Ontario Course Codes: What Every Letter Means

The code, one character at a time

An Ontario course code is five characters and every one of them says something. Take BDV4C:

• B — the subject. B is business studies, G is guidance and career education, M is mathematics, S is science, E is English.
• DV — which course within that subject.
• 4 — the grade. 1 is Grade 9, 2 is Grade 10, 3 is Grade 11, 4 is Grade 12.
• C — the course type. This is the one that matters most, and the one below.

So BDV4C is a Grade 12 business studies course, college preparation. Every one of the 25 Ontario business and career course codes we publish reads the same way.

Grade 9: de-streamed, and no longer academic or applied

This is the change most explainers have not caught up with. Grade 9 core courses are de-streamed — every student takes the same course — and they carry the letter W. If you are hunting for “academic or applied” on a Grade 9 option sheet and cannot find it, that is why.

• W — De-streamed. Foundational learning for all students in the core subjects: maths, English, science, history, geography.
• O — Open. Broad knowledge and skills suitable for all students. Not designed with specific postsecondary requirements in mind.

Grade 10: where streaming starts

• D — Academic. Theoretical concepts and abstract problems. Prepares students for Grade 11 and 12 university, college, and college/university courses.
• P — Applied. Essential concepts and practical, concrete examples. Prepares students for Grade 11 and 12 college and college/university courses.
• O — Open. Broad knowledge and skills suitable for all students.
• L — Locally developed. Meets specific needs of students, focused on essential skills and knowledge.

Grade 10 is earlier than it feels. Academic (D) leads into Grade 11 and 12 university, college and college/university courses. Applied (P) leads into college and college/university. Neither closes a door permanently, but changing route later is real work, and by the time it is obvious it is Grade 11.

Grades 11 and 12: chosen by destination

These are the letters families recognise, and by this point the choice is about where the student is going.

• U — University. Entrance requirements for university programs.
• M — College/University. Entrance requirements for specific programs offered at both universities and colleges.
• C — College. Entrance requirements for most college programs, or admission to specific apprenticeship or other training programs.
• E — Workplace. The expectations of employers, for students entering the workforce directly, or the requirements for admission to certain apprenticeship or training programs.
• O — Open. Broad knowledge and skills suitable for all students.
• T or Y — Dual credit. College courses or apprenticeship training that count towards both the diploma and a postsecondary certificate, diploma, degree or Certificate of Apprenticeship.

Two that get overlooked. M, college/university, keeps more open than most people assume — but some university programs ask for the U version specifically, so check the actual program rather than the pattern. And dual credit (T or Y) earns credit twice, towards the diploma and towards a college certificate, diploma, degree or Certificate of Apprenticeship at the same time.

What to actually do with this

• Read the last letter first. It tells you what the course is for, which is more useful than the subject when you are staring at an option sheet.
• Check the program, not the pattern. If there is a specific university or college program in mind, its published admission requirements settle the U-versus-M question. Nothing else does.
• Ask guidance before the sheet goes in. They can tell you what is actually running at that school next year, which is a different question from what exists on paper.
• Optional credits are where the real choice is. Twelve or thirteen of the thirty are the student's to spend — see the full diploma requirements.

If the harder question underneath the option sheet is what your teenager is actually aiming at, the free career test takes ten minutes and stores nothing, and the Ontario pathway guide lays out where each route leads. If it has gone past reading and into worry, this is what one-to-one coaching involves.