carleton acceptance rate page explains what it does publish. Work out your average with our Top 6 average calculator.

Carleton lists a higher cut-off range for Canadian high school students outside Ontario: 85-88% for the BJ, compared with 78-82% for Ontario students. Those students also apply through OUAC, and Carleton's general fall deadline for them is June 1, 2027, although some programs close earlier.

IB (International Baccalaureate) Diploma students need the full diploma, with at least 28 points, and Carleton notes some programs need more. The BJ needs SL or HL English. The Health Sciences concentration adds SL or HL Biology or Chemistry and an IB math course. Prerequisites need a 4 or better, and HL subjects with a 5 or better can earn up to 3.0 transfer credits.

Apply through OUAC by January 15, 2027 for fall entry. Within five days Carleton emails your applicant number and MyCarletonOne username, which you use to track your application in Carleton360 and see any documents it still needs.

Carleton's Ontario requirements list no supplementary application for Journalism. Most offers are conditional, and Carleton can change or withdraw an offer if your final grades drop below the required averages.

First-year courses include Foundations: Journalism in Context (JOUR 1001), which traces the news media from the printing press to digital networks. Later courses, such as Digital Journalism (JOUR 3235), have you produce journalism for online audiences in text, audio, images and video.

Carleton built the degree so you also study outside journalism. Its 2026-27 calendar requires at least a minor in another field. You can also choose a concentration in Health Sciences, offered with the Faculty of Science, or a combined honours degree.

The Honours BJ is 20.0 credits, with 8.0 counted in your major average. The calendar lists combined honours options, including Journalism and Communication and Media Studies, plus a Minor in News Media and Information and a Certificate in Journalism in Indigenous Communities. Upper-year Investigating Journalism courses include Trauma-Informed Journalism, the History of Black Journalism and Inclusive Reporting in Practice.

If you're admitted to first year on or before May 31, 2027, Carleton offers you a place in residence. To keep it, follow Housing and Residence Life Services' steps and make the residence advance payment online by June 7, 2027.

Students admitted later can still apply for residence and are offered spaces from a waitlist as they open. Our Carleton residence guide compares the buildings.

You need to pass JOUR 1001 and JOUR 1002 to move into 2000-level journalism courses. To take the 3000-level reporting courses, you need at least a C in JOUR 2201 and JOUR 2400. The 4000-level production courses need a C in JOUR 3207, JOUR 3208 and JOUR 3235.

To graduate with an Honours BJ, you need an overall and major CGPA of at least 6.50, and a C or better in each required 2000-level or higher journalism course. Students who've completed 15.5 credits without meeting those averages must leave the program.

Carleton's Journalism page lists apprenticeships, summer internships and recruiting by media organizations as the main work experience, rather than a co-op option. You train in digital newsrooms, broadcast studios and seminar rooms, and Carleton says its instructors include working journalists who teach as sessional instructors or guest lecturers. You can take specialized journalism courses in areas from business and the arts to politics and health science.

Ottawa is a national media hub, and Carleton says many national outlets based there offer internships to its students. It also runs the Global Journalism International Internship program with Farm Radio International.

The School keeps some places in second year for students transferring from Carleton or elsewhere, normally for those with an overall CGPA of 9.00 (B+) or higher. Graduates of Carleton's Certificate in Journalism in Indigenous Communities can be admitted with advanced standing, normally with a CGPA of 8.00 (B) or higher.

BJ students who finish first year can apply to move into second year of Journalism and Humanities, normally with a 9.00 CGPA.

Carleton's 2026-27 fee tables list first-year fall and winter fees for the Bachelor of Journalism, including compulsory fees and the U-Pass, at $7,980.00 for Ontario students, $9,709.31 for other Canadians and $41,383.68 for international students.

If you're admitted with an average of 85% or more, you're automatically considered for a renewable entrance scholarship for 2027-28: $1,000 a year at 85% to 89.9%, $2,000 at 90% to 94.9% and $3,000 at 95% to 100%, for up to four years. Read our Carleton financial aid guide.

Carleton Journalism needs only 4U English, but the cut-off range sits in the high 70s to low 80s and applies to the prerequisite average too. A strong English mark matters.

Carleton says many of Canada's top journalists started in its program, and graduates also work as authors, lawyers, teachers, diplomats and public servants. The required minor gives your child a second field to build on.