Course Exemptions

You may be exempted from a specific George Brown College program requirement or from a specific George Brown College prerequisite requirement if you have completed a course that is equivalent at another accredited post-secondary educational institution.

You must ensure that the course for which you wish to get credit meets the relevant department requirements.

Business Studies Department

To be eligible for an exemption from a course run by the Business Studies department, you must meet the following requirements:

  • You must have completed the equivalent course within three to five years (depending on the subject) of the application for exemption. (Contact the department co-ordinator for further details.)
  • You must have taken the equivalent course at an accredited post-secondary institution.
  • You must have obtained a grade of C (65%) or higher in the equivalent course.
  • The equivalent course must have approximately the same number of hours as the course from which you wish to be exempted.
  • The equivalent course must have at least 80% content overlap with the course from which you wish to be exempted.
Community & Health Services Department

To be eligible for an exemption from a course run by the Community & Health Services department, you must meet the following requirements:

  • You must have completed the equivalent course within three to five years (depending on the subject) of the application for exemption. (Contact the department co-ordinator for further details.)
  • You must have taken the equivalent course at an accredited post-secondary institution.
  • You must have obtained a grade of C- (60%) or higher in the equivalent course.
  • The equivalent course must have approximately the same number of hours as the course from which you wish to be exempted.
  • The equivalent course must have at least 80% content overlap with the course from which you wish to be exempted.
Emergency Management Department

To be eligible for an exemption from a course run by the Emergency Management department, you must meet the following requirements:

  • You must have completed the equivalent course within three to five years (depending on the subject) of the application for exemption. (Contact the department co-ordinator for further details.)
  • You must have taken the equivalent course at an accredited post-secondary institution.
  • You must have obtained a grade of C- (60%) or higher in the equivalent course.
  • The equivalent course must have approximately the same number of hours as the course from which you wish to be exempted.
  • The equivalent course must have at least 75% content overlap with the course from which you wish to be exempted.
Fashion & Creative Arts Department

To be eligible for an exemption from a course run by the Fashion & Creative Arts department, you must meet the following requirements:

  • You must have completed the equivalent course within three to five years (depending on the subject) of the application for exemption. (Contact the department co-ordinator for further details.)
  • You must have taken the equivalent course at an accredited post-secondary institution.
  • You must have obtained a grade of B- (70%) or higher in the equivalent course.
  • The equivalent course must have approximately the same number of hours as the course from which you wish to be exempted.
  • The equivalent course must have at least 75% content overlap with the course from which you wish to be exempted.
Hospitality & Culinary Arts Department

To be eligible for an exemption from a course run by the Hospitality & Culinary Arts department, you must meet the following requirements:

  • You must have completed the equivalent course within three to five years (depending on the subject) of the application for exemption. (Contact the department co-ordinator for further details.)
  • You must have taken the equivalent course at an accredited post‑secondary institution.
  • You must have obtained a grade of C- (60%) or higher in the equivalent course.
  • The equivalent course must have approximately the same number of hours as the course from which you wish to be exempted.
  • The equivalent course must have at least 75% content overlap with the course from which you wish to be exempted.
Legal Studies Department

Paralegal

To be eligible for an exemption from a paralegal course, you must meet the following requirements:

  • You must have completed the equivalent course within three years of the application for exemption.
  • You must have taken the equivalent course as part of an accredited paralegal program.
  • You must have obtained a grade of C- (60%) or higher in the equivalent course.
  • The equivalent course must have at least the same number of hours as the course from which you wish to be exempted.
  • The equivalent course must have 100% content overlap with the course from which you wish to be exempted.

Other Legal Studies

To be eligible for an exemption from a course run by the Legal Studies department (except Law Clerk courses), you must meet the following requirements:

  • You must have completed the equivalent course within three to five years (depending on the subject) of the application for exemption. (Contact the department co-ordinator for further details.)
  • You must have taken the equivalent course at an accredited post-secondary institution.
  • You must have obtained a grade of C (65%) or higher in the equivalent course.
  • The equivalent course must have approximately the same number of hours as the course from which you wish to be exempted.
  • The equivalent course must have at least 80% content overlap with the course from which you wish to be exempted.
Liberal Studies Department

To be eligible for an exemption from a course run by the Liberal Studies department, you must meet the following requirements:

  • You must have completed the equivalent course within three to five years (depending on the subject) of the application for exemption. (There are no time limits for General Education – coded GHUM, GSCI and GSSC – courses; for other courses, contact the department co-ordinator for further details.)
  • You must have taken the equivalent course at an accredited post-secondary institution.
  • You must have obtained a grade of C- (60%) or higher in the equivalent course.
  • The equivalent course must have approximately the same number of hours as the course from which you wish to be exempted.
  • The equivalent course must have at least 75% content overlap with the course from which you wish to be exempted.
Makeup and Esthetics Department

Exemption from a course run by the Makeup and Esthetics department is handled on a case-by-case basis. (Contact the department co-ordinator for further details.)

Nursing Department

To be eligible for an exemption from a course run by the Nursing department, you must meet the following requirements:

  • You must have completed the equivalent course within three to five years (depending on the subject) of the application for exemption. (Contact the department co-ordinator for further details.)
  • You must have taken the equivalent course at an accredited postsecondary institution.
  • You must have obtained a grade in the equivalent course that is equal to or higher than the passing grade of the George Brown course from which you wish to be exempted.
  • The equivalent course must have approximately the same number of hours as the course from which you wish to be exempted.
  • The equivalent course must have at least 75% content overlap with the course from which you wish to be exempted.
Technology & Trades Department

To be eligible for an exemption from a course run by the Technology & Trades department, you must meet the following requirements:

  • You must have completed the equivalent course within three to five years (depending on the subject) of the application for exemption. (Contact the department co-ordinator for further details.)
  • You must have taken the equivalent course at an accredited postsecondary institution.
  • You must have obtained a grade of B- (70%) or higher in the equivalent course.
  • The equivalent course must have approximately the same number of hours as the course from which you wish to be exempted.
  • The equivalent course must have at least 90% content overlap with the course from which you wish to be exempted.
Visual Arts & Design Department

To be eligible for an exemption from a course run by the Visual Arts & Design department, you must meet the following requirements:

  • You must have completed the equivalent course within three to five years (depending on the subject) of the application for exemption. (Contact the department co-ordinator for further details.)
  • You must have taken the equivalent course at an accredited post-secondary institution.
  • You must have obtained a grade of C- (60%) or higher in the equivalent course.
  • The equivalent course must have approximately the same number of hours as the course from which you wish to be exempted.
  • The equivalent course must have at least 75% content overlap with the course from which you wish to be exempted.

You must request a course exemption in writing. To request a course exemption, follow these steps:

  1. Complete an Application for Course Exemption PDF form. Alternatively, you can provide a letter that includes your student ID number; your date of birth; your full legal name and address; your home and business phone numbers; your main email address; the name of the program/professional designation you are pursuing; the relevant details (course code, course name and course section/course reference number [CRN]) of the course from which you wish to be exempted; details about the equivalent course you completed; and your signature.
  2. Attach a copy of the transcript and/or grade report for the equivalent course you have taken.
  3. Attach a copy of the course outline for the equivalent course. Course outlines include details about course content, course outcomes and credit hours (if applicable).
  4. Submit your course exemption request (with supporting documents) to the department responsible for the course from which you wish to be exempted. You can submit your request by mail, by email or by delivering it to the applicable department office in person. (Requests to the School of Makeup and Esthetics must be delivered in person.) Allow about six weeks for your request to be processed.

If your exemption is granted, your grade in the exempted course will be EX. Any credit courses from which you have been exempted will be excluded from any grade point average (GPA) calculations (if applicable).