The Ministry of Education defines the requirements for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD).
Students who entered Grade 9 in 2023 or earlier must earn a total of 18 compulsory credits, and students entering Grade 9 in 2024-25 onwards must earn a total of 17 compulsory credits to obtain their Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD).
30 credits in total
1) If you started in Grade 9 in or before Fall 2023
You need the following 18 compulsory credits to get your OSSD:
- 4 credits in English (1 credit per grade)
- 3 credits in mathematics (at least 1 credit in Grade 11 or 12)
- 3 credits for group 1, 2, and 3 courses (1 credit in each group – see below)
- 2 credits in science
- 1 credit in Canadian history (Grade 10)
- 1 credit in Canadian geography (Grade 9)
- 1 credit in the arts
- 1 credit in health and physical education
- 1 credit in French as a second language
- 0.5 credit in career studies
- 0.5 credit in civics and citizenship
The following also apply to compulsory credit selections.
- You can use the Grade 11 English: Understanding Contemporary First Nations, Métis and Inuit Voices course to meet the Grade 11 English compulsory credit requirement.
- You can use the Grade 9 Expressions of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Cultures course to meet the compulsory credit requirement in the arts.
- English language learners: You may count up to 3 credits in English as a second language (ESL) or English Literacy Development (ELD) towards the 4 compulsory credits in English. Your fourth credit must be a Grade 12 compulsory English course.
Group 1, 2, and 3 compulsory credits
- Group 1: additional credit in English, or French as a second language,* or a Native language, or a classical or an international language, or social sciences and the humanities, or Canadian and world studies, or guidance and career education, or cooperative education**
- Group 2: additional credit in health and physical education, or the arts, or business studies, or French as a second language,* or cooperative education**
- Group 3: additional credit in science (Grade 11 or 12), or technological education, or French as a second language,** or computer studies, or cooperative education*
The following conditions apply to compulsory credit selections from the above 3 groups.
- In groups 1, 2, and 3, you can count a maximum of 2 credits in French as a second language as compulsory credits, 1 from group 1 and 1 from either group 2 or group 3.
- If you have taken Native languages in place of French as a second language in elementary school, you may use a Level 1 or 2 Native languages course to meet the compulsory credit requirement for French as a second language.
- You can count a maximum of 2 credits in cooperative education as compulsory credits from any of the above 3 groups.
Students must also complete 12 optional credits. The 12 optional credits may include up to 4 credits earned through approved dual credit programs.
2) If you started in Grade 9 in Fall 2024 and after
Note: Starting in September 2026, you must earn a new financial literacy graduation requirement as part of your compulsory Grade 10 mathematics course. You will need to achieve a mark of 70% or higher to pass this new requirement and earn your high school diploma.
You need the following 17 compulsory credits to get your OSSD:
- 4 credits in English (1 credit per grade)
- 3 credits in mathematics (Grade 9, Grade 10, and 1 credit in Grade 11 or 12)
- 2 credits in science
- 1 credit in technological education (Grade 9 or Grade 10)
- 1 credit in Canadian history (Grade 10)
- 1 credit in Canadian geography (Grade 9)
- 1 credit in the arts
- 1 credit in health and physical education
- 1 credit in French as a second language
- 0.5 credit in career studies
- 0.5 credit in civics and citizenship
- 1 credit from the STEM-related course group
The following apply to compulsory credit selections.
- You can use the Grade 11 English: Understanding Contemporary First Nations, Métis and Inuit Voices course to meet the Grade 11 English compulsory credit requirement.
- You can use the Grade 9 Expressions of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Cultures course to meet the compulsory credit requirement in the arts.
- You can use a Level 1 or 2 Native languages course to meet the compulsory credit requirement for French as a second language if you have taken Native languages in place of French as a second language in elementary school.
- English language learners: You may count up to 3 credits in English as a second language (ESL) or English Literacy Development (ELD) towards the 4 compulsory credits in English. Your fourth credit must be a Grade 12 compulsory English course.
STEM-related course group
Of the 17 compulsory credits, you must complete 1 from the following group:
- business studies
- computer studies
- cooperative education
- mathematics (in addition to the 3 compulsory credits currently required)
- science (in addition to the 2 compulsory credits currently required)
- technological education (in addition to the 1 compulsory credit required)
Students must also complete 13 optional credits. The 13 optional credits may include up to 4 credits earned through approved dual credit programs.
40 Hours of Community Involvement Activities
Students must complete 40 hours of community involvement.
Provincial Literacy Requirement
Students must successfully complete the Grade 10 Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) or the Grade 12 Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OSSLC) if unsuccessful with the OSSLT. Students will normally take the literacy test in Grade 10.
Online learning graduation requirement
If you started Grade 9 in the 2020–2021 school year or later, you must earn at least 2 online learning credits to get your high school diploma.
For detailed information, visit the Ontario Ministry of Education website.