Ontario Secondary School Diploma Requirement

A high school diploma requires the completion of:

  • 30 credits of 110 instructional hours each.
  • Eighteen (18) of the 30 credit courses required for a diploma are compulsory.
  • The remaining twelve (12) credit courses are electives.

The Eighteen (18) compulsory credits for the OSSD are as follows:

Credit Course
4 English (one credit per grade)
1 French
3 Mathematics (at least one in Grade 11 or 12)
2 Science
1 Canadian Geography
1 Canadian History
1 Arts (drama, music or visual arts)
1 Health and Physical Education
0.5 Civics
0.5 Career Studies

Plus one credit from each of the following groups:

Credit Course
1 Additional credit in French, or Spanish or Social Science or Canadian and World Studies or Co-Op
1 Business Studies or the Arts or Health and Physical Education or Co-Op
1 Technological Education Grade 9-12 or Science Grade 11 or 12 or Co-Op

Additional Diploma Requirements:

  1. Successful Completion of the Literacy Test or Literacy Course
  2. 40 Hours of Community Involvement

On completion of the diploma requirements, a student is awarded the Ontario Secondary School Diploma.

Course Selection and Minimum Program Requirements:

Grade Prerquisite
Grade 9, 10, and 11 Eight courses per academic year
Grade 12 Six courses per academic year (three per semester)

A Grade 12 student is defined as having 23 or more credits at the beginning of the school year. SCI believes that the long-term interests of students are best served by studying a full program.

Full disclosure of courses:

All Grade 11 & 12 courses and marks are shown on a transcript if a student is registered in that course 5 days after midterm marks. If a student drops a course after this time, a “W” will be entered and the student’s mark will be recorded. If a student takes a course more than once, information for each attempt will be included, but only one credit will be granted. Failures for Gr. 9-10 DO NOT appear on the transcript.

Community involvement is a must to graduate:

  • 40 hour community service requirement for graduation
  • Must be completed outside of school hours, but can be done through school

Check “Volunteer Opportunities” binder in Guidance and listen to Announcements.

Arts and Culture Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM):

To qualify for the Arts and Culture SHSM, a student in grades 11 and 12 must take:

  • 4 Arts courses
  • 2 Cooperative Education credits related to the Arts
  • Grade 11 English
  • Grade 11 or 12 Business or Social Science

Please see the ACL of Arts (Ms. Gomez) for more information.