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International Baccalaureate (IB)

This web page indicates how transfer credit is awarded for International Baccalaureate (IB). Please note that the following rules and regulations only apply to students admitted to a degree program and who are registered at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) during the 2022-2023 academic year.

  1. Transfer credit is awarded for Higher Level (HL) exams where a final grade of at least 5 is achieved. No transfer credit is awarded for Standard Level (SL) exams.
  1. In order to receive credit, final results must reach Enrolment Services by no later than July 22, 2022. Visit the IBO website for information on how to request the IBO release your results directly to the University of Toronto. Results issued by your school are not acceptable.
  1. If you have taken more than one exam in the same discipline, only 1.0 full credit will be given as students are not permitted to apply more than one first year credit in the same discipline towards their degree. For example, if you have taken History of Africa and History of the Americas, you will receive one HIS credit only.
  1. If you wish to decline or forfeit the transfer credits awarded to you, you must email utsc.hstransfercredit@utoronto.ca no later than October 31, 2022. The option to forfeit is only available to students who have not attended another post- secondary institution. Once forfeited, transfer credits cannot be reinstated.
  1. If you choose to forfeit transfer credit given for a course for which you were awarded two half credits, you must forfeit both half credits.

Terms Defined

  • Unspecified transfer credit: A course that has no exact equivalency in the Faculty. For example, CHMA**H represents an unspecified first year credit in Chemistry.
  • Generic transfer credit: A course for which no equivalent discipline exists. For example, HUM – Humanities, LGG – Language, SCI – Science, SSC – Social Science.
  • Specific credits: Courses offered at UTSC, e.g. CHMA10H3.
  • Breadth Requirement: Of the 20 credits required to complete a degree, at least one half-credit must come from each of the following five breadth categories (Refer to the UTSC Calendar for more information):

• Arts, literature and language (Arts)

• History, philosophy and cultural studies (HisPhil)

• Social and behavioural sciences (SocBeh)

• Natural sciences (NatSci)

• Quantitative reasoning (Quant)

Interpreting the Equivalency Charts

  • Course Name: The name of the course/subject you took (for example, European History or Economics)

  • Transfer Credit Given: The credit that will appear on your academic record (transcript). All secondary school transfer credits are awarded as unspecified transfer credits, for example BIOA**H, CHMA**Y, or MGEA**Y.
  • Credit Value: The weight of the transfer credits, either 0.5 or 1.0 (see the Academic Calendar for more information about course weight). If a course/subject is not eligible for transfer credit, the weight will be listed as N/A.
  • Subject Area/Breadth Requirement: Some courses may list a subject area such as “HisPhil”, which is an abbreviated description of the course content, in this case, history, philosophy & cultural studies. The subject area information normally also includes the breadth requirement (BR) category for the transfer credits (see above). If no breadth requirement category is listed, the transfer credit does not contribute toward the breadth requirements. In some cases, the subject area also includes a course code, which indicates the course to which the transfer credit can be considered an equivalent.

As an example, IB Biology is awarded two transfer credits, BIOA**H with a subject area of “A01 (BR=NatSci)” and “BIOA**H with a subject area of “A02 (BR=NatSci)”. One BIOA**H credit provides a half-credit toward breadth requirement category BR=NatSci (Natural Sciences) and can be used as an equivalent to BIOA01H3; the second BIOA**H provides a half-credit toward the same breadth requirement category BR=NatSci and can be used as an equivalent to BIOA02H3. It is important to note that you could, however, choose to take BIOA01H3 and/or BIOA02H3 at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) if you wanted to, and the courses would not be considered repeated courses.

  • Program Admission: This column tells you whether the credit can be used to meet the enrolment requirements for a program of study. See the Academic Calendar for more information about program enrolment requirements.
  • Program Requirements: This column tells you whether the credit can be used to meet the completion requirements for a program of study. See the Academic Calendar  for more information about program completion requirements.
  • Prerequisite Purposes: This column tells you whether the credit can be used to meet the prerequisite for another course. See the Academic Calendar for more information about prerequisites.
  • Notes: Information in this column will normally explain information about the credit equivalency and how your transfer credit can be used for program requirements. If the note tells you to consult the program, you can find the academic unit’s contact information on the Office of the Registrar’s website.

*Courses not offered at UTSC but offered at the Faculty of Arts & Science (FAS) on the St. George campus, are awarded the FAS course and include a “1” for course level and are not eligible for program admission, program requirements or program prerequisites at UTSC. For example, the IB course “German B” is listed at GER1**H and can be used for breadth requirement (BR=Arts), but is not eligible for program use.

Subjects not listed below may still be considered for transfer credit. The University of Toronto Scarborough reserves the right to change transfer credit policies without notice.

Duplication of Material

Subject to confirmation of the above transfer credits, please refer to the UTSC Calendar to review course descriptions and exclusions since the content may overlap with studies for which you have received transfer credit; for instance, studies receiving LGGA**Y may have significant overlap with UTSC language courses. Choose wisely to ensure you are taking courses at the correct level of study.

 

Course Name

Transfer Credit Given

Credit Value

Subject Area/ Breadth

Program Admission

Program Require-ments

Program Pre-requisites

Notes

Arabic B

NML1**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

N/A

N/A

N/A

No credit is given to native speakers.

Arabic A: Language and Literature

NMC1**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Arabic A: Literature

NMC1**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Bengali A: Literature

LGGA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

No

No

No

 

Biology

BIOA**H, BIOA**H

1.0

A01 (BR=NatSci)
A02 (BR=NatSci)

Yes

Yes

Yes

You have the equivalent of BIOA01 and BIOAO2.

Business and Management

No Credit

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Cantonese B

LGGA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

N/A

N/A

N/A

No credit is given to native speakers of any Chinese dialect.

Chemistry

CHMA**Y

1.0

(BR=NatSci)

No

No

No

 

Chinese A: Language and Literature

LGGA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Chinese A: Literature

LGGA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Chinese B - Cantonese

LGGA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

N/A

N/A

N/A

No credit is given to native speakers of any Chinese dialect.

Chinese B - Mandarin

LGGA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

N/A

N/A

N/A

No credit is given to native speakers of any Chinese dialect.

Classical Greek

GRK1**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Computer Science

CSCA**H

CSCA**H

0.5

0.5

A08 (BR=Quant)

(BR=Quant)

No

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

You have the equivalent of CSCA08H3.

Dance

No Credit

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Danish B

LGGA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

No

No

No

 

Design Technology

No Credit

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Dutch A: Language and Literature

LGGA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

No

No

No

 

Dutch A: Literature

LGGA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

No

No

No

 

Economics

MGEA**H3, MGEA**H3

1.0

(BR=SocBeh)

No

No

No

 

English A: Language and Literature

ENGA**H, ENGA**H

1.0

(BR=Arts)

No

No

No

Consult program advisor for exception.

English A: Literature

ENGA**H, ENGA**H

1.0

(BR=Arts)

No

No

No

Consult program advisor for exception.

English B

No Credit

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Environmental Systems and Societies

No Credit

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Film

HUMA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

No

No

No

 

French A: Language and Literature

FREA**H, FREA**H

1.0

A01 (BR=Arts)
A02 (BR=Arts)

Yes

Yes

Yes

You have the equivalent of FREA01H3 and FREA02H3.

French A: Literature

FREA**H, FREA**H

1.0

A01 (BR=Arts)
A02 (BR=Arts)

Yes

Yes

Yes

You have the equivalent of FREA01H3 and FREA02H3.

French B

FREA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

No

No

No

No credit is given to native speakers.

Further Mathematics

No Credit

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Geography

EESA**H

0.5

(BR=NatSci)

No

No

No

 

German A: Literature

GER1**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

German B

GER1**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

N/A

N/A

N/A

No credit is given to native speakers.

Global Politics

POLA**Y

1.0

(BR=SocBeh)

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

Hindi B

LGGA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

N/A

N/A

N/A

No credit is given to native speakers.

History

HISA**Y

1.0

(BR=HisPhil)

No

Yes

Yes

 

History Africa

HISA**Y

1.0

(BR=HisPhil)

No

Yes

Yes

 

History Americas

HISA**Y

1.0

(BR=HisPhil)

No

Yes

Yes

 

History Asia/Middle East

HISA**Y

1.0

(BR=HisPhil)

No

Yes

Yes

 

History Asia/Oceania

HISA**Y

1.0

(BR=HisPhil)

No

Yes

Yes

 

History Europe

HISA**Y

1.0

(BR=HisPhil)

No

Yes

Yes

 

History Europe/Middle East

HISA**Y

1.0

(BR=HisPhil)

No

Yes

Yes

 

Indonesian A: Literature

LGGA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

No

No

No

 

Islamic History

NMC1**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

No

No

No

 

Italian B

ITA1**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

No

No

No

No credit is given to native speakers.

ITGS

SSCA**Y

1.0

(BR=SocBeh)

No

No

No

 

Japanese A: Language and Literature

GASA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Japanese A: Literature

GASA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

No

Yes

Yes

 

Japanese B

LGGA**Y

1.0

A80, A81 (BR=Arts)

N/A

N

N

No credit is given to native speakers.

Korean A: Language & Literature

GASA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

N/A

N

N

 

Korean B: Language

EAS1**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

No

No

No

 

Latin

LAT1**Y

1.0

(BR=SocBeh)

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Macedonian A1

No Credit

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Mandarin B

LGGA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

No

No

No

No credit is given to native speakers.

Mathematics: analysis and approaches

MATA**H, MATA**H

1.0

A30 (BR=Quant)
A36 (BR=Quant)

Yes

Yes

Yes

You have the equivalent of MATA30 and MATA36. *These credits cannot be used for admission into any Computer Science programs.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation

MATA**H, MATA**H

1.0

A29 (BR=Quant)
A35 (BR=Quant)

Yes

Yes

Yes

You have the equivalent of MATA29 and MATA35. *These credits cannot be used for admission into any Computer Science programs.

Modern Greek A: Literature

HUMA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

No

No

No

 

Music

MUZA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

No

No

No

 

Norwegian A1

LGGA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

No

No

No

 

Philosophy

PHLA**H

0.5

(BR=HisPhil)

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

Persian A: Literature

GASA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

No

Yes

No

 

Physics

PHYA**Y

1.0

(BR=NatSci)

No

No

No

All physics program and prerequisite requirements are calculus-based.

Portuguese B: Language

PRT1**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Psychology

PSYA**H
PSYA**H

0.5
0.5

A01(BR=NatSci)
A02(BR=SocBeh)

Yes

Yes

Yes

You have the equivalent of PSYA01 and PSYA02.

Romanian A: Literature

No Credit

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Russian A: Literature

SLA1**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Social and Cultural Anthropology

ANTA**H3

ANTA**H3

0.5

0.5

A02(BR=SocBeh)

(BR=SocBeh)

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

Consult program advisor for program exception.

Spanish A: Language and Literature

SPA1**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Spanish A: Literature

SPA1**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Spanish B

LGGA**Y

1.0

A90 (BR=Arts)

No

No

No

No credit is given to native speakers. Consult program advisor for course selection.

Theatre

THRA**H3, THRA**H3

1.0

A10 (BR=Arts
A11 (BR=Arts)

N/A

Yes

Yes

You have the equivalent of THRA10H3 and THRA11H3.

Turkish A: Literature

NML1**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Visual Arts

VPSA**Y

1.0

(BR=Arts)

No

No

No

 

 

Consult program advisor for program exception.