I completed my Degree or Masters in Canada

If you have a Canadian undergraduate or master's degree, follow the steps below to determine your eligibility for the CPA certification program and apply to CPA PEP or CPA Preparatory Courses.

To enroll with CPAWSB, you must be:

Temporary residents must hold a valid study permit.

You may be eligible to begin Core 1 as a conditional candidate if you are:

  • In your final semester of a degree program
  • Completing your final prerequisite courses
  • Waiting for your degree to be awarded

A transcript assessment result of PEP Conditional Core 1 may allow you to register for Core 1 before all requirements have been completed.

If you hold a Canadian degree and have also completed education outside Canada, a third-party credential assessment is generally not required.

You may need to submit international transcripts if:

  • You are seeking prerequisite course credit for international coursework, or
  • You require additional credit hours to meet the 120-credit-hour requirement.

If you need to get your international education assessed by a third-party, we recommend getting a WES Canada ICAP Course-by-Course evaluation report.

If you're unsure, please contact the Transcript Assessment team at [email protected] or 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6003#.

Admission Process

How to Create Your Profile

  1. Visit My CPA Portal.
    • Use a desktop or a laptop with Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome. 
  2. Select Create a My CPA Profile.
  3. Enter your legal name.
  4. Select your residency status:
    • Canadian Citizen
    • Permanent Resident
    • Temporary Resident
    • Foreign National
  5. Enter all post-secondary education and designation information.
  6. Activate your account through the email instructions provided shortly after profile creation.

Important

Only use the UPLOAD A DOCUMENT feature for legal name verification documents required during CPA PEP admission. Do not upload other documents through your profile, as we only accept official documents directly from issuing institutions.

Having trouble navigating the document checklist? See instructions in PDF or a video.

Need Help?

Contact the Admission Advising team about creating your My CPA profile at [email protected] or 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6001#.

Before You Begin

Temporary residents who require a study permit should review study permit requirements before purchasing a transcript assessment.

Provincial Attestation Letters (PALs/TALs) may be required.

Once you have verified the above, submit a Transcript Assessment Request

  1. Log in to My CPA Portal.
  2. Select PROGRAM ADMISSION.
  3. Select TRANSCRIPT ASSESSMENT.
  4. Choose ADD A TRANSCRIPT ASSESSMENT REQUEST button.
  5. Review the document checklist.
  6. Review your transcript assessment order.
  7. Click on MAKE PAYMENT button.

Important

Request and pay for your transcript assessment before submitting documents. This allows us to correctly attach your documents to your file and begin the review process. The transcript assessment fee is non-refundable and is subject to change.

Request your assessment before arranging document delivery to CPAWSB. Our team will let you know what documents are required based on the information you provide.

Need Help?

If you have questions about requesting a transcript assessment, submitting documents, or understanding application requirements, contact the Admission Advising team at [email protected] or 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6001#.

  1. Electronic copy
    Digital submissions must be sent directly to [email protected]. Other electronic mediums we accept are institution-issued digital transcripts such as MyCreds.
  2. Physical copy
    Do not send documents to provincial CPA offices, as it can delay your assessment. Please request sealed transcripts to be sent directly from the issuing institution to:
    Address:
    CPA Western School of Business
    201, 1074 – 103A Street SW
    Edmonton, Alberta T6W 2P6

What happens next?

Each time we receive a document, we will email you to confirm receipt and let you know if any required documents are still outstanding.

Note: If you have international education, please see the FAQ at the beginning of this page for details.

Transcript assessment Timeline

  • Transcript assessment begins after all documents are received.
  • Typical processing: 10 business days
  • Assessment validity: 1 year
  • Missing documents after 6 months may result in a partial assessment

Do you have questions about our retention policy? See Personal Information Retention for more.

Need Help?

If you have questions about submitting documents or understanding application requirements, contact the Admission Advising team at [email protected] or 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6001#.

Access results through My CPA Portal → Program Admission → Transcript Assessment

Possible Outcomes

  1. PEP Eligible
    You meet all admission requirements and may apply directly to CPA PEP. Proceed to Step 5.
  2. PEP Conditional Core 1
    You may begin CPA PEP as a conditional candidate and complete remaining requirements according to the assessor comments in your transcript assessment, or see the Starting as a PEP Conditional Core 1 webpage. You may proceed to Step 5.
  3. PEP Ineligible
    Additional requirements remain outstanding. Check your transcript assessment to identify the outstanding courses in Red.
    Options include:

Have questions about your assessment results? 

Contact the Transcript Assessment team at [email protected] or 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6003#.

CPA Professional Education Program (CPA PEP)

Apply if your assessment status is:

  • PEP Eligible
  • PEP Conditional Core 1

Select University Degree or Master's Degree in your CPA PEP admission application, based on your current or completed credential. Application processing time is five business days. For the application process, see Apply to CPA PEP. 

Need Help?
Contact the Admission Services team about your CPA PEP application and changing employer details on your account at [email protected] or 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6004#.

CPA Preparatory Courses

If you've chosen to complete your courses through CPAWSB, then apply only if your status is:

  • PEP Ineligible

Registration category on your CPA preparatory course application is New Student. Application processing time is three business days. For the application process, see Apply to CPA Preparatory Courses.

Need Help? 
Contact the Student Experience team about your CPA preparatory course application, course planning and scheduling at [email protected] or 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6008#.

Frequently Asked Questions

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You need to meet the 120-credit hour requirement to enter the CPA Professional Education Program. Master’s or post-graduate degrees are usually only equivalent to 60 credit hours. Therefore, you do need to have your undergraduate degree transcripts submitted to ensure you meet the 120-credit hour requirement. Another reason for having your undergraduate post-secondary transcripts submitted is for possible credit towards the 14 prerequisite courses required for entry into CPA PEP.

If you qualify to enroll in CPA PEP as a conditional candidate and are either registered in Core 1 or plan to register in Core 1 immediately after completing your final semester, you may submit an unofficial transcript to assess your eligibility for CPA PEP and the Core 1 module.

Your unofficial transcript must:

  • Be submitted in PDF format.
  • Include your name and the institution name.
  • Show all completed courses and any courses currently listed as in progress.

Submit unofficial transcripts to [email protected].

Important: Unofficial transcripts may only be used to assess eligibility for conditional admission. You must arrange for an official transcript showing degree conferral to be sent to CPAWSB as soon as it becomes available.

Yes. If you received transfer credit from one post-secondary institution for courses completed at another institution, you must arrange for official transcripts from both institutions to be submitted.

Both institutions will be listed as Required (Req’d) on your document checklist.

This is necessary because the Transcript Assessment Team must review the original course information, including:

  • Final grades
  • Credit hours
  • Course details

to determine whether the courses meet CPA academic prerequisite requirements.

Important: If you have already requested a transcript assessment and the original institution is not listed on your document checklist, or is not marked as Required (Req’d), contact the Transcript Assessment Team and ask to speak with an Inspector to have your document checklist updated.

Request official transcripts from every Canadian post-secondary institution (PSI) you attended and have them sent directly to CPAWSB. Also ensure that each post-secondary institution is listed on your document checklist. Include all accounting and non-accounting education.

You will receive an email notification when your Transcript Assessment results are available. 

To view your assessment results:

  1. Log in to My CPA Portal 
  2. Click on PROGRAM ADMISSION 
  3. Then click on TRANSCRIPT ASSESSMENT

If you believe your education was assessed incorrectly or that you should have received credit, contact the Transcript Assessment team. They will review your situation and advise whether a re-assessment, additional documentation, or a challenge exam is needed.

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6003#

The course syllabus should provide detailed information on the course textbook used, weekly schedule of course topics, course learning objectives, course evaluation criteria and the textbook chapters used in the course. The course syllabus should match when the course was taken (for example, if you took the course in 2015, provide the 2015 syllabus).

A course syllabus should include the following information:

  • Post-secondary institution letterhead, symbol, logo, etc.
  • Course overview, learning outcomes or objectives
  • Course(s) details (course name/number, course hours, semester/term, year, lecture times, instructor details)
  • The year of the syllabus must be indicated and must match the year the course(s) were completed (as indicated on your transcript)
  • Course assessments (assignments, quizzes, exams, projects, case studies, etc.)
  • Grading scale used by the post-secondary institution
  • Course textbooks and other materials
  • Description of the topics covered in the course
  • Course prerequisite(s)/anti-requisite(s)/academic prerequisite(s) (if any)

Other considerations:

  • Course descriptions in the context of an email cannot be accepted as sufficiently verifiable documentation
  • Course syllabus must be in the original form as provided by the post-secondary institution
  • Course syllabus should be submitted in PDF format
  • Course syllabus in a language other than English require a translation to be submitted directly by a certified translator 

If you have questions regarding any of the points above or about submitting the syllabus, please contact the Transcript Assessment team by emailing [email protected] or calling 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6003#.

You can request a transcript assessment without a study permit; however, if you are not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, your admission application will not be approved without proof of a valid study permit. For more information, see the Residency, Study Permits, and Language Benchmark information.

Questions?

If you still have more questions, check out some of the commonly asked questions by other applicants on creating a My CPA portal, general enrollment process, transcript assessment process, and understanding your assessment results.

Frequently Asked Questions