uOttawa Nursing admission requirements: the 90% minimum, 65% prerequisites and three offer rounds

uOttawa asks Ontario students for an OSSD (the Ontario Secondary School Diploma) with at least six 4U, 4M or DU courses. For Nursing you need English (ENG4U) or Français (FRA4U), Biology (SBI4U), Chemistry (SCH4U), and one of Functions (MCF3M), Functions (MCR3U) or a 4U math course.

You need at least 65% in each prerequisite. uOttawa adds that students with a strong background in biology, chemistry and physics do better, so Physics is worth taking even though it isn't required. Grade 12 co-op, career and work experience courses don't count. Summer, online and private school courses are fine if a recognized school grants the credit toward your diploma. Plan your courses with our course planner.

uOttawa lists a 90% minimum admission average for Nursing and marks it as limited enrolment. It's a minimum, not a cut-off: uOttawa says meeting it doesn't guarantee admission, because some programs are more competitive.

uOttawa doesn't publish a Nursing acceptance rate. Our uOttawa acceptance rate page explains what it does publish. Check your number with our Top 6 average calculator.

uOttawa reviews Ontario high school applicants in three rounds. From mid-November to the end of January it uses your best five final 3U, 3M, 4U and 4M grades, including at least one math and two sciences. From mid-February to mid-April it uses six final grades, at least two of them from Grade 12.

From mid-May to August it uses six Grade 12 grades, including every prerequisite. uOttawa doesn't deny anyone in the first two rounds; refusals and alternative offers come only in the third. If you repeat a course, your best mark counts.

If you haven't heard by the end of the second round, expect a final decision around the end of May. A status of "under review" usually means uOttawa is waiting for OUAC to send your latest grades, so make sure your school reports any course changes, including e-learning or night school courses, to OUAC.

Apply through OUAC with code ONE by January 15, 2027, and send any documents by February 15, 2027. There's no supplementary application or Casper test listed for Nursing. Within a week you'll get an email explaining how to track your file in the uoZone portal.

Nursing admits only in the fall. You can study in English, in French, or in the French Immersion Stream, where about a third of your courses are in French.

The 90% minimum is the same for the other provinces we checked. From British Columbia you need English 12 or Français 12, Biology 12, Chemistry 12, and Mathematics 11 or a Mathematics 12 or Pre-Calculus 12 course, each at 65%.

College students apply to the same first year, with code ONE. uOttawa's minimum is 80% after two years in one college program and 85% after one year. Your average comes from all your college courses, using uOttawa's own grading scale, so it may differ from the one your college gives you. You still need English, Biology, Chemistry and math at 65%, from high school or college, but high school prerequisites don't count in the average. With less than a year of college, you may be admitted on your high school marks.

The BScN must be taken in a fixed course order over at least four years. uOttawa doesn't allow direct entry into second year, even with transfer credits, and it doesn't accept transfers from other nursing programs, including college bachelor's programs. It considers applications to Year 1 only.

Two other routes are closed for now. The collaborative program with Algonquin College isn't accepting applications, and the Second Entry program is under revision and not accepting applications. uOttawa reserves four places a year for Indigenous students in the English program and two in the French program.

Nursing doesn't have a co-op stream. Your work experience comes from clinical placements, starting in second year, in hospitals, long-term care, community health, mental health and maternal and child health. Each placement builds on the last.

You also practise in the Louise McEntyre West Nursing Simulation and Peer Mentorship Centre. uOttawa's BScN is approved by the College of Nurses of Ontario, so graduates can apply to register as Registered Nurses, and it's accredited by the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing. The program includes RN prescribing.

uOttawa's 2026-27 tuition for Nursing is $3,104.96 a term for Canadians living in Ontario, $3,594.37 for Canadians from elsewhere and $21,667.54 for international students. A fall and winter year is two terms. Ancillary fees are extra.

For 2027-28, the uOttawa Admission Scholarship is automatic for eligible full-time students in a direct-entry faculty: $3,000 at 95% to 100%, $2,000 at 90% to 94.9% and $1,000 at 85% to 89.9%. The French Studies Bursary adds $1,000 a year, for four years, if you take at least three courses (9 units) taught in French each term. Indigenous students can also apply for the Indigenous Leadership Scholarship, worth $26,000 over four years.

uOttawa's nursing pages also point to Ontario's Learn and Stay Grant, which uOttawa says covers full tuition and other direct education costs for nursing students. It's an Ontario government grant with its own rules, so check whether you qualify before counting on it.

uOttawa Nursing is decided on grades, with a 90% minimum and every prerequisite at 65% or more. There's no second chance through transfer, because uOttawa only admits nursing students into Year 1.

Apply to a few nursing programs with different averages. Compare them on our Ontario nursing guide.