Canada / Entry requirements
General requirements for undergraduate courses
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- Alberta – a General High School Diploma is generally considered to satisfy the entrance requirements of British Higher Education (HE) if awarded with an average of at least 65% in five acceptable grade 12 courses.
- British Columbia – the Senior Secondary Graduation Diploma is generally considered to satisfy the entrance requirements of British HE institutions if awarded with at least five Bs (BBBBB) in acceptable grade 12 courses.
- Manitoba – the High School Graduation Diploma is generally considered to satisfy the entrance requirements of British HE if five credits have been awarded at 300 level in at least four subject areas and with at least 65% achieved in each of these areas.
- Ontario – the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) is required with an average of 80% in six Grade 12 U/M courses. Certain programmes may require Grade 12 U/M courses in specific subjects.
- Saskatchewan – the Completion Grade 12 Standing/Division IV Standing (Secondary School Diploma) is generally considered to satisfy the entrance requirements of British HE if awarded with an average of at least 65% in five acceptable subjects.
General information
The University will consider the Canadian Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) for Year 1 entry under the following conditions:
- where it has been taught in person within the province of Ontario in Canada at a school officially authorised to award the full OSSD;
- where Grades 10-12 (the final 3 academic years) as well as the Ontario Secondary School Literary Test (OSSLT) have been taught in person, in Ontario;
- We expect students to have achieved all 30 credits from Canadian OSSD courses, and for these to be detailed on their transcript.
We will consider the OSSD from students domiciled outside of Canada only where the student is attending one of the 19 brick-and-mortar international schools approved by the Ontario Ministry of Education. Explore the list of approved schools.
Awarding schools must be listed on the Canadian Ontario Government website as a school authorised to award Ontario Secondary School Diploma credits:
The decision to accept the OSSD from a school in Canada is at the discretion of each academic school.
Students who are undertaking the OSSD outside of Canada at a school not listed, will not be accepted for entry onto our programmes. This includes schools overseas, which may have a partnership with a school physically in Canada.
We require that the OSSD is studied in person. Diplomas studied via distance learning will not be accepted for entry onto our courses.
‘Fast track’ or ‘top-up’ routes will not be accepted. Students applying with the OSSD must have completed the qualification in line with the regulations above over three academic years including Grades 10, 11, and 12. Resit years will not count towards the three year minimum.
Required OSSD Documents
- Transcripts provided by applicants will not be considered.
- Transcripts must be provided directly by the school and confirmed as being the final results.
- The school will also be required to submit a letter confirming that each student has studied Grades 10-12 in person, in Ontario, or at one of the 19 approved international schools. This may be a condition of your offer.
General requirements for postgraduate/research courses
If you completed an undergraduate degree at a Canadian university, you will need a GPA of at least 3.0 (out of 4.0) in a relevant subject area. Strong applicants will not be asked to provide a GMAT report, except for our MBA (minimum 550).
If you wish to study for a PhD at Manchester, you will need to hold an undergraduate degree with a GPA of at least 3.0 (out of 4.0) and, in most cases, a master's degree as well.
English language requirements
All applicants to the University (from the UK and overseas) are required to show evidence of English language proficiency.
UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) requires that every student from outside the UK and the EU must show evidence of a minimum level of English language in order to be granted a UK visa (Tier 4 visa) to study at undergraduate or postgraduate level. This level is often referred to as the ‘B2 level’.
Additionally, our individual Schools may ask for specific English language proficiency levels that are necessary for their academic programmes. In most cases these requirements are likely to be higher than the B2 level. Further information about our English language policy, including a list of some of the English language qualifications we accept, can be found here.
Please note that, under certain circumstances, a university degree from Canada may be sufficient evidence of English language proficiency. Please check with the academic School you would like to apply to.
Additionally, under certain circumstances, the University may consider Advanced Placements (English Language and Composition) or Canadian high school certificates with good grades as a recognised English language qualification.
Some Schools ask that the appropriate score has been met before you apply for a course, while other departments give conditional offers subject to applicants achieving our general entry requirement level of English Language proficiency before starting the course.
Other entry requirements
Please note that this is generic information only. Faculties and Schools have different entry requirements and some qualifications may not be acceptable for certain courses, so it is important to check with the School directly before you apply.
Some courses have additional entry requirements, such as previous work experience, submission of written work with the application, or previous study of a particular subject.