OSSD – What Is It And What Are Its Requirements?
The Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) is given to the students that complete their high schooling from any school in Ontario. This can be any student who has completed his or her education here in the PSE system and has attempted and passed all 4 major curriculum learning areas: UCC, Credits, Electives, and/or Fine Arts courses in their high school years.
The OSSD in Ontario is given at Graduation ceremonies held within high schools, but this diploma is not recognized universally. Foreign students may need additional ones such as Mature Student Certificates if they wish to pursue further studies in post-secondary.
Getting an OSSD is highly beneficial for the students that are planning to start their own business or want to join the corporate world. This diploma helps a student when it comes to getting a job or making an impact as a reliable candidate for a specific post. Now let’s take a look at the requirements of OSSD.
A student has to complete 30 credits of which 18 are compulsory and 12 are optional.
Compulsory credits:
4 credits in English, 3 in Mathematics, 2 in Science, 1 credit each in Canadian History, Canadian Geography, the Arts, Health & Physical Education, French as a Second Language.
A student has to get half of the credit in Career Studies and half in Civics.
So, these were a total of 15 credits. The rest 3 credits are obtained by getting one credit from each group that is mentioned below:
Group 1: It contains English, French (as a second language), Native language, Classical language, an international language, Social Sciences, Humanities, World Studies, Guidance and Career Education, Cooperative Education. A student can choose any of the subjects mentioned above to earn one additional credit.
Group 2: It contains Business Studies, Health and Physical Education, the Arts, French (as a second language), Cooperative Education. Just like Group 1, a student has to get 1 extra credit from these options.
Group 3: It contains Science, French, Technical Education, Computer Studies, and Cooperative Education.
Optional Credits
The 12 optional credits are based on students’ personal interests and goals. These credits can be used as a replacement for the 18 credit courses if a student can’t obtain all of them.
Community Involvement
A student has to complete at least 40 hours of unpaid community involvement while he or she completes the high school education. A student can get involved in charity work, service clubs, give coaching, or participate in any extra-curricular activities that help serve the community.
“USCA Academy International School” is an international school based in Mississauga, Canada that provides Ontario Secondary School Diploma. Being a reputable private school, it offers a lot of programs for students looking forward to completing their education in a foreign country. Their programs include night school, credit courses, elementary school, UNI applications, and more. The teachers teaching at USCA academy are well-experienced to guide students about specific subjects or OSSD requirements.
