Students must earn the following 18 compulsory credits in order to obtain the Ontario Secondary School Diploma:
- 4 English (1 credit per grade) *
- 1 French as a second language
- 3 mathematics (1 at the Senior Level)
- 2 science
- 1 Canadian geography (Grade 9)
- 1 Canadian history (Grade 10)
- 1 Arts credit (any of visual arts, music, drama, dance)
- 1 health and physical education
- 0.5 credit in civics
- 0.5 credit in career studies
Plus one credit from the following groups:
- one additional credit in English, OR French as a second language OR a native language OR classical and international language OR social sciences and the humanities OR Canadian and world studies OR guidance and career education OR cooperative education **
- one additional credit in health and physical education OR the arts OR business studies, OR cooperative education **
- one additional credit in science (Grade 11-12) OR computer studies (Grade 10-12) OR technological education (Grade 9-12), OR cooperative education **
* A maximum of 3 credits in English as a second language (ESL) or English Literacy Development (ELD) may be counted towards the 4 compulsory credits in English, but the fourth must by a credit earned for a Grade 12 compulsory English course.
** A maximum of 2 credits in cooperative education can count as compulsory credits.
For more detailed information concerning the Ontario secondary school diploma requirements, visit http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/curricul/secondary/oss/oss.pdf