At Sheridan College in Oakville, Canada, Illustration, Honours Bachelor of is offered as a bachelor's degree in Visual Arts programme. The programme runs for 4 years, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 29,981 per year (CAD 10,482 per year for local students).
The studio-focused curriculum pairs drawing and painting with digital approaches such as motion, 3D and web-based work, offering more illustration-specific courses than typical visual communication programs. Life drawing and painting form part of the course of study, often extending to figure work from a nude model and to the study of human anatomy. Coursework builds illustration work spanning editorial contexts, games, publishing, and film and motion.
A 14-week placement falls between the third and fourth years, arranged with support from the placement office and sometimes placed as far afield as New York City or Europe. Students also build a workplace-ready portfolio and website. An iPad Pro and Apple Pencil become required equipment from second year onward, used throughout the remaining years of study.
Requirements
Minimum GPA:65.00 / %
Admission Requirements: Academic (Ontario basis): an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or accepted equivalent carrying English Grade 12 (ENG4U), one Visual Arts or Communication Technology credit (TGJ or TGG) at Grade 11 or 12 at any level except workplace 'E', or one postsecondary visual arts credit course, plus four other Grade 12 subjects at the U or M level, with an overall average of at least 65 per cent. The alternative is two semesters of postsecondary study including the required English and the visual arts course at the same 65 per cent average; equivalency testing cannot substitute at degree level. A portfolio is required, carries an assessment fee, and its brief and due date appear in your Sheridan Application Portal after you apply. Selection combines the average of your six highest senior-level credits, required courses included, with the portfolio score, and Sheridan lists this among its highly competitive programs, decided on portfolio score alongside academic achievement. Art Fundamentals, Media Fundamentals or Visual and Creative Arts completed at 65 per cent or better is the published pathway for applicants who fall short. An international applicant must present the equivalent of these Ontario courses from their own school system, and a credential assessment may be requested; a domestic applicant schooled outside Canada has transcripts assessed through ICAS or WES. English, where English is not your first language or your earlier study was in another language: Sheridan's degree band - IELTS Academic 6.5 with no band under 6.0, TOEFL iBT 88 with nothing under 21 (or 4.5 with no section under 4.5 on the scale used from 2026), PTE Academic 60 with no section under 57, Duolingo 115 with no subscore under 95, CAEL 70 with no section under 60; a result must be no more than 24 months old on the first day of class.
Application Details
Start Date:Sheridan runs three terms a year - Fall starting in September, Winter in January and Spring/Summer in May. For 2026-27 the Fall term ran 8 September to 18 December 2026, Winter runs 6 January to 16 April 2027, and Spring/Summer runs 3 May to 13 August 2027. On 6 September 2026 this program's own page listed a single intake, September 2026, at the Trafalgar Campus in Oakville. Sheridan's Start date table also carries a separate Domestic and International status for each intake (Available, Waitlisted or Closed) that changes as seats fill, so check this program's page on sheridancollege.ca before you apply.
Application Deadline:Sheridan publishes no deadline of its own for this program; the dates below are the college-wide ones. DOMESTIC APPLICANTS (Canadian citizens and permanent residents) apply through ontariocolleges.ca, which opened the Fall 2027 application on 26 September 2026 - Sheridan says it starts receiving those applications in early October for the academic year that follows. The equal consideration date is 1 February: apply on or before it and your file is weighed alongside every other one received by then for a Fall-term start, so for the cycle now open that means 1 February 2027 for entry in September 2027. Sheridan still accepts applications after that date wherever a program has not filled, but they are handled in the order they arrive, which leaves little room in high-demand programs. First offers for a September start may go out from 1 November; programs that require a portfolio, audition or resume begin issuing decisions later in March, and offers for the Winter and Spring/Summer intakes are made on a rolling basis. Confirm a Fall offer at ontariocolleges.ca by 1 May, or by the date printed on an offer issued after that, then pay the tuition deposit three months before the term begins. INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS apply instead through Sheridan's own International Application Portal, and Sheridan publishes no deadline for them - its Important Dates table carries only a note that the international dates are still to be posted. What limits an international application in practice is space: Sheridan tells international applicants to check that a program still has room before applying, and every program page shows a separate International status for each intake. Apply as early as you can and leave time for a study permit. Confirm the current dates at sheridancollege.ca and ontariocolleges.ca before you apply.
