Grade 9 and 10 courses for Ontario university programs

Universities don't ask what you took in Grade 9. They ask for specific Grade 12 courses. Western wants at least six Grade 12 U or M courses, including ENG4U. U of T asks for six 4U or 4M subjects, including English. Each program then adds its own list.

So start at the end. Pick two or three fields you might like. Write down the Grade 12 courses each one requires. Then follow every course back one grade at a time. The second table shows those chains. If a Grade 10 choice breaks a chain, you'll see it early, while it's still easy to fix.

You don't need to choose a career in Grade 9. You only need to keep the doors open that you care about. Our high school course planner lets you pick a program area and see its courses. The sections below explain why those courses connect the way they do.

Ontario's policy says Grade 9 courses come in a single stream, either de-streamed or open. In Grade 10, the types are academic, applied and open. Grades 11 and 12 are tied to a destination: university, college, workplace or open.

One line in the same policy section also lists academic as a Grade 9 type. Read your school's course calendar to see what it offers in each subject. The point for you is simple. Grade 9 math, science and English don't split you onto a track.

The policy also says Grade 9 and 10 students aren't expected to make binding pathway decisions. That's good news. Still, Grade 10 is the first real fork. The academic Grade 10 courses are the ones the Grade 11 university courses name as prerequisites.

The Ministry's Grade 9 and 10 curriculum documents for math (2005) and science (2008) still describe MPM2D and SNC2D. Their Grade 9 entries name older academic and applied courses. Your school will use its current de-streamed Grade 9 codes instead.

Math is where most students get stuck, so map it first. Grade 11 Functions, MCR3U, lists Grade 10 academic math, MPM2D, as its prerequisite. Grade 11 Functions and Applications, MCF3M, accepts academic or applied Grade 10 math.

In the Ministry's Grade 12 course table, Advanced Functions, MHF4U, needs MCR3U. Calculus and Vectors, MCV4U, needs MHF4U taken before it or at the same time. Data Management, MDM4U, accepts MCR3U or MCF3M. The course description for MHF4U also accepts a Grade 12 college course, MCT4C. Most university-bound students take the MCR3U route.

Here's why that matters. Engineering at Queen's, Western and Waterloo asks for both MHF4U and MCV4U. Rotman Commerce at U of T needs MCV4U and gives it special attention. Queen's Smith Commerce wants MCV4U plus another 4U math, each at 80% or higher. Waterloo AFM asks for MHF4U and MCV4U at 75% or higher.

Not every program needs calculus. Western's Management and Organizational Studies takes two of MHF4U, MCV4U or MDM4U. Western Health Sciences takes one of the same three. If you're unsure, keep the calculus path open. It's easier to drop calculus in Grade 12 than to add it late.

All three Grade 11 university sciences, SBI3U, SCH3U and SPH3U, list Grade 10 academic science as the prerequisite. That course is SNC2D. Each Grade 12 university science then needs its Grade 11 partner. SBI4U needs SBI3U, SCH4U needs SCH3U and SPH4U needs SPH3U.

So SNC2D is the single gate for every university science. Biology has a college course, SBI3C, that accepts applied Grade 10 science. It doesn't lead to SBI4U in the Ministry's table.

Engineering needs both SCH4U and SPH4U, so plan for SCH3U and SPH3U in Grade 11. Health programs lean on biology and chemistry. Queen's Nursing, Western Nursing and Queen's Health Sciences all list SBI4U and SCH4U. Western Medical Sciences adds MCV4U and recommends physics.

Kinesiology varies by school. Waterloo wants two of SBI4U, SCH4U or SPH4U. Queen's asks for SBI4U and MCV4U. Western requires SBI4U and recommends Grade 12U math and physics. Western also says you'll need Grade 12U chemistry for first-year chemistry courses.

Every program in the first table requires Grade 12 university English. The chain is short. ENG3U lists Grade 10 academic English, ENG2D, as its prerequisite. ENG4U then needs ENG3U.

Some programs set a higher bar on English itself. Queen's Health Sciences asks for at least 80% in ENG4U. Queen's Nursing asks for 75%. Waterloo AFM wants 75% in Grade 12 U English. Strong reading and writing habits in Grade 9 and 10 pay off here.

English also fills four of your diploma credits, one per grade. So you'll take it every year anyway. The choice that matters is taking the academic Grade 10 course.

If you started Grade 9 in 2024 or later, Ontario lists 17 compulsory credits and 13 optional credits. You also need the literacy requirement, at least 2 online learning credits and 40 hours of community involvement. Ontario's list for this group also includes the financial literacy requirement. A later paragraph on the same page says it applies to students who began Grade 9 in 2025-2026 or later. If you started Grade 9 in 2024-2025, ask your school which statement applies to you.

Three compulsory rules affect early planning. You need 3 math credits: Grade 9, Grade 10 and one in Grade 11 or 12. You need 2 science credits. You need 1 technological education credit in Grade 9 or Grade 10. There's also 1 credit from a STEM-related group, which can be an extra math or science course.

The technological education credit takes one slot in Grade 9 or 10. Plan it so academic math, science and English still fit. Ask your counsellor how your school schedules it.

Financial literacy is newer. Ontario's detailed rule names students who began Grade 9 in 2025-2026 or later. They complete it in Grade 10 Career Studies. You need at least 70% on the modules. The province says this takes effect in the 2026-2027 school year.

A Grade 10 applied course isn't a dead end. Ontario's policy lets you change course types in Grades 10 to 12 if you've taken the prerequisite. If you haven't, you can take the missing course through summer school, night school, online learning, the Independent Learning Centre or independent study.

A principal may also waive a prerequisite if they believe you can succeed without it. That gets you into the course. Universities still look for the required Grade 12 course itself on your record.

Check how universities treat courses outside day school. Western says online, summer or private school courses must be approved and accredited by the Ministry and sent through OUAC. Rotman Commerce encourages day school where possible. It may also prefer marks from a single attempt at each course.

Repeats are treated differently too. Western uses your highest grade from all attempts. U of T says it may consider how many courses you repeated and which subjects. Fix a gap early, and you're less likely to need a repeat later.

Your Grade 10 choices decide which Grade 11 courses you can take. Those Grade 11 marks get read. U of T makes conditional offers based on your available Grade 11 and 12 marks. Rotman Commerce says all Grade 11 and 12 U/M courses may be considered.

Western looks at the grades in your required courses and your highest Grade 12 grades. It also considers your overall Grade 11 performance. So Grade 11 is a real admission year, not a warm-up.

For parents, the Grade 11 and 12 timeline shows what happens each term. Students can read when Grade 12 marks are sent to universities. The top 6 average calculator helps once you have Grade 12 marks.

Requirements change. A Grade 9 student today won't apply until a later cycle, and nobody has published those rules yet. Western's and Rotman's pages are for Fall 2027. Queen's and Waterloo pages show no year. Treat every row in the first table as a guide, not a promise.

Each spring, open the official page for each program on your list. Compare it with your planned Grade 11 and 12 courses. For detail on single programs, read Queen's Engineering requirements, Western Nursing requirements or Rotman Commerce requirements. Our engineering requirements across Canada page compares more schools.