Letter of Permission

Students in degree programs at Western University may take courses at other accredited universities for transfer credits provided the Faculty in which they are currently registered approves such courses in advance. The approval is subject to individual Faculty/Department regulations and is granted in the form of a Letter of Permission (issued by the Office of the Registrar).

To obtain a Letter of Permission, please apply at your faculty counselling office as early as possible and at least one month prior to the commencement of classes at the other institution. Letters of Permission must be signed and approved by both Department and Faculty, and may take up to three weeks to process from the time they are received at the Office of the Registrar. Fall/Winter Letter of Permission forms will not be processed before May 15th unless there are mitigating circumstances.

To Complete a Letter of Permission

  1. Before completing your Letter of Permission form, research the application processes and deadlines at the institution where you intend to study. You are responsible to apply at the host institution as a visiting student once your LOP has been approved and processed.
  2. It is suggested that students consult their home Faculty Academic Counselling Office prior to contacting departments for course approvals. To obtain approval, submit the LOP form and courses descriptions from the Academic Calendar of the host institution to the Department that offers equivalent Western course content. Important: include a link to the course descriptions from the host institution website. Then submit your application to your Faculty Academic Counselling office for approval.
  3. Your Letter of Permission will be processed once the signed form is submitted to the Office of the Registrar. The form must be signed by both the department and home faculty academic counselling office.

Letter of Permission Fee

Each applicant will be charged a non-refundable Letter of Permission application fee (see Supplementary Fees and Other Charges under the appropriate Academic Year's Tuition tab on the Fee & Refund Schedules page). The fee will be added to your tuition account once billing begins for your Letter of Permission term, therefore, you may notice a delay between the processing of your Letter of Permission and the fee being applied to your account. Please check your Detailed Statement of Account through your Student Center regularly and pay your fee by the due date listed. For fee payment information, please see Fees & Refunds.  It is the student's responsibility to ensure that all fees are paid. Students who do not pay the fee by the due date listed will be subject to financial and academic penalties.

Upon Completion of your Letter of Permission courses

It is the student's responsibility to have an official transcript sent directly from the host institution to Western. Please have the host institution send an electronic transcript to lop@uwo.ca. 

Transcripts can also be sent using MyCreds, shared through the MyCreds secure portal. Please have your electronic transcript sent to lop@uwo.ca.

If the host institution does not offer electronic transcripts, please have them mail the transcript to:

Attn: Letter of Permission, Student Records
Western University
Western Student Services Bldg. Rm 2140
London, ON
N6A 3K7

It must come in a sealed envelope – any opened envelopes will not be accepted. A student’s grade report will not be accepted. Once your transcript has been received, please allow for four weeks' processing time to have grades transferred to your record. To verify that your Letter of Permission grade(s) has been added to your Western Academic Record, go to Student Center > Academics > Permissions & Transfer Credit > Transfer Credits. Please ensure your Letter of Permission grade is displaying on this record before ordering your Western transcript.

Grading of your Letter of Permission Courses

Grades assigned for courses taken on a Letter of Permission at another institution follow the grading scale of Western University. The Ontario Medical School Application Service (OMSAS) Undergraduate Grading System Conversion Table is used as a reference when grades are assigned. Please visit the OMSAS Website. When converting a letter grade to a percentage, the mid-point of the numerical range will be used. Western will assign grades for students who are not studying in a Canadian institution based on curriculum, grading practices, and grading scale interpretation.

Deadline for Transcript Submission

Graduating Students:
Students completing the final credits for their degree on LOP must have their official transcript from the host institution sent to the Office of the Registrar by the following dates:

Spring Convocation: May 15th
Fall Convocation: October 1st
February In Absentia Convocation: February 1st

Non-Graduating Students:
If a transcript is not received by November 1st, a grade of “F” will be recorded.

How to Cancel your Letter of Permission

If you do not register in the approved LOP courses, you must have the host institution submit written verification directly to Western via email: lop@uwo.ca. If written verification is not received from the host institution, a failing grade (F) will be assigned.

Additional Information

  1. You may only take a maximum of 5.0 credits on a Letter of Permission or Exchange towards a Western degree.
  2. If a Letter of Permission is granted to a student still in progress, it must be provisional pending successful completion of the progression requirements for that session.
  3. Course credit will be granted equal in value to the course weight assigned by the host institution. For the purpose of future registration, course content covered on a transfer of credit basis may serve as either pre- or anti-requisite, as determined by the Dean of the Faculty in which the student is registered.
  4. Any course attempted shall be counted within the maximum allowable course attempts. Grades will be counted within Western progression requirements.
For students who are going on Study Abroad, please go to Western International – Safety Abroad and complete the steps. If you have any questions, please contact Western International at goabroad@uwo.ca.