SJC Admission Requirements

General Requirements

• Have or be about to obtain a High School Diploma OR have completed or be about to complete a Non-standardized Homeschool Curriculum

• Be a Canadian citizen, permanet resident, or refugee/protected person

• Overall average of 67% or higher across five 30-level subjects as listed below. 

• All five admission subjects must be above the minimum passing grade.

Course Requirements

• English Language Arts 30-1 (70% or higher).
• Four additional subjects from Group A (Humanities), B (Fine Arts) and/or C (Sciences). A maximum of one (1) Group B may be presented for admission. Applicants are encouraged to present a broad range of subjects across Group A and C (see ‘Alberta High School Subjects for Admission’ chart below).
• Mathematics 30-2 may be used for admission. Only one of Mathematics 30-1 OR 30-2 will be considered.
• Only 5-credit courses will be used for admission purposes.
• Requests, made for good reason, to submit courses other than those identified in the Admission Requirements may be considered on a case-by-case basis and should be directed to sjcapply@ualberta.ca before applying.

The acceptable Alberta academic Grade 12 courses, other than English Language Arts 30-1, have been placed in three groups below:

Courses Not Accepted for Admission

• Any course with a final mark below 50%
• English Language Arts 30-2
• Any 30-3 or 30-4 course
• Career and Life Management (CALM)
• Special Projects 30

If you haven’t met the admission requirements, but are really interested in the Diploma Program, please contact our Admissions Officer at sjcapply@ualberta.ca to discuss your options.

NWT & Nunavut High School Students: NWT & Nunavut high schools commonly use the Alberta secondary curriculum, meaning you have the same admission requirements as Alberta High School Students at this time. See your requirements under ‘Alberta High School Student’.

All Other Provinces and Territories: See the Course Equivalents to determine what courses/subjects from your province or territory can be used to fulfill the requirements below.

General Requirements

• Have or be about to obtain a High School Diploma OR have completed or be about to complete a Non-Standardized Homeschool Curriculum
• Be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or refugee/protected person
• Overall average of 67% or higher in five Grade 12 level subjects as listed below. 
• All five admission subjects must be above the minimum passing grade. 

Course Requirements

• English Language Arts 30-1 equivalent (70% or higher)
• Four subject equivalents from Group A (Humanities), B (Fine Arts) and/or C (Math/Sciences). A maximum of one (1) Group B may be presented for admission. Applicants are encouraged to present a broad range of subjects across Groups A and C (see ‘Alberta High School Subjects for Admission’ below).
• Equivalents for Mathematics 30-2 may be used for admission, however, equivalents for only one of Mathematics 30-1 OR 30-2 will be considered.
• Only 5-credit courses will be used for admission purposes.
• Requests, made for good reason, to submit courses other than those identified in the Admission Requirements or Course Equivalents pdf may be considered on a case-by-case basis and should be directed to sjcapply@ualberta.ca before applying.

Courses not accepted for Admission

• Any course with a final mark below 50%
• English Language Arts 30-2 equivalents
• Career and Life Management (CALM)

If you haven’t met the admission requirements, but are really interested in the Diploma Program, please contact our Admissions Officer at sjcapply@ualberta.ca to discuss your options.

General Requirements

• Have or be about to obtain a High School Diploma OR have completed or be about to complete a Non-standardized Homeschool Curriculum
• Be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or refugee/protected person

Course Requirements

Home school students who have completed a standardized curriculum will be assessed in the same manner as non-home school students from the same region. For example, an Alberta home school student who completes the Alberta provincial high school curriculum and Diploma exams can use the admission requirements for “Alberta High School Student”.

Home school students who have completed a non-standardized curriculum must present the following:

• Evidence that grade 12 coursework was successfully completed.
• A Letter of Recommendation from the student’s homeschool facilitator. This letter must outline why the student would be successful studying at a post-secondary level and must verify that the student has completed grade 12 coursework.
• A Homeschool Transcript showing grade 10, 11, and 12 subjects. This includes a comprehensive subject-by-subject book list from Grades 10 through 12.
• English Language Proficiency as evidenced by one of the following:
  • English Language Arts 30-1 Provincial Diploma exam
  • SAT or ACT Exam
  • The Pearson Test of English
  • An acceptable post-secondary English course, decided on a case-by-case basis

Your AP courses may be used for admission and as transfer credits. See pertinent sections below.

Use AP Courses for Admission

Applicants may use one or more AP courses as part of their five admission subjects as long as the courses meet the requirements. See the Alberta & AP Course Equivalents to determine what AP courses can be used to fulfill the requirements below.

General Requirements

• Have or be about to obtain a High School Diploma OR have completed or be about to complete a Non-standardized Homeschool Curriculum
• Be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or refugee/protected person
• Overall average of 67% or higher across five 30-level/Grade 12 subjects. 
• All five admission subjects must be above the minimum passing grade. This is 2 or more in AP courses.

Course Requirements

• English Language Arts 30-1 equivalent (70% or higher)
• Four subjects from Group A (Humanities), B (Fine Arts) and/or C (Math/Sciences). A maximum of one (1) Group B may be presented for admission. Applicants are encouraged to present a broad range of subjects across Groups A and C (see ‘Alberta High School Subjects for Admission’ chart below).
• Overall average of 67% or higher across the five Grade 12 subjects selected to fulfill the above requirements.
• Equivalents for Mathematics 30-2 may be used for admission, however, equivalents for only one of Mathematics 30-1 OR 30-2 will be considered.
• Only 5-credit courses will be used for admission purposes.
• Requests, made for good reason, to submit courses other than those identified in the Admission Requirements may be considered on a case-by-case basis and should be directed to sjcapply@ualberta.ca before applying.

If an applicant has an AP course and a regular provincial/territory curriculum course in the same subject (e.g., “English 30-1” and “English (Literature and Composition)”), the higher of the two grades should be used for admission, if self-submitting marks.

Use the following table to calculate an average based on AP course marks.

Use AP Courses for Transfer Credit

Applicants who have completed Advanced Placement (AP) coursework and wish to receive transfer credit for SJC Diploma courses must submit official AP transcripts to St. Joseph's College. Transfer credit in approved courses is awarded for an AP grade of 4 or 5 only. See the chart below for a list of eligible AP courses approved for transfer credit.

AP Transfer Credit Course Equivalents 

Your IB courses may be used for admission and as transfer credits. See pertinent sections below.

Use IB Courses for Admission

Applicants may use one or more IB courses as part of their five admission subjects as long as the courses meet the requirements. See the Alberta & IB Course Equivalents to determine what IB courses can be used to fulfill the requirements below.

General Requirements

• Have or be about to obtain a High School Diploma OR have completed or be about to complete a Non-standardized Homeschool Curriculum
• Be a Canadian citizen, permanet resident, or refugee/protected person
• Overall average of 67% or higher across five 30-level subjects as listed below. 
• All five admission subjects must be above the minimum passing grade.

Course Requirements

• English Language Arts 30-1 (70% or higher).
• Four additional subjects from Group A (Humanities), B (Fine Arts) and/or C (Sciences). A maximum of one (1) Group B may be presented for admission. Applicants are encouraged to present a broad range of subjects across Group A and C (see ‘Alberta High School Subjects for Admission’ chart below).
• Mathematics 30-2 may be used for admission. Only one of Mathematics 30-1 OR 30-2 will be considered.
• Only 5-credit courses will be used for admission purposes.
• Requests, made for good reason, to submit courses other than those identified in the Admission Requirements may be considered on a case-by-case basis and should be directed to sjcapply@ualberta.ca before applying.

If an applicant has an IB course and a regular provincial/territory curriculum course in the same subject (e.g., “English 30-1” and “English A or B (HL/SL)”), the higher of the two grades should be used for admission, if self-submitting marks. 

Use the following table to calculate an average based on IB course marks.

Use IB Courses for Transfer Credit

Applicants who have completed International Baccalaureate coursework and who wish to receive transfer credit for SJC Diploma courses must submit official IB transcripts to St. Joseph's College. Transfer credit in approved courses is awarded for an IB grade of 6 or 7 only. Students who are awarded the IB Diploma are granted 3 credits towards their University Transfer Option requirements. See the chart below for a list of eligible IB courses approved for transfer credit.

IB Transfer Course Equivalents

Post-secondary transfer credit is credit earned at one post-secondary institution that is accepted for credit at another post-secondary institution. Applicants with prior post-secondary studies must still meet the basic admission requirements for high school students noted above, but may be eligible to receive transfer credit for one or more of the required Diploma courses.

How many and what kinds of courses can be considered for transfer credit?

Applicants may transfer a maximum of 30 credits completed at other institutions to the Diploma in Liberal Arts program at SJC.

A minium grade of C- is required for courses to ber considered for transfer credit. Pass/Fail courses will nt be accepted for credit.

While there is no fixed time limit on courses considered for transfer credit, a course may not be cosndiered for transfer if the course contenet is deemed out of date, or if it was taken to long ago to be of current value.

Normally, courses used for credit in completing another degree or credential will not be eligible for transfer.

When will you know whether your credits are accepted for transfer?

Transfer credit for Diploma program applicants will be assessed only once applicants have accepted a conditional offer of admission and paid the tuition deposit. Assessing the transfer credits will require submitting official transcripts from all prior institutions. Conditionally accepted students may be asked to submit a copy of course syllabi, the qualifications of the course instructor(s) or other indicators of course content and quality.

What is included in the 30-credit transfer limit?

• High School AP or IB courses used for transfer credit.
• Transfer credit from other post-secondary institutions.
• Courses taken at the University of Alberta, including courses designated as “University Transfer Option” and NS 200 within the Diploma curriculum, or any additional courses taken.

The 6 credits of elective credits designated as "University Transfer Option" courses in the Diploma in Liberal Arts curriculum may be fulfilled by transfer credit from other postsecondary institutions, provided there is an equivalency in the Alberta Transfer Guide to similar courses at the University of Alberta.