Queen's Life Sciences admission requirements: the mid 80s minimum, four 4U courses and the QL pathway

Queen's asks for the OSSD (the Ontario Secondary School Diploma) and six 4U or 4M courses. For Life Science and Biochemistry, four of them are set: English 4U, Calculus and Vectors 4U, Biology 4U and Chemistry 4U. The other two can be 4U or 4M.

Advanced Functions and Physics aren't listed for QL, though many students take them anyway. Plan your Grade 12 timetable with our course planner.

Queen's publishes the minimum average, based on prerequisite courses, that was needed for consideration for September of last year. For Life Science and Biochemistry (QL) it was the mid 80s. Queen's says these minimums change each year and could be higher than what it publishes.

Queen's admits students on grades and supplementary information, and gives preference to the strongest overall applicants. It doesn't publish an acceptance rate for QL; our Queen's acceptance rate page explains what it does publish. Work out your average with our Top 6 average calculator.

QL leads to two programs run with the Faculty of Health Sciences. Life Sciences covers biomedical subjects such as anatomy, immunology, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology and physiology. Biochemistry studies the molecules and chemical processes inside living things, with extensive lab work in the upper years.

In Life Sciences you choose between a Major, which leaves room for a second major or minors, and a Specialization with more upper-year core courses and lab work. The Specialization has six sub-plans: Biomedical Discovery, Biomedical Sciences, Cancer Research, Cardiorespiratory, Drug Development and Human Toxicology, and Neuroscience.

If you're comparing QL with Queen's Health Sciences, the department posts a presentation on the differences between Life Sciences, Biochemistry and Health Sciences. Health Sciences is a separate program with its own supplementary application; see our Queen's Health Sciences pathway.

Apply through OUAC by March 1, 2027. After you apply, Queen's sends your SOLUS login, and your To-Do List there shows anything else it needs. Queen's recommends applying by November 20, 2026 if you want to submit the Major Admission Award application by December 8, 2026.

QL has no supplementary application, audition or portfolio. Documents are due March 31, 2027, and Queen's receives Ontario grades from OUAC on April 30, 2027.

QL is direct entry, so an offer secures your place in the program. In first year, Life Sciences and Biochemistry students share the same core courses. At the end of first year you choose to continue in Life Sciences or in Biochemistry.

Queen's enrols you in the core courses before your registration time: BIOL 102 and BIOL 103, the full-year CHEM 112, MATH 130, CISC 151 and PHYS 115. Chemistry must be taken in first year; Physics can wait until an upper year. You also pick either BCHM 102 or PATH 120, and you have room for one 6.0-unit or two 3.0-unit electives.

IB (International Baccalaureate) Diploma students need the full diploma: six subjects with three at Higher Level, no mark below 3 and at least 28 points, not counting bonus points. For QL the prerequisites are English, Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics.

Queen's doesn't accept Mathematics Applications and Interpretations SL as the math prerequisite. Students in the IB Career-related Programme applying to a science program need at least three IB courses and the program prerequisites.

Fourth-year students in the Life Sciences or Biochemistry Specialization can apply to a combined BScH/MSc in Biomedical and Molecular Sciences. If accepted, you take up to two graduate-level 3.0 courses in fourth year, and they count toward both degrees.

To enter the MSc with advanced standing you apply through the School of Graduate Studies. You need an A- average over your last two undergraduate years, a B+ or better in the graduate courses and significant research output in your fourth-year thesis project.

Queen's doesn't list a co-op option on its Life Sciences pages. Its work program is the Queen's Undergraduate Internship Program (QUIP): a paid, full-time internship of 12 to 16 months, usually taken after third year before you return to finish your degree.

QUIP is open to Bachelor of Science (Honours) students, including those in the Faculty of Health Sciences, once they've completed second or third year. Students in general (non-Honours) programs aren't eligible.

Queen's 2026-27 fees for Arts and Science degrees, which include QL, are $7,771.11 for Ontario students, $9,329.31 for other Canadians and $47,324.31 for international students. Those totals include the student activity levy and ancillary fees, and UHIP for international students.

Every applicant is considered automatically for a $7,000 Principal's Scholarship, given to the top 3% of each program's admission average. The larger Major Admission Awards, worth $40,000 to $72,000 depending on the program, need an application by December 8, 2026. Queen's says you need a cumulative average of 90% or more to be competitive for them.

QL needs four named 4U courses, and Queen's minimum is based on those prerequisites. A weak Chemistry or Calculus mark pulls the average down more than an elective would.

There's no essay or interview, so the application is grades only. If your child wants the Major Admission Awards, the OUAC application needs to go in by November 20, 2026.