BASc Software Engineering at U Ottawa: Fees 2027 Dates & Requirements

University of Ottawa Bachelor of Applied Science [B.ASc] Software Engineering is a four-year full-time on-campus degree with mandatory co-op. It runs at the Faculty of Engineering in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with September Fall 2027 as the next intake. Indian applicants need 70% or higher in Class 12 with Mathematics, and total international tuition sits near INR 1.66 Crore.

The programme trains coders as engineers of large-scale systems using requirements analysis, modelling, design, testing, and project management. Three mandatory co-op work terms let students earn Canadian income and build a hiring pipeline before graduation. It suits applicants targeting product-facing software careers in Ottawa’s federal, telecom, and cybersecurity ecosystem.

• Bilingual English or French delivery is available, with a French Immersion Stream that adds no French prerequisite at entry.
• The degree is CEAB accredited, giving graduates Iron Ring eligibility and a direct pathway to Professional Engineer licensure in Ontario.
• Ottawa is Canada’s capital, giving co-op access to Shopify, Ericsson, CSE, and federal government software teams within one bus ride of campus.

Also Check: University of Ottawa Admission 2027

University of Ottawa Software Engineering Fees and Living Costs 2027

International tuition for the University of Ottawa B.ASc Software Engineering programme sits near CAD 61,754 per year for the Faculty of Engineering cohort. Total four-year tuition adds up to roughly CAD 246,656 (INR 1.66 Crore), before compulsory ancillary fees and living costs.

Source: Verify current international tuition at uottawa.ca tuition-international before applying.

All INR conversions in the article use a conversion rate of CAD 1 = INR 67.34 as of July 2026. Rates fluctuate daily, verify before applying.

• Software Engineering tuition follows Program A rate for the Faculty of Engineering international cohort, published each spring for the incoming Fall cycle.
• Compulsory ancillary fees cover UHIP health insurance and the U-Pass, which grants unlimited OC Transpo bus and light rail transit.
• Application fee of CAD 156 is paid to the OUAC portal and is separate from any uOttawa charge.
• Estimates exclude Ontario government surcharges that may be added by the province for Fall 2027 intake.

Check Out: Study in Canada for Indian Students

Cost of Living in Ottawa for Software Engineering Students

Ottawa runs cheaper than Toronto or Vancouver for the same square footage. A single Software Engineering student can budget around CAD 1,645 (INR 1.11 Lakhs) per month off campus, or roughly CAD 19,740 (INR 13.29 Lakhs) per year.

ROI reality: Four-year tuition near INR 1.66 Crore is steep, but three mandatory co-op work terms typically pay CAD 24,000 to CAD 40,000 (INR 16.16 Lakhs to INR 26.94 Lakhs) combined, covering 8 to 12 months of Ottawa living costs and cutting net outlay for Indian applicants.

University of Ottawa Software Engineering Admission

Admission runs through the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) portal, and Software Engineering is flagged as a competitive Faculty of Engineering programme. Indian applicants need a strong PCM Class 12 score, one science, and one of five accepted English tests.

Intakes and Academic Eligibility

Software Engineering runs a single September intake each year. Applicants are reviewed against a minimum Class 12 average, then ranked competitively for a Faculty of Engineering seat.

Note: WES (World Education Services) sets the binding grade equivalence used by the Faculty of Engineering.

English Language Proficiency Requirements

All Indian applicants whose secondary schooling was not delivered in English must submit an English test score. The Faculty of Engineering treats the ELP as a hard floor, not a competitive score.

Note: TOEFL iBT moved to a 1.0 to 6.0 band scale on 21 January 2026. University of Ottawa currently lists the 0 to 120 requirement shown above; both scales are reported during the 2026 to 2028 transition. Verify the current requirement on the official admissions page before applying.

• Indian applicants can substitute conditional admission with the English Intensive Program, which runs 8 to 42 weeks before the degree starts.
• IELTS 6.5 is also the SDS-equivalent floor for the Canada study permit, so most applicants target IELTS not TOEFL for a single-test strategy.
• Applicants below the 70% Class 12 floor are auto-rejected, so raising an ISC or CBSE 65% score is a bigger lever than retaking IELTS from 6.5 to 7.0.

Tip for Indian students: CBSE and ISC applicants averaging 80% or higher in PCM stand a materially stronger chance in the Software Engineering pool, since the 70% floor is a screen and not the competitive threshold for the international cohort.

University of Ottawa Software Engineering Application

Applications route through the OUAC 105 form for international applicants targeting an Ontario undergraduate seat. Software Engineering is a competitive Faculty of Engineering programme, so the earlier March deadline overrides the general April engineering cut-off.

Application Deadlines for Fall 2027 Intake

The OUAC portal for the Fall 2027 cycle opens in mid-September 2026 and closes in April 2027. Indian applicants should target the March competitive window for Software Engineering.

Application Steps for Indian Software Engineering Applicants

Every step ties to a specific document that must be either notarised or WES-verified. Missing one item pushes the application into the next batch review, delaying decisions by 4 to 6 weeks.

• Register on the OUAC 105 portal from mid-September 2026 and pay the CAD 156 application fee online.
• Rank Software Engineering as the first choice under the Faculty of Engineering block on the OUAC form.
• Submit Class 10, Class 11 predicted, and Class 12 transcripts through your school in sealed envelopes to uOttawa Admissions.
• Upload the IELTS, TOEFL, PTE, Duolingo, or CAEL score report directly from the test provider portal to uOttawa.
• Attach a short one-page statement, if requested, describing coding projects, hackathons, or software internships.
• Pay the CAD 1,500 non-refundable seat deposit on OUAC once the offer email arrives to lock the September start.

Also Check: B.ASc Software Engineering Course Page

Application tip: Apply in the January round rather than the March round. Faculty of Engineering rolling review favours the earliest complete files, so a January submitter with Class 12 predicted grades often clears review before the March-round CBSE result crowd even reaches queue.

University of Ottawa Software Engineering Scholarships

Software Engineering is delivered in English, so the two flagship International English scholarships apply automatically. There is no separate essay or application form for these awards.

Automatic Scholarships for Indian Software Engineering Applicants

Every offer holder is reviewed at the point of admission. High school average and Software Engineering as first-choice programme are the two driving inputs.

How Each Scholarship Works for Software Engineering

The Admission Scholarship stacks on the Excellence Scholarship, so a top-quartile applicant can pull both. Renewal at the maximum 12 instalments requires steady full-time enrolment in the Software Engineering degree.

• The International English Admission Scholarship auto-applies to every new international student joining the Faculty of Engineering in English.
• Applicants must stay enrolled full-time in Software Engineering and maintain a Faculty-defined CGPA each term to keep the award active.
• The Differential Tuition Fee Exemption Scholarship is French-programme only and does not apply to Software Engineering delivered in English.
• External Indian awards such as Inlaks or JN Tata Endowment can top up living costs and are non-conflicting with the university awards.

Also Check: University of Ottawa Scholarships 2027

Scholarship reality: The CAD 60,000 four-year Admission Scholarship shaves about 24% off tuition and lands automatically for Indian offer holders in Software Engineering, so no Indian applicant should pay full sticker price for this degree without checking the offer letter clause list.

University of Ottawa Software Engineering Salary and Placements

Ottawa is Canada’s Silicon Valley North, giving Software Engineering graduates a dense hiring pipeline. Co-op work terms are the main career on-ramp, since most students secure return offers before the fourth-year capstone.

Co-op Work Term Earnings

Each co-op work term runs 12 to 16 weeks and pays a market wage tied to the employer sector. Federal government and Big Tech postings sit at the upper end of the band.

Full-Time Software Engineering Salary Outcomes

Graduate salaries depend on employer tier and city, but Ottawa’s federal and cybersecurity sectors add non-tech options that other Canadian tech cities cannot match. Big Tech and Ottawa-headquartered scale-ups top the ladder.

Source: Faculty of Engineering co-op wage report and market data from Glassdoor Canada and PayScale for Ottawa Software Engineer roles.

• Take-home pay after federal and Ontario tax is roughly 68 to 72 percent of the gross figure, so a CAD 90,000 offer nets about CAD 63,000 in bank.
• Shopify, Ericsson, Communications Security Establishment, and Nokia are the most cited full-time employers for uOttawa Software Engineering alumni.
• The Iron Ring ceremony marks the CEAB accreditation gate and unlocks the Professional Engineer (P.Eng) licensure track in Ontario.

Read More: University of Ottawa Overview and Placements

ROI reality: A CAD 90,000 (INR 60.61 Lakhs) starter offer against the CAD 246,656 (INR 1.66 Crore) tuition means most Indian graduates break even on the Software Engineering degree within four to five years of full-time work in Canada, faster if a Shopify or Big Tech offer lands.

Canada Visa Pathway for Software Engineering

Indian applicants apply through the IRCC regular study permit stream, since the SDS (Student Direct Stream) was discontinued on 8 November 2024. A four-year Software Engineering degree unlocks the maximum three-year PGWP (Post-Graduation Work Permit) at graduation.

Study Permit and Post-Study Work Rules

The permit hinges on three inputs: proof of admission, one-year cost coverage, and a valid GIC (Guaranteed Investment Certificate). Software Engineering graduates keep degree-level exemption from PGWP field-of-study restrictions.

• Study permit application fee is CAD 150, paid online through the IRCC secure portal.
• GIC deposit rose to CAD 22,895 (INR 15.42 Lakhs) effective 1 September 2025, covering one year of living costs.
• Processing time runs 4 to 12 weeks for Indian applicants, so April to May 2027 is the safe window for a September 2027 start.
• The Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) from Ontario is required before the IRCC file is opened.
• PGWP after graduation is valid up to 3 years, since Software Engineering is a bachelor’s degree lasting 2 years or more.
• Spouses of full-time bachelor’s students are no longer auto-eligible for open work permits, so most Software Engineering applicants apply single.

Visa reality: The PGWP three-year window plus a mandatory co-op record inside Ottawa gives Software Engineering graduates the smoothest permanent-residency runway of any Canadian tech city, since 12 months of Canadian work experience typically clears the Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) threshold under the tech-occupation category.

University of Ottawa Software Engineering Ranking 2027

The University of Ottawa is a public research university in Canada’s capital, and it holds a top-10 Canadian ranking across the major global tables. Computer Science is separately ranked, giving Software Engineering applicants a direct subject benchmark.

• uOttawa sits in the top 10 Canadian universities and is bilingual, the only Canadian research university that delivers Software Engineering in both English and French.
• The US News CS subject rank of #310 puts uOttawa outside the global top 100 for Computer Science, so students trade rank prestige for co-op and PGWP advantages.
• Ottawa’s tech density partly offsets a mid-tier rank, since employers such as Shopify and CSE hire heavily from the local Software Engineering cohort.

Also Check: University of Ottawa Rankings 2027

Honest take: Indian applicants who chase global rank should note the QS #219 sits well below Waterloo and Toronto for Computer Science, but the CEAB accreditation, co-op mandate, and Ottawa federal-tech ecosystem often deliver a better employment outcome than the raw rank suggests.