How to Research University Programs and Prerequisites Properly

Program research is not collecting school names. It is building a decision file that another person could audit.

Use a source ladder

1. Start with Ontario Universities’ Info to discover programs.
2. Open the university’s official program page.
3. Open the official admissions page for your applicant type and entry year.
4. Check the academic calendar for degree requirements.
5. Check official pages for co-op, accreditation, residence, fees, scholarships, accessibility, and supplementary applications.

Record the URL and the date you checked it. Requirements can change and similarly named programs at different campuses can have different rules.

Build a one-page program brief

For each option, record:

• exact degree, campus, and entry point
• required Grade 12 courses and prerequisite minimums
• published competitive range and its wording
• supplementary application, interview, portfolio, or audition
• application and supplementary deadlines
• first-year required courses
• how and when a major is selected
• continuation or progression requirements
• co-op structure and whether entry is guaranteed or competitive
• accreditation or licensing relevance
• tuition, compulsory fees, housing, transportation, and likely program extras
• support, accessibility, and academic advising
• two realistic backup routes

Read the curriculum before the marketing

The word “data,” “health,” “business,” or “technology” in a title does not tell you how much calculus, coding, laboratory work, writing, or group work the degree contains. Read first-year and upper-year requirements. Look at what students must do, not only what graduates could someday become.

If the application “subject of interest” changes

First identify what changed. Institutions use labels such as subject of interest, intended major, stream, specialization, faculty, and program differently. They can represent three very different things:

1. An interest inside a broader entry category. It may be editable and non-binding—or it may affect review, course planning, or capacity. Only the institution's instructions can say.
2. The formal application choice or OUAC program code. This is consequential. It can carry a deadline or fee, and withdrawing a choice that has an offer can cancel that offer.
3. A change after enrolment. This is an internal program, major, or faculty change governed by the receiving program's calendar, prerequisites, grades, capacity, and deadlines; it is not merely an application edit.

Use this change process:

• Save the current application choices, offer status, deadlines, and applicant-portal messages.
• Open the current program page and confirm that the desired option is still accepting the applicant category.
• Check prerequisites, supplemental work, campus, co-op status, fees, and whether prior submissions transfer.
• If an offer is active or accepted, ask the university's admissions office in writing before withdrawing or replacing anything.
• For an OUAC choice, use the current “My Choices” process, complete any Review and Payment step, and wait for the OUAC confirmation.
• Recheck the university applicant portal and save the confirmation. A draft edit or email request is not proof that a change was processed.

OUAC permits applicants to add or withdraw undergraduate program choices after submission, but warns that withdrawing a program with an offer also cancels the offer. OUAC directs applicants who accepted an offer and now want another program at the same university to contact that university because policies differ. Later changes can also encounter closed programs. This is why “I only changed my interest” is not enough detail for reliable advice.

Compare using weighted criteria

Choose criteria that matter to your actual life: academic fit, total cost, commute/housing, program flexibility, co-op, support, class environment, location, and career preparation. Assign weights before becoming attached to a logo.

Is OUInfo enough to make a final decision?

It is an excellent discovery and comparison starting point. Confirm decisive requirements, dates, and policies on the university’s own current pages.

What if two official pages disagree?

Save both links and contact the admissions office in writing with the exact program, campus, applicant type, and entry term. Keep the reply.

Should I choose the highest-ranked school?

Ranking can be one input, but it does not replace program curriculum, cost, support, co-op structure, accreditation, location, or personal fit.

Can I change my intended subject or major after applying?

Sometimes, but the label is not standardized. Determine whether it is a non-binding interest, a formal application/program choice, or a post-enrolment program change, then follow the exact institution and OUAC process before a deadline.

Official starting points

• Ontario Universities’ Info
• OUAC undergraduate guide
• OUAC: add or withdraw an undergraduate program choice
• OUAC: changing direction after accepting an offer
• OUAC undergraduate fees
• Each institution’s program, admissions, calendar, and fees pages