Steps to make changes to your program of studies

Make sure you understand your program

Since many different combinations of study modules are possible, knowing what type of program you’re enrolled in and learning all about the program you’re interested in will help you understand what the program structures will allow or require you to do. If you don’t know about the type of program you’re in, check My Academic Requirements in uoZone.

See Academic regulation B-2.1 Categories of programs for more information.

Extra step if you’re currently enrolled in the CO-OP program

When you change your main study module discipline, your CO-OP option doesn’t automatically remain part of your program:

• If you’re in first year and your new discipline offers the CO-OP program, you don’t have to apply for CO-OP again. The CO-OP office will automatically consider your application and will email you its decision in October of your second year.

• If you’re in second year or higher, contact the CO-OP office before requesting a change to your program of studies, because the change could have an impact on your academic progress.

Check if the change you want to make is possible and worthwhile

Is the change possible?

Programs aren’t all offered in both languages, nor do they all include CO-OP or French Immersion Studies. As well, certain types of programs, like majors or minors, aren’t offered in every discipline. Check the program and eligibility criteria to be sure that the program you’re interested in has the language, options and study modules you want.

Is the change worthwhile?

Given that degree requirements can vary from one program to another, changing your program of studies can affect the number of completed units counting towards your degree. Test different program scenarios by using the What-If Report in uoZone. You can check if the courses that you’ve taken or have received advanced standing for can be applied to your new program and if the courses you’re planning to take can meet the requirements of other programs.

Be sure that you

• Are enrolled part or full-time at the University of Ottawa in an undergraduate program
• Are in good academic standing:
  • If you’re enrolled in an honours bachelor’s: 5.00 CGPA
  • If you’re enrolled in a bachelor’s: 4.00 CGPA
• Intend to add or change one or more study modules while transferring to or remaining in a bachelor’s in a direct-entry faculty
• Meet the admission requirements for your intended program (see the program and eligibility criteria)

If you don’t meet all of these conditions and you want to make a change to your program of studies, contact your faculty.

Make sure this is the change you want

We only look at one program change request at a time. If you submit a second request while we’re still looking at the first, we’ll only look at your most recent request, and we’ll cancel the other.

Make your request

Students can complete a program change request in uoZone, under the Applications tab.

If you have any questions about the process to make changes to your program, the form, or if the study module combination you want is possible but does not appear on the form, please contact the Office of the Registrar at [email protected].

If you have any questions about your academic direction, please contact your faculty.

Submit your request before March 31 (for most programs)

By meeting this deadline, you ensure that you’ll be able to enrol in courses in your new program for the upcoming Fall and Winter terms. It is possible to submit a change request online as late as August 31 for the Fall term or from early October to November 30 for the Winter term, but if you do so, there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to enrol in the courses for your new program during the next enrolment period.

Some programs have deadlines that fall before the deadlines indicated above. Please see the program and eligibility criteria to see if this applies to you.

Administrative fee

When you submit your request, you will see a non-refundable administrative fee of $50 on your statement of account for processing and evaluating your request. However, you will only be charged this fee if you are making changes to your primary discipline (main study module) or changes to the overall structure of your program. Note that the primary discipline is the first discipline (subject) that shows up in the name of your degree program.

Here are some examples:

• Honours bachelor’s with double major: If your degree name is Honours Bachelor of Arts with double major in Communications and History, your primary discipline is Communications. In this case, you will pay the fee if you change Communications but not if you change History.
• Honours bachelor’s with major and minor: If your degree name is Honours Bachelor of Social Sciences in Criminology with a Minor in Political Science, your primary discipline is Criminology. If this case, you will pay the fee if you change Criminology but not if you change Political Science.
• Joint Honours bachelor’s to Honour’s bachelor’s: In this case, you will pay the fee because this is a change to the structure of your program, even if one of the disciplines remains unchanged. In other words, if you switch from a Joint Honours BSc in Computer Science and Mathematics to an Honours BSc in Mathematics, you will pay the fee.

You will NOT be charged for other program-related requests, such as changing an additional discipline or for adding or removing an option, profile or microprogram. For a full list of definitions of these terms, please visit the Program Change Request application tab in uoZone.

After you make your request for changes to your program, you’ll receive an acknowledgement of receipt by email from the University, including your request details. Generally, we will email you a decision within 20 business days of your request.

Generally, there are three possible types of decisions.

We’ve accepted all of your changes

The changes will be automatically made and shown in My Academic Requirements and will appear in the Enrol application in uoZone during the next enrolment period. Check your record when the next enrolment period starts to be sure that your new program is shown.

If you’ve completed a college or university level course that you think the University should grant you advanced standing for, contact your new faculty and request an advanced standing reassessment.

For the next enrolment period, see the course enrolment page.

We have not accepted your changes

Make an appointment with an academic advisor in your faculty to discuss other options before making another program change request.

We need to defer the decision

If you are currently completing prerequisite courses for your new program, we will defer our decision until we receive the official grades for the missing courses, shortly after the end of the term.