Deferring an Offer of Admission

If you’ve received an offer of admission but personal circumstances will prevent you from starting at the time specified in your offer, you can request a deferral of admission. The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies grants deferrals at its discretion in highly exceptional cases. Only students who have cleared the conditions on their offer are eligible to apply for a deferral.

For students admitted to study under a Study Permit, the deadline to request a deferral is:

• Fall term admission: Aug.30
• Winter term admission: Dec. 30
• Spring term admission: April 30

For domestic students, the deadline for requesting a deferral of admission is the last day to add a course each term (consult the academic calendar for the exact date).

Your intended program must support the deferral request. Normally, a deferral of admission will include any automatic scholarships and teaching assistantships. However, the university reserves the right to change the value of these awards or to rescind them. Scholarships that require an application are not eligible for deferral and will require submission of a new application by the appropriate deadline. All admission conditions must be satisfied before a deferral will be granted.

Approval of deferral requests (where the program permits) may be granted for a minimum of one term and up to a maximum of one year. You may only defer an offer of admission once. If you completed further studies at an accredited academic institution during the deferred period, you must supply the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies with updated transcripts. A decision to refuse a request for a deferral may not be appealed.

If you cannot attend in the term specified in the deferral, you must submit a new application for admission.

Requesting a Deferral

Complete the deferral of offer of admission request form, and, on an attached sheet, outline the reason for your request of a deferral of the offer of admission. Include your requested entry term, which may not exceed one year (three terms) from the term of admission on the offer. Your program may request supporting documentation.