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.

	York Design (BDes) OUAC YD Remove	Western Arts and Humanities OUAC EA Remove	McMaster Humanities I OUAC MH Remove
Your average, their wayrequired courses forced in
Published rangetheir exact wording	83–87%“Mid-80s”	80–83%“Low 80s”	80–83%“Anticipated admission average of low-80s”
Required coursesforced into your top 6 — options are the row below	ENG4U	ENG4U	ENG4U
Choose one ofany of these satisfies it	—	—	—
Prerequisitesas published	Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) ENG4U 5 additional 4U/M courses	English, ENG4U	English 4U *Completion of Biology 4U is recommended for students who are interested in pursuing the Cognitive Science of Language program in Level II.
More than marks?supplementary application	Yes Submit your application for admission to the OUAC by January 15, 2026, for guaranteed consideration to this program.Applications received after this date will be reviewed if space is available. In addition to applying for admission to York via the OUAC, applicants must complete an audition, interview and/or portfolio review. Find out more at ampd.yorku.ca/apply. Usually closes before January 15	Yes Unless otherwise noted, required courses must be completed with a minimum average of 70%. Prospective students applying to Fine Arts will need to submit a portfolio. For the School for Advanced Studies in the Arts and Humanities (SASAH), students must indicate interest on the OUAC application and complete a Statement of Interest by February 28, 2026. Usually closes before January 15	Marks only
Co-op	No	Available	No
Degree	—	Bachelor of Arts, BA, Bachelor of Business Administration/Bachelor of Arts, BBA/BA, Bachelor of Fine Arts, BFA, Certificate, Cert, Diploma, Dipl.	—
First-year intakewhere published	50	—	480
What you study	Design	Ancient Middle Eastern LanguagesCinematics & Photography Classical Greek Studies Classical Studies	African StudiesAncient Middle Eastern LanguagesClassical Studies Comparative Literary Studies
What it is	A Bachelor of Design teaches you to create visual and physical solutions to real problems, combining art, technology, and user needs. You'll learn design thinking, digital tools, and how to present ideas clearly rather than focusing narrowly on fine art or engineering alone. This program suits people who want to solve practical problems through creativity and aren't sure whether they're more interested in making things or making them look good.	Arts and Humanities programs at Western let you study literature, history, languages, creative work, and visual art — subjects focused on human culture and expression rather than science or business. You can pursue a general BA, combine business with arts, earn a specialized BFA in fine art, or complete a shorter certificate or diploma. The co-op option lets you alternate study terms with paid work placements related to your field. This suits people drawn to writing, analysis, visual creativity, or understanding how societies and cultures work.	Humanities I is your first year of study in the liberal arts, where you explore human culture, language, history, and society through subjects like English, history, drama, and linguistics. You take a range of courses across these fields to discover what interests you before specializing in a particular discipline in later years. This suits students who are curious about how people think, communicate, and organize themselves, but aren't yet certain which humanities subject to focus on.
The door tomajors you reach through it	Applied to directly	english languages philosophy	communications english history languages philosophy
Entrance awardsat this campus, by average	29 published, 4 with no applicationfrom 75%See them	6 published, 5 with no applicationfrom 85%See them	5 published, 3 with no applicationfrom 75%See them
Source	York University on OUInfo	Western University on OUInfo	McMaster 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.