Academic requirements

Applicants must meet the below requirements, including the English language proficiency requirements, and portfolio requirements. Please note admissions is competitive and meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission. 

Applicants may be awarded full admission, conditional admission, waitlist, or decline. All offers of admission are contingent upon the receipt of final official transcripts to confirm successful completion of academic requirements. Final official transcripts are due no later than August 1.

Complete your First Year Studies application by February 1 to automatically be considered for thousands of dollars in Entrance Scholarships. 

First Year Studies applicants apply online through Apply Alberta selecting First Year Studies as the program choice.

Domestic High School applicants

First Year Studies applicants who attended Canadian high school must present the following:

• High School Diploma from a Canadian secondary school
• Minimum 60% in English 30-1 or minimum 65% in English 30-2 or provincial equivalent
• Minimum 60% in three additional Grade 12 courses in Fine Arts, Humanities (eg. Social Studies), Math, Science or Career and Technology Studies (CTS).
• Please note the following regarding acceptance of CTS courses:
  • A maximum of three credits can be CTS and is equal to one course.
  • AUArts will accept the following CTS courses: Computing Science (CSE), Communications Technology (COM), Design Studies (DES), Fashion Studies (FAS), Enterprise & Innovation (ENT), Financial Management (FIN), Information Processing (INF), Management & Marketing (MAM), Criminal Justice Studies (CJS), Legal Studies (LGS), Construction (CON) (Specifically: CON3130: Furniture – Leg & Rail, CON3140: Furniture – Surface Enhancement), Logistics (LOG)

IB and AP Students

We accept both Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses to meet academic requirements. Courses must fit into the program you are applying to in order to be eligible for transfer credit and must be presented through official, final transcripts.

• IB - final, official score of 5 or higher to meet minimum requirements. Higher Level (HL) courses are eligible to be considered for 1st year transfer credit.
• AP - final, official score of 4 or higher to meet minimum requirements and eligible to be considered for 1st year transfer credit.

International applicants

First Year Studies applicants who attended high school outside Canada must present the following:

• International applicants are evaluated on the basis of equivalency of an Alberta high school diploma and a minimum of 60% in the final year of study. All final transcripts must be forwarded directly from the applicant's educational institution to AUArts' Admissions Office by August 1. All transcripts issued in a language other than English must be accompanied by notarized English translations.
• English Language Proficiency

If you show artistic achievement, but have not met the academic or English Language Proficiency requirements for First Year Studies, you may apply for the ArtStream Certificate program. Artstream enables you to earn university credit by taking select AUArts First Year Studies courses in combination with other courses designed to support an art and design education. Students who complete ArtStream will earn eighteen (18) credits or six, 100-level courses of First Year Studies advance credit.  

ArtStream program applicants apply through Apply Alberta to Alberta University of the Arts, selecting the ArtStream Certificate program as the program choice.

More information on applying to AUArts as a Transfer Applicant or post-secondary applicant who has completed 30 or more credits, can be found here. Transfer Applicants, including applicants from Block Transfer partner institutions, must meet English language proficiency requirements and present a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 (Grade of C).

If you are 21 or over, and are a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident, you are considered a mature student and have different academic requirements. Learn more about being a mature student.

Applicants who are not seeking to complete a degree and wish to enrol in one or more undergraduate courses at AUArts must apply directly to AUArts – please contact admissions@auarts.ca. Non-degree applicants are expected to meet the minimum academic requirements for admission to the bachelor’s degree program of choice.

Visiting students should contact admissions@auarts.ca for application information. 

Deadline | January 15

Please visit the MFA How to Apply page for application information.

Please visit the Exchange and Study Abroad Program page for detailed information on the processes and timelines for exchange students.