4 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.

Full	U of T (Mississauga) Visual Studies OUAC TEV Remove	OCAD Digital Futures OUAC HDF Remove	York Digital Media (BA) - School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design OUAC YFA Remove	Carleton Media Production and Design OUAC CMP Remove
Your average, their wayrequired courses forced in
Published rangetheir exact wording	73–80%“Mid to high 70s”	Not published“N/A”	73–80%“Mid- to high 70s”	75%“75% (regular and co-op)”
Required coursesforced into your top 6 — options are the row below	ENG4U	ENG4U	ENG4U	ENG4U
Choose one ofany of these satisfies it	—	—	—	—
Prerequisitesas published	ENG4U	OSSD with an overall academic average of at least 70% in six 4U/M courses, including English 4U with a minimum final grade of 70%	Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) ENG4U 4U Math (minimum grade of 75% required) 4 additional 4U/M courses 4M Arts (or similar arts training) recommended	English (ENG4U) 1 Math credit (4U) 4 best 4U/M courses
More than marks?supplementary application	Marks only	Yes Admission based primarily on your portfolio assessment. All offers of admission are conditional on meeting the minimum academic requirements. Alternative Offers There are no alternative offers. Usually closes before January 15	Marks only	Marks only
Co-op	No	No	Available	Available
Degree	Bachelor of Arts, BA, Diploma, Dipl.	Bachelor of Design, BDes, Bachelor of Fine Arts, BFA	—	—
First-year intakewhere published	60	—	35	50
What you study	Cinematics & Photography Design Fine Art	Computer Animation and Visual Effects Design Fine Art Information Systems	Computer Animation and Visual Effects Computer Games Design	Cinematics & Photography Creative Writing Design Media and Communication Studies
What it is	Visual Studies is the study of how images, film, photography, and design communicate meaning and shape culture. You'll learn theory, history, and hands-on practice across cinematography, photography, fine art, and design. This program suits students who want to understand visual culture deeply and develop creative skills, rather than train narrowly for a specific design or film production role.	Digital Futures is a design and fine arts program where you study visual storytelling through digital tools and media, combining animation, graphic design, coding, and art. Unlike traditional design or fine art streams, it's built around interdisciplinary collaboration and real-world projects that blend artistic creativity with digital technology and communication. It suits people who want to create visually, think critically about media, and work across both artistic and technical domains.	This program teaches you how to create digital content across animation, game design, and visual media. Unlike a pure computer science degree, it balances technical skills with creative and design thinking. It suits people who want to build things that people see and interact with, rather than work mainly on backend systems or theory.	You study how to create and produce media across film, photography, writing, and design, learning both the technical skills and creative thinking behind what you see on screens and in print. Unlike a pure communication theory program, this one emphasizes hands-on production and design work alongside studying media's role in society. It suits people who want to make things, not just analyze them, and who enjoy combining visual, written, and conceptual work.
The door tomajors you reach through it	Applied to directly	Applied to directly	Applied to directly	Applied to directly
Entrance awardsat this campus, by average	4 published, 4 with no applicationfrom 90%See them	None published by average	29 published, 4 with no applicationfrom 75%See them	16 published, 9 with no applicationfrom 75%See them
Source	University of Toronto — Mississauga on OUInfo	OCAD University on OUInfo	York University on OUInfo	Carleton University on OUInfo

Also compare with

Same subject area and a similar published range, at a campus you have not got in the table yet.

Ranges are what each university publishes, not guaranteed cutoffs, and limited-enrolment programs often admit above them. Confirm anything you are about to act on with the university; each column links to its source.