OCAD University
Toronto, Ontario
OCAD University is at 100 McCaul Street in downtown Toronto and has no residence of its own. Ontario applicants need a 70% average, and the portfolio is the main admission evidence.
The short answer
- OCAD U has not posted Fall 2027 dates. For Fall 2026, the recommended deadline was February 1, 2026, and the portfolio deadline was February 10, 2026.
- Ontario applicants need an OSSD (the Ontario Secondary School Diploma, your Ontario high school diploma), six Grade 12 U or M courses, 70% overall and 70% in Grade 12 English.
- OCAD U has no residence, so there is no first-year bed guarantee and no published rent figures.
- For 2026 entry, Ontario high-school graduates with 85% or higher get a guaranteed entrance scholarship of $1,000, $2,000 or $3,000.
- OCAD U says it does not offer a co-op program. Its placements run 80–120 part-time hours in a term and earn academic credit.
Reviewed August 14, 2026 · Official university sources · How we review guides
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- OUAC Group A deadline (Ontario high-school students)January 15, 2027
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Overview
OCAD University at a glance
Start with the program and the creative work it asks for, then open the page for each decision. Every page lists its official OCAD U sources and marks which facts are confirmed for Fall 2027 and which are still from the 2026 cycle.
Fall 2027 cycle status
2027 pending · Fall 2027
Not yet published. OCAD U's live Guide to Admissions still carries only the Fall 2026 sequence: applications opened early October 2025, February 1, 2026 was the recommended application deadline, February 10, 2026 was the portfolio deadline, initial offers went out in March 2026 and late offers in April and May 2026. No Fall 2027 OCAD U date exists on any first-party page.
OCAD U states in its own words that 'the only entry point is in September each year' and that 'the recommended deadline to apply for all programs at OCAD University is early February'. Plan to an early-February 2027 application and a mid-February portfolio submission, but do not treat the 2026 dates as Fall 2027 dates.
Applies to: All applicants
OCAD University: Guide to Admissions: timeline, dates, and how it works · Verified August 14, 2026
Admission is decided primarily on creative work
Current policy · Published for this period
OCAD U states that 'offers of admission to OCAD U's programs are based primarily on the strength of the applicant's portfolio or writing sample' and that 'all offers are conditional upon meeting the minimum academic requirements and supplying all required documentation.' The 70% academic floor is an eligibility gate, not the selection mechanism.
Applies to: All applicants
OCAD University: Guide to Admissions: timeline, dates, and how it works · Verified August 14, 2026
Size, history, and institutional positioning
Current university-published figures · Published for this period
OCAD U describes itself as 'Canada's oldest, largest and leading art and design university, located in downtown Toronto since 1876,' with over 4,500 students across 17 undergraduate and seven graduate programs. It was founded as the Ontario School of Art in 1876 by the Ontario Society of Artists, incorporated as the Ontario College of Art in 1912, opened its Design School in 1945, and was renamed Ontario College of Art & Design in 1996.
These are OCAD U's own published counts rather than audited enrolment data; treat them as directional.
Applies to: All applicants
OCAD University: About OCAD U: size, history, and institutional positioning · Verified August 14, 2026
Downtown Toronto campus and the Rosalie Sharp Centre
Current campus · Published for this period
The main address is 100 McCaul Street, and OCAD U occupies 12 buildings in the heart of the city, next to Grange Park and the Art Gallery of Ontario and steps from Queen West and the Entertainment District. The Rosalie Sharp Centre for Design opened in 2004 — a black-and-white 'tabletop' standing on 12 colourful steel legs, designed by Will Alsop with Robbie/Young + Wright Architects and a Royal Institute of British Architects Worldwide Award winner. Campus includes over 20 shops and studios and six public galleries.
Applies to: All applicants
OCAD University: Our Campus: buildings, the Rosalie Sharp Centre, and Grange Park · Verified August 14, 2026
OCAD University guide by topic
- Admission and portfolio requirementsThe academic threshold, what goes in the portfolio, the Fall 2027 date status and English tests.
- Undergraduate programsBDes, BFA and BA programs and the creative evidence each one asks for.
- Housing in TorontoWhy OCAD U has no residence and the housing partners it points students to.
- Tuition and entrance scholarships2026–2027 tuition examples and the guaranteed Ontario entrance-scholarship tiers.
- Student life on McCaul StreetGalleries, student groups, GradEx and the Indigenous Student Centre.
- Experiential learning and paid workPlacements and paid work, and why OCAD U is not a co-op school.
Detailed application guides
OCAD University Acceptance Rate
As of 2026, OCAD U asks Ontario applicants for a 70% average and 70% in Grade 12 English, then bases studio offers on the portfolio. See how it decides.
Ontario University Application Deadlines 2027
OUAC's January 15, 2027 deadline and each university's own dates in one table.
OUAC 101 vs 105: Group A or Group B
Which OUAC group you're in, and which deadline applies to you.
OSAP 2026–2027 Application Guide
Open status, eligibility, residency, course load, grants, deadlines, and documents.
Ontario Universities With Co-op
Direct-entry and later-entry co-op models, work terms, fees, and questions to ask.
OCAD University applicants need to distinguish the 70% academic threshold from the primary creative review, follow the correct portfolio or writing-sample route, wait for genuine Fall 2027 dates, and budget current tuition, awards, external Toronto housing, and learning-focused placements rather than assuming a co-op program. Each decision now has its own official-source-backed page, linked from this overview.
OCAD University admission, portfolio, programs, tuition, scholarships, housing, and experiential-learning questions
Direct answers to OCAD U's 70% Ontario minimum, BDes and BFA portfolio, BA writing sample, 8–10 works, 300-word statement, SlideRoom, current deadline status, programs, 2026–2027 tuition, entrance awards, external Toronto housing, English requirements, and placement model.
Official Sources and Next Steps
Stellar keeps this guide structured for comparison, but official university pages remain the source of truth for program requirements, tuition, residence, scholarships, deadlines, and policy changes.
Prepared by Stellar Advisers Editorial Team · Reviewed August 14, 2026 · Editorial, corrections, and source methodology
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