Students are designated “Special Student” if they enroll for one or more courses, but have not been admitted to a program. A Special Student is eligible for evaluation in the courses taken and for a final grade statement from Enrollment Services and Records. Special Students are not eligible to obtain transfer credits or study on a Letter of Permission. Applicants should contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

Grade 12 U/M students may be admitted as Special Students to take a course, subject to receiving authorization from the teaching department of the course they wish to take and also subject to space in the desired course. Candidates must be recommended by their secondary school and will be considered on an individual basis. If the course forms part of a program to which the student is admitted, credit is applied.

See “Academic Standings” section for information on Special Student studies for students with SUSPENDED standing.

Course(s) taken as a Special Student, which an applicant subsequently wants to apply as transfer credit to a program, will not be recorded as a graded course nor will it be used in the calculation of the student’s Grade Point Average (GPA). (See “Transfer Credit” section.)

NOTE: Access to course(s) is subject to approval of the teaching department. Approval may not be granted until after the commencement of term, as space is an essential consideration. Individual faculty members may not grant access to courses.

While approval as a “Special Student” permits students to attempt to enroll for individual courses, it does not guarantee and is not meant to guarantee enrollment in courses, or admission to a Ryerson program. Prospective Special Students should note that, for some courses, no space will be available to Special Students as preference is given to full-time program students.

Special students are subject to the same continuation requirements as students in degree, diploma or certificate programs (see Academic Standings section). Special students are normally permitted to enrol for one to two courses per semester unless they are studying on Letter of Permission from another university or have previously completed a degree from a recognized university.