International Baccalaureate (IB)

This web page indicates how transfer credit is awarded for International Baccalaureate (IB). Please note that the following rules and regulations only apply to students admitted to a degree program and who are registered at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) during the 2023-2024 academic year.

Terms Defined

• Unspecified transfer credit: A course that has no exact equivalency in the Faculty. For example, CHMA**H represents an unspecified first year credit in Chemistry.
• Generic transfer credit: A course for which no equivalent discipline exists. For example, HUM – Humanities, LGG – Language, SCI – Science, SSC – Social Science.
• Specific credits: Courses offered at UTSC, e.g. CHMA10H3.
• Breadth Requirement: Of the 20 credits required to complete a degree, at least one half-credit must come from each of the following five breadth categories (Refer to the UTSC Calendar for more information):

• Arts, literature and language (Arts)

• History, philosophy and cultural studies (HisPhil)

• Social and behavioural sciences (SocBeh)

• Natural sciences (NatSci)

• Quantitative reasoning (Quant)

Interpreting the Equivalency Charts

• Course Name: The name of the course/subject you took (for example, European History or Economics)
• Transfer Credit Given: The credit that will appear on your academic record (transcript). All secondary school transfer credits are awarded as unspecified transfer credits, for example BIOA**H, CHMA**Y, or MGEA**Y.
• Credit Value: The weight of the transfer credits, either 0.5 or 1.0 (see the Academic Calendar for more information about course weight). If a course/subject is not eligible for transfer credit, the weight will be listed as N/A.
• Subject Area/Breadth Requirement: Some courses may list a subject area such as “HisPhil”, which is an abbreviated description of the course content, in this case, history, philosophy & cultural studies. The subject area information normally also includes the breadth requirement (BR) category for the transfer credits (see above). If no breadth requirement category is listed, the transfer credit does not contribute toward the breadth requirements. In some cases, the subject area also includes a course code, which indicates the course to which the transfer credit can be considered an equivalent.

As an example, IB Biology is awarded two transfer credits, BIOA**H with a subject area of “A01 (BR=NatSci)” and “BIOA**H with a subject area of “A02 (BR=NatSci)”. One BIOA**H credit provides a half-credit toward breadth requirement category BR=NatSci (Natural Sciences) and can be used as an equivalent to BIOA01H3; the second BIOA**H provides a half-credit toward the same breadth requirement category BR=NatSci and can be used as an equivalent to BIOA02H3. It is important to note that you could, however, choose to take BIOA01H3 and/or BIOA02H3 at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) if you wanted to, and the courses would not be considered repeated courses.

• Program Admission: This column tells you whether the credit can be used to meet the enrolment requirements for a program of study. See the Academic Calendar for more information about program enrolment requirements.
• Program Requirements: This column tells you whether the credit can be used to meet the completion requirements for a program of study. See the Academic Calendar  for more information about program completion requirements.
• Prerequisite Purposes: This column tells you whether the credit can be used to meet the prerequisite for another course. See the Academic Calendar for more information about prerequisites.
• Notes: Information in this column will normally explain information about the credit equivalency and how your transfer credit can be used for program requirements. If the note tells you to consult the program, you can find the academic unit’s contact information on the Office of the Registrar’s website.

*Courses not offered at UTSC but offered at the Faculty of Arts & Science (FAS) on the St. George campus, are awarded the FAS course and include a “1” for course level and are not eligible for program admission, program requirements or program prerequisites at UTSC. For example, the IB course “German B” is listed at GER1**H and can be used for breadth requirement (BR=Arts), but is not eligible for program use.

Subjects not listed below may still be considered for transfer credit. The University of Toronto Scarborough reserves the right to change transfer credit policies without notice.

Duplication of Material

Subject to confirmation of the above transfer credits, please refer to the UTSC Calendar to review course descriptions and exclusions since the content may overlap with studies for which you have received transfer credit; for instance, studies receiving LGGA**Y may have significant overlap with UTSC language courses. Choose wisely to ensure you are taking courses at the correct level of study.