3 programs, side by side

Rows marked with a dot are where these differ. Everything is each university’s own published wording; the “your average” row is yours, calculated the way each program does it.

	Ontario Tech Public Policy - Undergraduate Diploma OUAC DPP Remove	Lakehead Criminology (Orillia) OUAC AH Remove	McMaster Social Sciences I OUAC ML Remove
Your average, their wayrequired courses forced in
Published rangetheir exact wording	73–77%“Mid 70s”	70%	80–87%“Low-to mid-80s”
Required coursesforced into your top 6 — options are the row below	No course codes parsed — see prerequisites	ENG4U	ENG4U
Choose one ofany of these satisfies it	—	—	—
Prerequisitesas published	Successful completion of a Bachelor's Degree in any discipline with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (B or 73-76%) OR successful completion of a College Diploma with a minimum 80% average. Alternative Offers If you do not meet the admission requirements, or we cannot accommodate your application, you may receive an offer to another closely related program.	ENG4U Alternative Offers If you do not meet the admission requirements for your program of choice but do meet Lakehead University's general admission requirements, you will automatically be considered for an alternate program.	English 4U * Completion of Advanced Functions 4U and Calculus & Vectors 4U are strongly recommended for students interested in Economics. * Completion of Calculus & Vectors 4U and Biology 4U are strongly recommended for students interested in Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour.
More than marks?supplementary application	Marks only	Marks only	Marks only
Co-op	No	No	Available
Degree	—	—	Bachelor of Arts, BA, Bachelor of Social Work, BSW
First-year intakewhere published	—	—	950
What you study	Politics Social Policy	Forensic & Archaeological Sciences Law & Criminology Politics Psychology	Anthropology Economics Health Informatics Human Geography
What it is	This is a one-year diploma focused on how governments design and carry out policies that affect society — things like healthcare, education, welfare, and environmental rules. You study the politics behind policy decisions and learn how social policies actually get made and implemented. It suits people who already have a completed degree or college diploma and want to shift into policy work without committing to another full bachelor's degree.	You study how crime happens, how the criminal justice system works, and why people break laws. The program draws on forensics, psychology, sociology, and law to examine crime from multiple angles rather than focusing on just one discipline. It suits students interested in understanding criminal behaviour and the justice system who want a broad foundation before deciding whether to pursue police work, victim services, legal studies, or social policy.	Social Sciences I is a first-year entry point where you explore human behaviour, society, and social systems through subjects like economics, sociology, anthropology, politics, and social work. Unlike a specialized program, you sample multiple disciplines before declaring a focus, letting you discover which area — from international development to health policy — matches your interests. It suits students curious about how societies work and drawn to understanding people and social issues from different angles.
The door tomajors you reach through it	Applied to directly	criminology	criminology geography political science psychology sociology
Entrance awardsat this campus, by average	3 published, 3 with no applicationfrom 85%See them	6 published, 5 with no applicationfrom 80%See them	5 published, 3 with no applicationfrom 75%See them
Source	Ontario Tech University on OUInfo	Lakehead University on OUInfo	McMaster University on OUInfo

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