Graduation Requirements

Ontario Secondary School Diploma

Course Requirements

Students Who Started Grade 9 in September 2023 or Earlier

To receive an Ontario Secondary School Diploma, students must earn 30 credits - 18 compulsory credits, 12 optional credits (includes 4 credits in religious education and 8 optional credits), pass the literacy requirement, earn at least two online learning credits, and complete the community involvement hours. For more information, please visit the Ministry of Education's 'Earning Your High School Diploma'.

Number of Credits	Name of Course
4 credits (1 credit per Grade)	English
3 credits (1 credit in Grade 11 or 12)	Mathematics
2 credits	Science
1 credit	Canadian History
1 credit	Canadian Geography
1 credit	Arts
1 credit	Health and Physical Education
1 credit	French as a Second Language
0.5 credit	Career Studies
0.5 credit	Civics
4 credits (1 credit per Grade)	Religious Education
8 optional credits	Elective Courses

Students also need one credit from each of the following groups:

Group One

English or French as a Second Language, Native language, classical or an international language, social science and the humanities, Canadian and world studies, guidance and career education, or cooperative education.

Group Two

Health and physical education, the arts, business studies, French as a second language, or cooperative education.

Group Three

One additional credit in science (Grade 11 or 12), or technological education, or French as a second language, or computer studies, or cooperative education.

Students Who Entering Grade 9 in September 2024

To receive an Ontario Secondary School Diploma, students must earn:

30 credits - 17 compulsory credits, 13 optional credits (includes 4 credits in religious education and 9 optional credits);
Pass the literacy requirement;
Earn at least two online learning credits; and
Complete the community involvement hours.

For more information, please visit the Ministry of Education's 'Earning Your High School Diploma'.

Starting in September 2025, students must also earn a new financial literacy graduation requirement as part of their compulsory Grade 10 mathematics course. Students need to achieve a mark of 70% or higher to pass this new requirement and earn their high school diploma.

Students who began Grade 9 in 2024 onwards need the following to receive their Ontario Secondary School Diploma:

Compulsory Credits

Students need the following 17 compulsory credits:

Number of Credits	Name of Course
4 credits (1 credit per Grade)	English
3 credits (Grade 9, Grade 10 and 1 credit in Grade 11 or 12)	Mathematics
2 credits	Science
1 credit (Grade 9 or Grade 10)	Technological Education
1 credit	Canadian History
1 credit	Canadian Geography
1 credit	Arts
1 credit	Health and Physical Education
1 credit	French as a Second Language
1 credit	STEM-related course group
0.5 credit	Career Studies
0.5 credit	Civics
4 credits (1 credit per Grade)	Religious Education
9 optional credits	Elective Courses

STEM-related course group

Of the 17 compulsory credits, students must complete 1 from the following group:

Business Studies
Computer Studies
Co-operative 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)

Mandatory Technological Education Credit

The Ontario government implemented a new high school graduation requirement to help better prepare students across our province for the jobs of tomorrow. Beginning with students entering Grade 9 in September 2024, all students will now be required to earn a Grade 9 or 10 Technological Education course as part of their Ontario Secondary School Diploma.

This graduation requirement will expose students to at least one Technological Education course that could guide them to a future career in the highly skilled workforce, including the skilled trades.

What courses meet the Grade 9 or 10 Technological Education requirement?

The Technological Education curriculum covers a broad range of sectors, including construction, transportation, manufacturing, green industries, health care, computer technology, hospitality, communication, technological design, hairstyling and aesthetics.

Course offerings at each DCDSB secondary school will vary. For a complete list of course offerings at your secondary school refer to the secondary school course calendars.

Do students have to complete the mandatory Grade 9 or 10 Technological Education course in their Grade 9 or 10 year?

Students are strongly encouraged to complete the mandatory Grade 9 or 10 Technological Education course in their Grade 9 or 10 year. If a student needs to defer this compulsory course until their Grade 11 or 12 year, they will need to take a Grade 9 or 10 Technological Education course.

Community Involvement

Students must complete 40 hours of community involvement activities.

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Requirement

Students must fulfill the Ontario Literacy Requirement by successfully completing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) or the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OLC4O).

Online Learning Graduation Requirement

The Ministry of Education will require secondary students to earn two eLearning credits as part of the requirements to graduate with an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD), beginning with students who entered Grade 9 in the 2020-2021 school year. For further details, including frequently asked questions, please visit the Online Learning Graduation Requirement webpage.

Alternative Graduation Certificates

For students whose post-secondary pathway is Community Living or the Workplace, they may graduate with a Ontario Secondary School Certificate (OSSC) or a Certificate of Accomplishment (COA). These graduation designations are decided in consultation with Guidance Counsellor, Program Support, Student Success Teacher and Administration.

Academic Achievements

Honour Roll

A student earns a placement on the St. Mary C.S.S. Honour Roll by achieving an average of 80.0% or higher for courses taken during the academic school year (September to June). Students must have completed a full-time course load for the school year to be eligible for Honour Roll.

Calculations are as follows:

Grades 9, 10, and 11: Best of 8 courses
Grade 12: Best of 6 courses

Cardinal Carter

Cardinal Carter will be granted to students who have achieved Honour Roll status all four years of high school.

Ontario Scholar

A student may be designated an Ontario Scholar if he or she satisfies both of the following requirements:

He or she obtains an aggregate of at least 480 marks in any combination of ministry-approved Grade 12 courses that provide a total of six credits. Where a student obtains more than six credits in any combination of Grade 12 university preparation courses, Grade 12 university/college preparation courses, Grade 12 college preparation courses, Grade 12 workplace preparation courses, Grade 12 open courses, dual credit courses, and cooperative education courses, the highest marks will be used. Grade 12 courses taken at any time during their secondary school enrollment are eligible for Ontario Scholar calculations.

He or she has been recommended by the school principal for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) in either the current school year or the previous school year.