Academic Admissions Requirements

The academic admission requirements for the CPA Professional Program are summarized as follows and described in detail below:  

All learners must meet the following criteria:  

1. A degree or equivalent
2. Completion of at least 120 credit hours of post-secondary education
3. A minimum GPA of 65%
4. Good character
5. Lawful permission to study and/or work in the registered province/region

To be eligible to enter the CPA Professional Program directly at the Foundational Development Module and receive exemption from the Knowledge Assessment (KA), learners must meet the above criteria in addition to the following:  

1. Complete a minimum of 45 credit hours in accounting or business courses from a post-secondary institution(s), the CPA preparatory courses, or a combination of both.  
   • a. At least 21 of those credit hours cover the following required topic areas:  
     • Intermediate Financial Reporting  
     • Advanced Financial Reporting  
     • Intermediate Management Accounting  
     • Finance  
     • Assurance  
     • Taxation  
   • b. The remaining 24 credit hours may be any accounting or business-related courses  
2. At least one course among the 45 required topic area credit hours must have been completed within five years of admission, demonstrating recent academic engagement in the field.  

Pre-requisite knowledge may be acquired as part of, or in addition to, the 120-credit-hour degree as follows: In accounting or business courses from a post-secondary institution(s), the CPA preparatory courses, or a combination of both. 

Applicants who do not meet the required accounting coursework requirements (including currency education) will have the option to demonstrate their accounting and business competencies by passing the Knowledge Assessment before entering the CPA Professional Program at the Foundational Development module or by meeting the remaining admission requirements at a post-secondary institution.   

Degree Requirement 

Applicants to the CPA Professional Program with a Domestic or International degree must have obtained one of the following Canadian or Canadian equivalent degrees:  

• A three-year undergraduate degree in any area of study  
• A four-year undergraduate degree in any area of study  
• A master’s or doctorate in any area of study

The degree requirement must be met or waived for learners who are writing the Knowledge Assessment or those who are entering the CPA Professional Program directly.   

Canadian Degrees  

A Canadian undergraduate degree must be granted by an academic institution that is authorized by the appropriate regulatory authorities in Canada to grant degrees.  

International Degrees  

International degree holders must provide proof of a Canadian equivalent degree through an evaluation conducted by a recognized third-party credential assessment service. This evaluation is needed for an international degree to satisfy the CPA degree requirement.  

For international degrees, only degrees obtained from post-secondary institutions that are recognized in the International Handbook of Universities published by the International Association of Universities or a similar recognition service, will be accepted.  

International degrees must be assessed for 120 credit-hours for CPA Professional Program admission by a recognized qualification assessment service. 

Only degrees obtained from post-secondary institutions that are recognized in the International Handbook of Universities published by the International Association of Universities or a similar recognition service, will be accepted. Canadian study permits are required for all international learners studying in Canada. 

International degrees should be assessed for meeting the 120 credit-hours requirement for admission by a recognized qualification assessment service. The qualification assessment service may include non-degree academic credit from an international professional designation to count toward the credit-hour requirement. 

The process for determining content equivalency is up to the provincial/ regional CPA body in accordance with the CPA national recognition and accreditation standards for post-secondary institutions. International credentials are compared to the competency requirements of the CPA Competency Map 2.0. 

If an applicant is a member of an accounting institution that is not listed as a member organization on the International Federation of Accountants (“IFAC” – Associates or non-IFAC recognition), they must apply to CPA ASB as a prospect under the international degree pathway (Domestic/International degree assessment). The international designation will only be recognized by a full IFAC member body.  

Degree Waiver 

Applicants who want to pursue a CPA designation without a degree can request an assessment to waive the degree requirement. To do so, they must have completed a minimum of eight years of practical experience in any two of the CPA technical competency areas (Financial Reporting, Audit & Assurance, Taxation, Strategy & Governance, Management Accounting or Finance) and achieved at least Level 1 proficiency in these areas (see section 2.1.6). 

A Non-Degree Holder entrant into CPA Professional Program is defined as an individual who meets the eligibility criteria described below: 

• completion of at least eight years of relevant experience in any of the CPA technical competency areas — Financial Reporting, Strategy and Governance, Management Accounting, Audit and Assurance, Finance and Taxation — with any two competency sub-areas developed to at least a Level 1 proficiency as identified in the CPA Practical Experience Requirements standards document (CPA PER) 
• completion of an Evaluation Form sent directly from your employer  
• personal character reference  
• successful completion of accounting coursework requirements  

Undergraduate Degree Definition 

 The undergraduate degree required for entry to the CPA Professional Program must be granted by an academic institution that must be either:    

• a post-secondary academic institution that is authorized by the appropriate regulatory authorities in Canada to grant degrees  
• a university that provides post-secondary academic education and is recognized in the International Handbook of Universities published by the International Association of Universities or a similar recognition service  
• a post-secondary academic institution that is a member of the equivalent national association in another country and is accredited by the appropriate regulatory authorities in the other country to grant degrees

The academic institution must:  

• be established or accredited by a statute or other governmental approval, and  
• offer a program(s) of academic study beyond the general and compulsory primary and secondary levels of schooling required by the government of the country, state, or province as the case may be

Examples of Degree Requirements 

CPA Professional Program applicants can meet the degree requirement, 120 credit-hours, and prerequisite subject area coverage requirements in several different ways. For example, each of the following would be considered to meet the requirements: 

• A four-year undergraduate degree program that includes all the specific prerequisite subject area coverage 
• A four-year undergraduate degree or other recognized courses or programs that provide the required prerequisite subject area coverage or 
• a three-year undergraduate degree that includes all prerequisite subject area coverage and is preceded by a year of post-secondary education, such as a Quebec three-year university degree preceded by CEGEP, and equivalent international baccalaureates 

120 Credit Hour Requirement 

A minimum total of 120 credit hours is required. Credit hours can be tallied from degree and non-degree courses.   

Note: A three-year undergraduate degree does not meet the total 120-credit-hour requirement as it equates to 90 credit hours, nor would a master’s or doctorate (these are typically 60 credits). In these cases, additional post-secondary courses must be completed to meet the total credit hour requirement.  

GPA Requirement  

Applicants must present a cumulative GPA of at least 65%.

Accepted Courses for Knowledge Assessment Exemption 

Applicants must have completed a total of 45 credit hours in accounting and business courses;  

• 21 credit hours in the required topic areas: Intermediate Financial Reporting, Advanced Financial Reporting, Management Accounting, Finance, Assurance, and Taxation.  At least one of these courses must have been completed within the last 5 years
• 24 credit hours in other business or accounting-related areas

Applicants who meet these prerequisite course requirements in addition to the degree and GPA requirements, will be eligible to enter the CPA Professional Program directly. Applicants who meet the degree and GPA requirements but do not meet these prerequisite course requirements will be required to successfully complete the relevant coursework at a post-secondary institution(s) or pass the Knowledge Assessment.    

Currency of Education 

At least one course among the 45 required topic area credit hours must have been completed within five years of admission. Coursework completed more than 5 years ago may still count towards the 45-credit hour requirement, but will require at least one current course to confirm recent engagement in the field.  

• For coursework completed outside of a degree credential, the completion dates of the most recent courses will be used.
• For coursework completed within a recognized degree, the degree conferral date will be used to determine currency.