Application and Admissions

The application and admissions processes for Specialized Programs have changed. Please review the information below.

Applicant Eligibility

Applicants are eligible to apply for Specialized Programs if, at the time of application, they:

meet the age, residency, and citizenship or eligible immigration status requirements to attend a TDSB school as set out in the Admission Eligibility Requirements (PR518); or
are currently registered at a TDSB school.

The applicant's parent/guardian must be currently and actively residing in the province of Ontario during the application window.

You must apply based on the current address where the applicant's parent/guardian currently lives. Applicants cannot use the address of a family member.

If you own property in Toronto, but tenants reside at this property, you may not use this address as a claim of Toronto residency.

Mark Eligibility for September 2027

In order to be eligible, applicants can have no more than 2 of the following marks below the Provincial standard (70%)

Language
Math
Science & Technology
Geography
History
French (Average of 4 areas of achievement)
Arts (Average of 4 areas of achievement)
Physical and Health Education (Average of 2 areas of achievement)

Prior to applying, applicants can use the Benchmark Calculator to verify their eligibility.

Meeting the report card benchmark, does not guarantee placement in a program. Only eligible applicants will have their demonstration of knowledge and skills evaluated and will be considered for seating based on their overall applicant score.
Applicants not meeting the report card benchmark will be notified by email.

Applicants for Grade 11 must include PDFs of their Semester 1 and Semester 2 Grade 9 report cards. Of their 8 final marks, no more than 2 may be below the Provincial standard (70%)

There are no mark requirements for elementary applicants.

For applicants with an official June report card in a format that does not include percentage marks (e.g. the report card provides an achievement range or level), TDSB staff use the information provided to ensure that the applicant meets the eligibility benchmark (no more than 2 marks below the Provincial Standard).

It is not possible for the TDSB to assign specific marks for use in determining the applicant score based on a different marking scale. In these cases, to ensure all students are treated as fairly as possible, 100% of their scores (instead of 70%) will be based on the demonstration of knowledge and skills. We are unable to consider converted marks from schools for the assessment score. Unfortunately, no exceptions will be made.

Fee-paying students who are registered at a TDSB school at the time of application are eligible to apply for Specialized Programs. Please contact [email protected] if you have questions about eligibility.

Students are encouraged to attend Open House events and research the programs and schools before submitting their application. Applications are not considered on a first come, first served basis. Please take your time and carefully consider your choices before submitting.

Please note that transportation is the responsibility of the applicant.

Application Choices for September 2027

Students can select one type of Specialized Program in their application.

Applicants select one primary choice program and may also include an alternate choice of the SAME program type.

Alternate choices will only be considered after all primary applications from the city of Toronto have been considered.

If an applicant is accepted to their primary application, they will not be considered for their alternate choice.

If an applicant is offered a spot in their alternate choice, they will remain on the waitlist for their primary choice until the waitlists close.

Seating of Primary Applicants in September 2026

Percentage of primary choice applicants offered entry grade seats for September 2026.

20% to 40%
40% to 60%
60% to 80%
80% to 100%

The applicant data from the past year has been shared for each Specialized Program. The percentage of primary choice applicants offered a seat, in the entry grade, is posted and is a reflection of the number of overall eligible applicants and the number of seats available in the program.

Programs with admissions rates of 20% - 40% were the most competitive, with the largest number of applicants. Applicants needed very high applicant scores to be seated in these programs.

Programs with admissions rates of 80% - 100% admitted many/most applicants and these programs may also have been able to admit applicants who included the program as an alternate choice. Only programs admitting all primary choice applicants are able to admit alternate choice applicants.

Entry grade applicants for September 2027 are strongly encouraged to use this data to help inform their application choices. Data for other grades is not provided as there are dramatic changes from year to year as the number of available seats is not guaranteed or fixed.

Selection Process for Specialized Programs

All applicants must participate in a demonstration of knowledge and skills.

Arts - applicants must submit either a portfolio or a recorded audition with their application submission using the templates provided.
All other Programs - applicants meeting the report card eligibility requirements must participate in an in-person demonstration of knowledge and skills at their requested school.

Applicants will be scored based on their previous year’s report card results (30%) and their demonstration of knowledge and skills (70%). Applicants will be seated based on their application score. Elementary applicants will be scored only on their portfolio/audition video.

Learn more about marks that will be considered and the demonstrations of knowledge and skills.

Seating of Applicants Process

The selection process for Specialized Programs will occur centrally and all communication will come from [email protected].

Please do not contact schools directly for selection results.

February 10, 2027:
Acceptances and waitlist status will be sent via email to all applicants. Offers expire February 16, 2027 at 4 p.m. If you do not accept your placement by the deadline, the placement will be automatically declined.

Further offers will be made where spaces are available on February 17 and 24, 2027.

No offers will be made after this date and all Central Waitlists will expire on this date.

Applicants not seated in a program will have the opportunity prior to the end of February to accept a seat in a Specialized Program of the same type that has vacant seats. These seats will be made available; interested applicants will be seated in order of their applicant score. In accepting a seat, the applicant will no longer be eligible for their primary or alternate choice program.

FAQ - Specialized Programs: Offers and Admissions FAQ NEW

What happens if I accept the offer for my alternate application program? Will I remain on the waitlist for my primary application program?

Yes, you will remain on the waitlist for your primary choice program. If a space becomes available for you in your primary choice program, you will be automatically offered a seat in that program and removed from the alternate program. You will be notified of the change by email and you will be required to accept the new offer of placement.

If you wish to remain in your alternate program, you must contact your current school by email and request to be removed from your primary choice waitlist. This ensures that if a seat becomes available in your primary choice you will not be automatically removed from your alternate program and seated in your primary choice program. Being removed from the primary choice waitlist is final and you cannot be returned to the waitlist.

If you are a non-TDSB student, please email [email protected] to be removed from the waitlist. Please include the applicant’s first and last name in the email.

I am on the waitlist for one (or both) of my programs. What happens now?

As spaces become available in programs, applicants will be moved from the waitlist to the vacant seats. If you are offered a seat, you will receive an email notification, along with an acceptance deadline.

You can use your results link to see your position on the waitlist change over time.

What do I do if I accept an offer now and change my mind?

Applicants may decide to attend their local school, or attend a school through Out-of-Area Admissions. If you accept a Specialized Program offer and change your mind, please notify your current school in writing before February 25, 2026, if at all possible, so that another student has the opportunity to take your spot. If you are a non-TDSB student, please email [email protected] to inform us of your decision.

My child is not a TDSB student but has accepted an offer for a Specialized Program. How do I get them registered?

A unique link to a registration package for the Specialized Program will be sent to your email address starting in mid-February. Please complete and submit the registration package and contact the school to arrange an appointment where you will need to provide the necessary documentation. Registrations should be completed before noon on March 13, 2026.