Switching programs in first year at Ontario universities

A broad first year is a different story. At Queen's Arts and Science and McMaster's Life Sciences Gateway, picking a program after first year is the normal path. You still need the right courses and marks for the plan you want. Read its rules in September, not in April.

If you want a space-limited program, apply to it from Grade 12. Treat a later transfer as a second chance, not your plan. Our Ontario application deadlines page lists the dates for applying to the program itself.

Keep the cost in view too. Rotman transfers pay deregulated fees from the day they accept, and some owe fees for past terms. Waterloo warns that an Engineering switch often adds a year. Check U of T tuition and fees before you count on a move.

Queen's Arts and Science works the same way. Once you've finished 24.0 units, you must take part in Plan Selection in May. Each plan has an automatic threshold and a pending-list threshold. The posted thresholds are from 2026. Queen's says the 2027 ones will appear in January 2027. Our Queen's hub lists its programs.

At U of T, Arts & Science students enter a program once they have 4.0 credits. Open programs need nothing more. Limited programs add courses, minimum grades or a supplement. Some set a new minimum each year based on demand, so no guaranteed minimum is published.

Western uses Intent to Register, or ITR. First-years must complete it to declare a program, between February 25 and March 31. Western's page doesn't print the year. Skip it and you'll be Undeclared in second year, without priority for module courses. Results appear by mid-June.

U of T has paused TrackOne for September 2027 and 2028 starts. You'll enter a Core 8 program or Engineering Science. After first year, you can ask to move to another Core 8 program. Places for internal transfers are limited, and several programs haven't taken everyone lately. Honours in both terms gets you your choice.

McMaster changes its model for Fall 2027. You apply to a named track or the Discovery Track, then share a common first year. Discovery students are placed by first-year CGPA, their choices and capacity. Other changes inside Engineering depend on space and can't be guaranteed.

At TMU and Carleton, a new engineering major takes a form, not a new application. TMU reviews Plan Change Requests after official grades come out. Carleton judges each request on your record and open seats. An approved Carleton change can't be undone without a new request.

At Waterloo, an Engineering student who wants Math or CS applies to Math as an internal transfer. You need one term in your home faculty first. You also need a 75% average in math courses and no more than two failed courses. The Spring 2027 window runs November 6 to December 23, 2026.

At McMaster, an Engineering student who wants business can apply to Commerce Level II in April through Mosaic. The minimum is a 6.0 (C+) CGPA plus four listed first-year courses. At Queen's, moving to Arts and Science needs a 1.60 cumulative GPA and a new application through OUAC.

Those students need 4.0 credits, 70% in CSC148H1 and in CSC165H1 or CSC240H1, and a supplement. About half of eligible applicants got into a CS program, Minor included, over the past few years. Recent Major admits had 85% or more in those two courses. You can apply only in the first request period, typically March and April. In 2026 the supplement window ran March 2 to April 24. Our U of T hub has more on CMP1.

Waterloo is stricter about the path. Eligibility includes a term in the Faculty of Mathematics. Students outside Math file two applications, one to Math and one to CS. To be eligible, you need a 65% math major average and a 70% CS major average. Waterloo allows a limited number of transfers each term.

McMaster takes a limited number into CS 1 each year, with a 9.0 (B+) CGPA minimum. Requests run April 1 to June 1. York asks for 24 York credits, a 6.0 (B) GPA and three EECS courses, with requests from January 2 to May 15. Compare the direct routes in Waterloo vs U of T Computer Science.

Schulich's BBA is mostly direct entry. York students who came straight from high school can try Delayed Entry into Year 2. Schulich says 0 to 8 succeed each year, and admission isn't guaranteed. The Fall 2027 deadline is March 3, 2027. Conditional offers go out in early April.

Queen's lets students in other faculties apply to Smith Commerce as upper-year applicants. There are very few spaces, and you need about a 3.3 GPA to be competitive. You also write a supplementary essay and send documents by June 15. Decisions come after mid-July.

Ivey is the exception, because its HBA starts in third year. About 80% of AEO students who want to continue make it. About one-third of each HBA class joins without AEO, after applying in second year. See our Western hub, plus Rotman Commerce vs Schulich BBA for the direct routes.

Queen's Engineering needs a 2.7 GPA, no failures in relevant courses and 4U Chemistry, Physics and Calculus. With fewer than six first-year Engineering courses, you apply to first year by February 1. Otherwise you apply as an upper-year student by June 1.

McMaster places transfers in Engineering 1, not Level 2, with requests from April 1 to June 1. York's Lassonde asks for 18 York credits and a 5.0 GPA, with requests from January 15 to May 15. Western Engineering asks you to book a meeting during ITR, by March 31. Compare direct entry in our engineering admission requirements guide.

McMaster students apply in Mosaic, which opens in April, and complete the supplement. The program weighs your GPA and supplement score together. Meeting the minimums doesn't ensure an offer. Transfer applicants can't apply to the Child Health Specialization. Our McMaster hub covers its other programs.

Write the supplement on your own. McMaster forbids talking your answers over with anyone, including current students. It also bans admissions consultants and generative AI. Course and deadline planning is fine, but the answers must be yours. The McMaster Health Sciences requirements page covers the Grade 12 route.

At TMU, a new program means a new application. You submit a TMU Application, which costs $90 and covers two choices, plus the TMU Supplementary Form. A new plan inside your program, like BA English to BA Sociology, is a MyServiceHub request.

uOttawa's window for Winter 2027 changes is October 1 to November 30, 2026. It covers the direct-entry faculties, from Arts to Telfer. Carleton's latest posted dates are from 2026. It advised program changes by June 1, and a move to a new degree was due June 15. Moving from a college instead? See college transfer.