The Faculty of Science provides historical BSc specialization information to help students with their BSc Specialization Admission application.
Exact future admission averages cannot be predicted with this information, since they vary due to shifts in students’ interests, changes in the number of available spaces in a specialization, and random factors.
Some BSc specializations admit all qualified students, and some specializations cap the number of students admitted to be able to accommodate students into the available course sections. The admission averages are not related to the academic difficulty of the specialization.
Students can use this information to help them decide which specializations to rank for their three choices in the BSc Specialization Admission application. Students should select three choices for which they have completed all courses listed in the eligibility requirements. Students are encouraged to select the specialization they are most interested in as their first choice, even if their average is slightly lower than the historical averages. If students select three specializations for which their average is substantially lower than the historical figures, they may not be placed into a specialization in the first round of the application and will enter the second round of the application to be placed into a specialization with space remaining.
Once students have obtained a specialization in the coordinated BSc Specialization admission process, they can follow procedures on department websites to apply to switch specializations. Typically, this involves applying directly to a department in the Spring following 2nd year.
Legend
Use the following legend to help you read the tables:
- + means accepted students had this average or higher.
- NF means not filled. The specialization quota was not reached and all eligible students were admitted. Thus, the admission average is not helpful for planning.
- sup means suppressed. If only one student was placed into the specialization in a given year, we do not release the average to protect their privacy.
- - means no one joined the specialization.
Specializations with Quotas
Quota means the specialization has a limit for how many students can be admitted.
Specialization | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Notes |
| Major (0244): Biochemistry (BIOC) | 74.3+ | 71.4+ | 71.0+ | 76.4+ | 65.9+ | |
| Major (3095): Biology (BIOL) | 52.8+ | 57.9+ | NF | NF | NF | |
| Major (3992): Cellular, Anatomical and Physiological Sciences (CAPS) | Specialization did not exist | Specialization did not exist | Specialization did not exist | Specialization did not exist | 85.6+ |
|
| Major (0409): Chemistry (CHEM) | NF | NF | NF | NF | NF | |
| Major (1263): Environmental Sciences (ENSC) | 62.8+ | 60.8+ | 67.6+ | 70.3+ | NF | |
| Major (1682): Integrated Sciences (INSC) | 76.9+ | 77.2+ | NF | 80.1+ | 65.5+ | Note: Starting in 2024, the rank place of the Major in Integrated Sciences is considered in admission. |
| Major (0456): Mathematics (MATH) | 68.2+ | 65.1+ | 69.1+ | 76.3+ | 67.0+ | Note: Starting in 2024, the Major in Mathematics includes MATH grades into the admission process. Therefore, this average is the minimum sessional average or MATH average of admitted students. |
| Major (1153): Microbiology and Immunology (MBIM) | 83.0+ | 82.7+ | 81.7+ | 82.2+ | 78.9+ | |
| Major (3742): Neuroscience | Specialization did not exist | Specialization did not exist | 79.2+ | 81.4+ | 78.2+ | Starting in 2023, the Major in Neuroscience also accepts a small number of students with lower sessional averages. |
| Major (0311): Pharmacology (PCTH) | 87.4+ | 86.7+ | 85.4+ | 85.5+ | 83.5+ | |
| Combined Major (3382): Biochemistry, Chemistry (BIOC, CHEM) | 79.6+ | 65.3+ | 68.8+ | 73.7+ | 73.5+ | |
| Combined Major (3340): Chemical Biology (BIOL, CHEM) | 75.8+ | 69.9+ | 73.4+ | 65.9+ | NF | |
| Combined Major (3144): Microbiology and Oceanography | 69.6+ | 62.9+ | 71.7+ | 74.3+ | NF | |
| Combined Major (3125): Oceanography and Biology | 63.6+ | 55.3+ | NF | 60.1+ | NF | |
| Honours (0577): Fisheries Oceanography | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Honours (1136): Biotechnology | NF | 76.7+ | NF | NF | NF | |
| Combined Honours (3508): Biochemistry and Forensic Science | 71.2+ | 74.1+ | 74.1+ | 74.4+ | 76.6+ | |
| Combined Honours (3676): Biophysics (BIOP) | NF | NF | NF | NF | NF | |
| Major (0562): Statistics (STAT) | 79.2+ | 79.7+ | 77.5+ | 78.7+ | 78.1+ | In the Statistics Umbrella |
| Major Cognitive Systems (1225): Cognition and Brain | 74.9+ | 74.5+ | 77.3+ | 79.2+ | NF | In the Cognitive Systems Umbrella |
Specializations within the Computer Science Umbrella
Umbrellas are groups of specializations which fall under an overall quota. The current umbrellas are Computer Science, Statistics, and Cognitive Systems. Within umbrellas, a specialization may also have its own quota (“sub-quota”). Admission averages are affected by the quotas and sub-quotas. For example, a specialization may not admit very many students because it is part of an umbrella with other more popular specializations, not because it is easier to get into. Students may select up to two specializations from the Computer Science umbrella.
The Faculty of Science received provincial funding to increase the number of domestic seats in computer science specializations. This sometimes results in small differences in the admission averages for domestic (DOM) and international (INT) groups.
The umbrella admission information is the most relevant, as students are placed into their choice of specialization without differentiating between specializations in the umbrella.
Specialization | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||
DOM | INT | DOM | INT | DOM | INT | DOM | INT | DOM | INT | |
| Specializations in the Computer Science Umbrella | 79.9+ | 83.5+ | 82.1+ | 82.3+ | 81.6+ | 83.0+ | 83.5+ | 84.5+ | 82.6+ | 83.5+ |
The information below is provided for interest only, since the relevant admission information is in the table above (for the entire computer science umbrella).
Specialization | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Umbrella | |||||
DOM | INT | DOM | INT | DOM | INT | DOM | INT | DOM | INT | ||
| Major (0185): Mathematical Sciences (MASC) | 83.5+ | sup | sup | - | 85.4+ | 83.1+ | sup | sup | sup | sup | Sub-quota within Computer Science and Statistics |
| Major (0376): Computer Science (CPSC) | 79.9+ | 83.5+ | 82.3+ | 82.3+ | 81.6+ | 83.0+ | 83.5+ | 84.6+ | 82.6+ | 83.5+ | Computer Science |
| Major Cognitive Systems (1226): Computational Intelligence and Design | 82.6+ | 87.6+ | 82.7+ | 82.9+ | 81.8+ | 86.5+ | 84.6+ | 86.0+ | 84.0+ | 89.0+ | Sub-quota within Computer Science and Cognitive Systems |
| Combined Major (1370): Computer Science and Biology | 87.5+ | 87.3+ | 82.4+ | - | 82.1+ | 83.2+ | 85.1+ | - | 91.5+ | - | Sub-quota within Computer Science |
| Combined Major (1371): Computer Science & Microbiology and Immunology | 83.5+ | sup | 82.9+ | - | 81.6+ | sup | 84.0+ | - | 85.9+ | 84.9+ | Sub-quota within Computer Science |
| Combined Major (1375): Computer Science and Statistics | 80.4+ | 83.5+ | 82.4+ | 82.4+ | 81.8+ | 83.7+ | 84.1+ | 84.6+ | 83.1+ | 85.2+ | Computer Science and Statistics |
| Combined Major (1391): Computer Science and Physics | 80.3+ | 83.8+ | 84.1+ | 85.1+ | 87.7+ | 84.1+ | 84.6+ | 85.3+ | 84.9+ | 89.4+ | Computer Science |
| Combined Major (1429): Computer Science and Mathematics | 80.6+ | 83.8+ | 87.1+ | 82.7+ | 82.9+ | 84.6+ | 84.9+ | 84.5+ | 83.5+ | 84.6+ | Computer Science |
| Combined Major (3401): Computer Science and Chemistry | 84.2+ | - | 84.9+ | - | sup | - | sup | - | 87.5+ | sup | Computer Science |
Majors, Honours, and Combined Honours without Quotas
No quota means the specialization admits all students who meet the eligibility requirements.
- Major (0030): Astronomy (ASTR)
- Major(0167): Atmospheric Science (ATSC)
- Major (1223): Earth and Ocean Sciences (EOSC)
- Major (3428) Geographical Sciences
- Major (3193): Geology
- Major (0001): Geophysics
- Major (0524) Physics (PHYS)
- Combined Honours (0517): Chemical Physics (CHEM, PHYS)
- Combined Honours (0206): Chemistry and Mathematics (CHEM, MATH)
- Combined Major (3383): Oceanography and Chemistry
- Combined Major (3126): Oceanography and Physics
- Combined Major (3096): Combined Major in Science (CMSC)
- Combined Honours (0009): Physics and Astronomy (PHYS, ASTR)
- Combined Honours (0014): Physics and Mathematics (PHYS, MATH)
- Honours (0344): Physics (PHYS)