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How do I earn a Secondary School Diploma?

Diploma Requirements
If you started Grade 9 in 2024 or in later years, an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) requires the completion of:

  • a minimum of 30 credits, including 17 compulsory and 13 optional
  • 40 hours of community involvement activities
  • the literacy graduation requirement
  • the online learning graduation requirement (2 online learning credits)
  • the Financial Literacy Graduation requirement
    (Note: Effective September 8, 2026, for any students who entered high school in September 2025 or later, and are enrolled in GLC2O (Grade 10 Career Studies) must successfully complete a financial literacy graduation requirement as part of the course. They will need to achieve a mark of 70% of higher to pass this new requirement. Students will be provided additional attempts if unsuccessful. Students who successfully earned their GLC2O credit prior to September 2026, or who started high school prior to September 2025 are exempt from the requirement)

The 17 compulsory credits are:

  • 4 English, one per grade level
  • 1 French as a Second Language
  • 3 Mathematics, at least one in Grade 11 or 12
  • 2 Science
  • 1 Canadian Geography
  • 1 Canadian History
  • 1 Technology (Grade 9 or 10)
  • 1 Arts (dance, drama, media, music, visual arts)
  • 1 Health and Physical Education
  • 0.5 Civics and Citizenship
  • 0.5 Career Studies
  • 1 STEM-related course group

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)

 

Diploma Requirements
If you started Grade 9 in 2023 or in prior years, an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) requires the completion of:

The 18 compulsory credits are:

  • 4 English, one per grade level
  • 1 French as a Second Language
  • 3 Mathematics, at least one in Grade 11 or 12
  • 2 Science
  • 1 Canadian Geography
  • 1 Canadian History
  • 1 Arts (dance, drama, media, music, visual arts)
  • 1 Health and Physical Education
  • 0.5 Civics and Citizenship
  • 0.5 Career Studies

...Plus one credit from each of the following groups:

 

Group 1:

  • English (including the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course) or French as a second language
  • Native languages
  • First Nations, Métis, and Inuit studies
  • Classical Studies and International Languages
  • Social Sciences and the Humanities
  • Canadian and World Studies
  • Guidance and Career Education
  • Cooperative Education
  • American Sign Language as a Second Language

Group 2

  • Health and Physical Education
  • The Arts
  • Business Studies
  • French as a Second Language
  • Cooperative Education
  • American Sign Language as a Second Language

Group 3:

  • Science (Grade 11 or 12)
  • Technological Education
  • French as a Second Language
  • Computer Studies
  • Cooperative Education
  • American Sign Language as a Second Language

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The following conditions apply to compulsory credit selections from the above three groups:

  • In groups 1, 2, and 3, a maximum of two credits in French as a second language can count as compulsory credits, one from group 1 and one from either group 2 or group 3.
    • Students who have taken Native languages in place of French as a second language in elementary school may use a Level 1 or 2 Native languages course to meet the compulsory credit requirement for French as a second language.
  • A maximum of two credits in cooperative education can count as compulsory credits, selected from any of the above three groups.
  • The Grade 11 English: Understanding Contemporary First Nations, Métis and Inuit Voices course may be used to meet the Grade 11 English compulsory credit requirement.
  • The Grade 9 Expressions of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Cultures course may be used to meet the compulsory credit requirement in the arts