Manitoba Grade 12 Course Prerequisites for University of Manitoba Faculties
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 19, 2026 • Admissions & Applications, Canadian Universities & Colleges
University of Manitoba faculties require specific Manitoba Senior 4 (Grade 12) courses plus a minimum admission average, and the minimum ranges from 70% in Arts to 85% in the Asper School of Business. Check the table for your target faculty's required courses and averages.
🎓 Engineering: English, Pre-Calculus Math, Chemistry, Physics 40S, 80% average
📩 Asper Business: English, Pre-Calculus Math 40S plus 2 academic 40S courses, 85% average
Science: English, Applied or Pre-Calc Math 40S plus a science 40S, 80% average
Arts: English, Math 40S plus 2 academic 40S courses, 70% average
How Manitoba's Senior 4 course codes work
Manitoba labels Grade 12 courses with the suffix 40S, so English 40S, Pre-Calculus Mathematics 40S and Chemistry 40S are all Grade 12 level courses on your transcript. The University of Manitoba builds its direct entry requirements around specific 40S courses for each faculty, and it calculates your admission average only from the courses each faculty names, not from every course on your transcript.
Applied Mathematics 40S and Pre-Calculus Mathematics 40S are different courses, and some faculties accept either one while others require Pre-Calculus specifically.
Course requirements and minimum averages by faculty
| Faculty | Required Senior 4 (Grade 12) courses | Minimum average | Minimum per course |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price Faculty of Engineering | English 40S, Pre-Calculus Mathematics 40S, Chemistry 40S, Physics 40S | 80% | 70% in each course |
| Faculty of Science | English 40S, Applied or Pre-Calculus Mathematics 40S, one of Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science or Physics 40S, plus one academic 40S course | 80% | 60% in each course |
| Asper School of Business | English 40S, Pre-Calculus Mathematics 40S, two academic 40S courses | 85% | 70% in each course |
| Faculty of Arts | English 40S, Mathematics 40S, two academic 40S courses | 70% | 60% in each course |
Source: University of Manitoba direct entry requirements .
Why Pre-Calculus matters for competitive faculties
Engineering and Asper both require Pre-Calculus Mathematics 40S specifically, while Science accepts Applied Mathematics 40S as an alternative. If you plan to apply to Engineering, take Pre-Calculus Mathematics rather than Applied Mathematics in Grade 12, since Applied Math does not meet the Engineering requirement even with a strong grade. Check your target faculty's course list before you build your Grade 11 and 12 timetable, so you are not short a prerequisite in your final year.
What counts as an academic 40S course
Business and Arts both ask for extra academic 40S courses beyond English and math. These are university-preparation level courses such as sciences, social studies, or a second language, rather than applied or vocational courses.
Confirm with your school counsellor or the University of Manitoba admissions office which of your planned electives count as academic 40S courses for the faculty you want. Courses such as Career Development 40S or work-study credits generally do not count as academic courses, so check before you count on them to fill an academic course slot.
How the average is calculated
Each faculty calculates your admission average from only the required courses listed for that faculty, using your best attempt if you repeated a course. Meeting the overall average is not enough on its own.
Each faculty also sets a minimum grade you must hit in every required course individually, so a low mark in one prerequisite disqualifies you even when your overall average clears the faculty's threshold. Compare the required course list for each faculty you are considering side by side, since the overlap between faculties like Science and Engineering is large but not identical.
Planning your course selection early
Pick your Grade 11 courses with your Grade 12 faculty requirements already in mind, since some prerequisites, like Pre-Calculus Mathematics, build directly on a Grade 11 course of the same stream. Switching from Applied Math to Pre-Calculus Math partway through high school often means an extra course rather than a simple swap. Talk to your school counsellor in Grade 10 or early Grade 11 if you are considering Engineering, Science or Business, so your course sequence lines up with the faculty's requirements by Grade 12.
If you fall short in one faculty
An average that misses Engineering's or Asper's cutoff still clears Arts or Science for many applicants, since each faculty sets its own bar. Domestic applicants who fall below every faculty's direct entry threshold qualify for Limited Admission through University 1 at a lower minimum average, then apply to transfer into a specific faculty later once they build a stronger average in university coursework.
Checking your specific faculty's requirements
The table above covers four common faculties, but the University of Manitoba runs more than a dozen faculties and schools, each with its own course list. Faculties such as Nursing, Kinesiology and Music set requirements that differ from the four listed here, so confirm your specific faculty's course list on the university's admissions requirements page rather than assuming a similar faculty shares the same prerequisites. A single missing prerequisite, even in a faculty with a lower overall average requirement, keeps your application from moving forward as direct entry.
If you switch faculties partway through high school
Switching your target faculty in Grade 12, for example from Arts to Science, sometimes leaves you missing a required science or math course with only one semester left to add it. Talk to your school counsellor as soon as you consider a change, since some Manitoba high schools offer semester-based scheduling that lets you add a missing 40S course in your second semester. If a missing prerequisite does not fit into your schedule, applying to your new faculty as an advanced entry student after a term or two of university-level courses is often the more realistic path.