Heritage Studies programs in Ontario
12 programs across 6 campuses, with published admission ranges starting at 70%. Sorted by the range each one publishes, lowest first, so you can see where you land.
Programs
12
Campuses
6
Lowest range
70%
What this leads to
The picture for heritage studies as of 2026-08-17, not a description of this particular program.
Fossil preparators and heritage specialists work in museums and heritage organizations, handling conservation, collections management, and interpretation. You might work in historic research, heritage site interpretation, or at Doors Open events.
In its favour
- Museums and heritage organizations have stable, government-backed funding, especially through federal agencies like Parks Canada and the Department of Canadian Heritage
- Work is hands-on and concrete—you're directly preserving objects and sites people care about, not in an abstract field
- Access to paid internships and entry-level work through programs like Young Canada Works, which hired 275 students in 2025
Worth knowing
- Very few permanent jobs: the Jobs in Heritage board lists only 15 positions across Canada at any given time, competing with graduates from multiple universities
- Entry-level conservation work pays $27.79 to $39.44 per hour, which is low and unlikely to climb quickly
- Most full-time positions require or strongly prefer a master's degree or additional credentials on top of your undergraduate degree
- Positions are geographically concentrated in major cities and depend on museum budgets that can shrink with government funding cuts
How AI is changing this work
AI is automating labour-intensive documentation processes and improving accuracy of heritage records. Automated scanning, 3D modeling, and virtual reality create digital copies, and handwritten text recognition is automating transcription of historical manuscripts. However, the best uses of AI emerge from collaborations between technologists, humanities scholars, and cultural experts—meaning human expertise in judgment, context, and ethics remains essential. AI is a tool that replaces routine documentation work, not the interpretive and curatorial judgment you'd be trained for. But four years from now, you'll be entering a job market that's already small and getting more competitive as these tools become standard.
All 12 programs
- 70–75%TMUArts and Contemporary Studies (Co-op Available)
- 70%LakeheadArts One (Thunder Bay)
- 70%LakeheadGender and Women's Studies (Thunder Bay)
- 70%LakeheadIndigenous Learning (Thunder Bay)
- 70%LakeheadPolitical Science/Pre-Law (Thunder Bay and Orillia)
- 70%LakeheadPsychology (Thunder Bay and Orillia)
- 70%LakeheadSocial Work (Thunder Bay and Orillia)
- 70%LakeheadSociology (Thunder Bay)
- 73–77%BrockCanadian Studies
- 80–83%Laurier (Waterloo)Arts Degree (BA) + Master of Business Administration (MBA) with Co-op
- 80%TrentLaw (LL.B.) Canadian Studies (BA): Trent/Swansea Dual Degree
- —OCADCriticism & Curatorial Practice
Other subjects
- Business Studies 203
- Interdisciplinary Studies 187
- Computer Science 135
- Education Studies 117
- Environmental Studies 116
- Psychology 109
- General or Integrated Engineering 104
- Law & Criminology 101
- Media and Communication Studies 98
- Economics 95
- Biological Sciences 92
- Others in Subjects Related to Medicine 92
Ranges are what universities publish, not guaranteed cutoffs. Work out your top 6 to see which of these you actually clear.