Doing Your Research

Do you know what programs you’d like to take and where you’d like to take them?

If not, you can use the resources on the Ontario Colleges website to:

Browse or search for college programs.
Use the Map View to find a campus near you.
Check the college websites for more details about their programs and admission requirements.
Attend a college recruitment event to meet people from different colleges.

Search for a Specific Program

Go to the Ontario Colleges website.
In the banner, select Programs & Colleges; then select Explore Programs.

On the Ontario Colleges home page, in the banner, Programs & Colleges is underlined in red. The menu is open and in the Programs list, Explore Programs is outlined in red.

To search for a specific program, enter a name or topic in the search field; for example, “Paramedic”.

On the Explore Programs page, "Paramedic" is the search term, and a list of related programs is displayed. At the top of the list, "1-20 of 202 Results" is displayed. The first three programs displayed in the list have a status of Open.

To refine the search results, select Filters.
Select the specific filters that you want to apply; then select Apply Filters.

For example, you might want to see only those Paramedic programs that are Open and take less than one year to complete.

On the Filter page, in the Program Length section, the One year or less check box is selected and outlined in red. In the Availability section, the Open availability check box is select and is outlined in red.

Examine the filtered list. When you find a program of interest, select More Details to view information about the program.

In the following example, the search results include only paramedic-related programs that are Open and that take less than one year to complete. Each entry shows the corresponding College, Campus, Start Date, and Delivery.

On the Explore Programs page, a list of paramedic programs is displayed. At the top of the list, "20 of 75 Results" is displayed. The six programs displayed all have a status of Open.

Explore the Programs by Career or Field of Interest

If you don’t know exactly what programs you want to apply for, but have ideas about the type of career or industry you’re interested in, you can check out the different careers or fields of interest on the Explore Programs page on the Ontario Colleges website.

In the Explore by Career or Field of Interest section, select a field of interest.

For example, if you’re interested in engineering, select Engineering & Technology.

The Explore by Career or Field of Interest section of the Explore Programs page shows all the different categories. The Engineering & Technology field is outlined in red.

Select a field of interest; for example, Bioinformatics.

On the Engineering & Technology field of interest page, Bioinformatics is outlined in red.

Review the information about the selected field of interest.
To view a list of programs, select Explore [field of interest name] Programs.
Use the filters to refine the list of programs.
Examine the filtered list. When you find a program of interest, select Details link to view information about the program.
In the Program Intakes section, select Website to go to the program information on the college website.

Explore Programs by College

If you are not sure which colleges you might like to apply to, you can view a list of them or use a Map View to find those that are in a particular area of Ontario.

In the banner, select Programs & Colleges; then select Explore Colleges.
To explore a list of colleges, select List View.
- For each college of interest, select Learn More to see details about the college or View Programs to view a list of programs offered by the college.

To find colleges in a particular area, select Map View.
- Use the zoom features to focus on specific areas, search for a city, or select a college from the list.

In the following example, the search term is Toronto. The map shows the location of colleges and campuses in the Toronto area, and the details are displayed in the list.

Toronto is the search term that is entered, and is outlined in red. The map is zoomed in to focus on the Toronto area. Purple dots and red markers indicate the location of colleges and campus. To the right of the map, the names and details for each college are listed.

Select a college in the list. The corresponding location and details are displayed on the map.

The Brampton location of Sheridan is selected in the list, and is outlined in red. On the map, a red pin shows the location of the college. The address and phone number of the college are displayed in a small card at the pin's location. You can select View Programs or Learn More on the card.

Once you’ve identified a college, select Learn More to see details about the college or View Programs to view a list of programs offered by the college.
Use the filters to refine the list of programs.
Examine the filtered list. When you find a program of interest, select Details to view information about the program.
In the Program Intakes section, select Website to go to the program information on the college website.

What are Highly Competitive Programs?

Many of the programs that start in the fall have more qualified applicants than there are seats – these are considered “highly competitive” programs. For more information, visit the Highly Competitive Programs page on the Ontario Colleges website.

Are you curious about which programs are highly competitive? The top highly competitive programs are grouped by field of interest; for example, Nursing. Select the corresponding link to see a list of programs.

To see a list of all highly competitive programs, scroll down to the bottom of the page and select Explore Highly Competitive Programs.

Interested in Learning About Trades?

Many colleges offer programs in the skilled trades. If you’re considering learning a trade, the Skilled Trades Programs page on the Ontario Colleges website provides information and resources to help you discover what’s available.

Attend College Events

There are several resources that you can use to learn about the colleges, events they are hosting, and the programs they offer. For a complete list of Events and an Events Calendar, visit the News and Events page on the Ontario Colleges website.