Western University
Programs
18
Range spans
80–87
With co-op
16
The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on 455 hectares (1,120 acres) of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames River bisecting the campus's eastern portion. The university operates twelve academic faculties and schools.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
How Western actually handles things
From the OUAC’s Guidance Dialogues Resource Guide (Spring 2026), which OUAC publishes for guidance counsellors rather than students. Read the original. Policies change — confirm anything you’re about to act on.
- If you repeat a course
If a student has 3 or more repeats, we will take the average of their attempts. If a student has 2 or fewer repeats, we will take the highest attempt.
- Summer school, night school, e-learning and private school
We will accept online, summer, night and private school courses as long as the school is accredited through the Ontario Ministry of Education and offers the same rigorous curriculum and level of instruction that they would receive from their day school.
When students take courses outside of a regular day school, it is their responsibility to ensure that all in-progress and final grades are uploaded to their OUAC Undergraduate application by the appropriate deadlines.
- Your Grade 11 marks
We will consider students' overall Grade 11 performance.
- Whether your OUAC ranking matters
We will review all applications regardless of OUAC ranking.
- If you don't get your first choice
We do not extend alternative offers to other programs on Main Campus.
Students who wish to be considered for more than one program should list each program as a separate choice in their OUAC application.
- Supplementary applications
There are 2 types of forms: Forms required for the student's program and optional forms that provide the admission team more information about them.
Students can review our supplemental forms at: https://welcome.uwo.ca/forms.
- Automatic entrance scholarships
Our Automatic Admission Scholarships are based on admission averages. Some are renewable. They are open to both domestic and international students.
International students joining Western from Canadian high schools could receive the $40,000 Continue in Canada Admission Scholarship. Students are considered automatically.
Western's Admission Scholarships for Black Students and Indigenous Students range from, $12,000 to $26,000 over 4 years. Students are automatically considered but need to self-identify.
More scholarship details: registrar.uwo.ca/scholarships.
- Scholarship deadlines
National Scholarship applications and school nominations are due February 14, 2026 (past).
National Indigenous Scholarship applications are due March 14, 2026 (past).
- Scholarships you have to apply for
National Scholarships range in value from $2,000 to $100,000. Open to both domestic and international students. registrar.uwo.ca/national_scholarship
National Indigenous Scholarships are $50,000.
- Bursaries
https://registrar.uwo.ca/student_finances/ bursaries_workstudy.html
- Special consideration
Western's Special Consideration Profile provides an opportunity for students to share any extenuating circumstances that have adversely affected their grades: https://welcome.uwo.ca/forms.
We encourage students with disabilities to contact Accessible Education: http://accessibleeducation.uwo.ca.
- Deferring your offer
Students can request a deferral of admission for a period of one year.
Admission scholarships for deferred students are based on the scholarship eligibility criteria in the year of registration. The Western Scholarship of Excellence and National Scholarships are not deferrable.
Students must submit their deferral request online: https://welcome.uwo.ca/next-steps/accept-offer/ request-to-defer-your-studies.html.
- When offers go out
We will offer admission to Group A applicants throughout the admission cycle from November 2025 until May 2026.
If a student is taking a prerequisite in later terms, they must show in their OUAC application that they are enrolled in the course for us to evaluate their application.
All offers are conditional upon maintaining the final average indicated on the offer of admission, successfully completing the Ontario Secondary School Diploma and meeting any additional admission conditions outlined at the time of an offer.
- Tuition deposit
International undergraduate students will be required to make a $2,500 admission deposit when they accept their offer of admission.
- AP and IB
AP: If a student achieves at least 4 out of 5 on their final AP exams, we will consider them for transfer credit to a maximum of 2.0 full credits, as approved by the appropriate faculty.
IB: If an IB applicant has successfully completed the full IB diploma and meets our admission criteria, they may be eligible for transfer credit. Higher Level subjects with a score of 5 or higher will be reviewed by the Admissions Office.
- Changing programs
The Western-Fanshawe Collaborative Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) Program (OUAC codes ENW and ENF) is now closed. From fall 2025 onwards, students can apply for the 3.5-year Direct Entry BScN Program at Western (OUAC code ENW).
- Transfer credit
Canadian college students: https://welcome.uwo.ca/next-steps/requirements/ transfer-student/canadian-college.html
Canadian university transfers: https://welcome.uwo.ca/next-steps/requirements/ transfer-student/canadian-university.html
- English proficiency
If the applicant's first language is not English, we may require proof of English-language proficiency. Typically, this is done through an official language test or through an English-as-a-secondlanguage program.
Tests must be written by March 2026. We will not accept scores from before January 1, 2024.
More information (including English proficiency waiver requests): https://welcome.uwo.ca/english .
Which mark they use when you take a course twice.
Whether courses taken outside your regular day school are treated the same.
Whether they look at Grade 11, and when.
Does the order you list programs in change anything?
Whether they'll offer you a related program instead.
Whether this university wants more than marks.
Money you get for your average without applying for it.
Awards beyond the automatic ones.
If something happened that affected your marks.
Taking a year before you start.
Western's GPA scale — the percentage scale you are graded on once you arrive, from the registrar
Western acceptance rate — why there isn’t one, and the published bars that decide instead
Western entrance scholarships — all 20, and what your average is worth
What you apply to, by subject
Western admits into 11 entry points across these 35 subjects. Some are direct entry; for the rest you apply to something broader and choose later.
- accounting
- architecture
- biochemistry
- biology
- chemistry
- commerce/business
- communications
- computer science
- criminology
- earth science
- economics
- education
- engineering
- english
- environmental science
- finance
- geography
- health sciences
- history
- kinesiology
- languages
- life sciences
- marketing
- mathematics
- medical sciences
- microbiology
- neuroscience
- nursing
- philosophy
- physics
- political science
- psychology
- sociology
- software engineering
- statistics
How Western is set up
Not a ranking — the structural facts that shape what a year here feels like, computed from Western’s own listings. Universities list at different grain (Western lists 18), so read the counts rather than comparing percentages between campuses.
89%
of programs offer co-op
16 of 18 listings. At that share, alternating work terms are the norm — expect your year group to rotate in and out of the city.
6/33
subjects you apply straight into
Most subjects here start with a broader first year — you apply to the faculty and choose the subject later, so 27 of the 33 common majors are declared after you arrive.
Living there
Guaranteed
first-year residence
Automatic for single students coming straight from high school with an offer for full-time first year at Western’s main campus. If your offer comes after mid-May, you apply and join the waitlist instead. Huron and King’s students can’t live in Western’s residences.
12 residences, home to over 6,100 undergraduates.
Source: residence.uwo.ca · checked September 11, 2026
36,247
full-time undergraduates
Fall 2025 count, including Huron and King’s.
Source: Council of Ontario Universities (Ministry data, which counts diploma and certificate students too) · checked September 11, 2026
Compare first-year residence at every Ontario campus
Western open house 2026
Every Ontario university open house this fall
Ontario Universities’ Fair, September 26–27. The Western University talk is in room 701A, Saturday hourly from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday hourly from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.. Plan your day
Where it is
Open in Google Maps · Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
All 18 programs
show
- 87–93%EngineeringOUAC EE· co-op· supp. app
- 87–93%Health SciencesOUAC EW· co-op
- 87–90%KinesiologyOUAC EP
- 87–93%NursingOUAC ENW
- 83–87%Management and Organizational StudiesOUAC ED· co-op
- 83–90%Medical SciencesOUAC ESM· co-op
- 83–87%Music Administrative StudiesOUAC EMS· co-op· supp. app
- 80–83%Arts and HumanitiesOUAC EA· co-op· supp. app
- 80–87%Computer ScienceOUAC ECS· co-op
- 80–83%Family Studies & Human DevelopmentOUAC EFS· co-op
- 80–83%Fine Arts – StudioOUAC EAV· co-op· supp. app
- 80–87%Foods and NutritionOUAC EH· co-op
- 80–83%Management and Organizational Studies (Commercial Aviation Management) – Flight and Non-flight (Main Campus Only)OUAC EDN· co-op· supp. app
- 80–87%Media & Communications StudiesOUAC EI· co-op
- 80–83%Music (BA)OUAC EMA· co-op· supp. app
- 80–83%Music (BMus)OUAC EM· co-op· supp. app
- 80–87%ScienceOUAC ES· co-op· supp. app
- 80–87%Social ScienceOUAC EO· co-op