Further Your Education. Advance Your Career with Additional Undergraduate Studies
The Postgraduate Certificate in Accounting is available to students who hold an undergraduate degree not in accounting from any accredited university. This program will be of interest to recent graduates wishing to pursue a professional career in accounting. The Postgraduate Certificate in Accounting covers all prerequisite undergraduate courses required by CPA Ontario. Upon successful completion of the undergraduate courses in the certificate, students will be able to work in the accounting field, enroll in accredited graduate programs in accounting, and/or enroll in the CPA Professional Education Program (PEP) as they continue their pursuit towards their CPA designation. Internationally educated applicants are encouraged to familiarize themselves with CPA Ontario’s assessment process for evaluating the applicant’s undergraduate degree(s). Link to CPA Ontario.
Admissions Requirements
Apply online or learn more here. In order to be accepted into the postgraduate certificate, students must have completed an undergraduate degree from an accredited university.
Entry Term: September 2024 and January 2025 on the Trent University Peterborough campus only
Due to course availability, January entry is available as four consecutive terms (Jan., May, Sept., and Jan.). September entry is Sept. and Jan., Summer off, Sept. and Jan term.
Duration: Available for full time studies only (4 academic terms)
Program Completion Requirements: Completion of 9.0 credits as specified
For more information visit our Admissions webpage
Are you an international student and want to apply? please complete this application form.
When applying to a postgraduate certificate program, please ensure that you select the exact program and campus that you wish to study at. Be sure to research the program length, courses, and available start terms and campuses prior to submitting your application. After submitting your application, changes to programs and campuses will not be made without a new, paid application. Once you are registered in courses, changes cannot be made to your program or campus.
OSAP Eligibility for Postgraduate Certificates
Please note that not all postgraduate certificate programs qualify for OSAP funding. Students are encouraged to verify their program’s eligibility prior to submitting an application.
The following postgraduate certificates are eligible for OSAP:
- Postgraduate Certificate in Human Resource Management
- Postgraduate Certificate in Marketing & Entrepreneurship
- Dual Postgraduate Certificate in Human Resource Management and Marketing & Entrepreneurship
Graduating from Trent this year with your undergraduate degree?
As a 2024 Trent grad*, you qualify for direct admission to our Postgraduate Certificate program. No need to pay to apply. Registering is easy – just send a confirmation email to admissions@trentu.ca from your Trent University account. We will also waive the application fee. For more information about this special offer, visit call 1-888-739-8885.
*this certificate is meant for non-Business program graduates, as there is too much course overlap for graduates of Trent’s BBA program.
Courses Postgraduate Certificate Accounting
The certificate program consists of the following 9.0 credits (18 courses). A minimum cumulative average of 65% is required to complete the certificate.
CPA Ontario requires students to have a grade of 50% or higher in each of the non-core courses (ADMN 1221H, 3021H, ECON 1010H, 1020H, 2200H, ADMN 3250H, and COIS 1620H) and a grade of 60% or higher in each of the core courses (ADMN 3221H, 3321H, 4303H, 4030H, 3121H, 4302H, 4301H, 3200H, 4300H, 3710H, and 4710H). Students must also have an overall average of 65% in the core courses for admission into the CPA PEP.
Postgraduate certificate courses can be found in the undergraduate calendar and timetable. For individual course descriptions, see the University Calendar. Please consult the academic timetable, for information on when courses will be scheduled.
It is important to register in your courses without delay and prior to your arrival!
Course Registration
New Student Course Registration:
For support with new student course registration, visit our website for next steps.
New International Student Webpage:
Visit our New International Student Website to determine your next steps after you have completed course registration.
Breakdown of courses by term
Students are to follow the schedule of courses by term as outlined below for full-time studies. We cannot guarantee course availability if students do not follow the recommended course sequencing. Students who fail to adhere to the recommended schedule may not be able to complete their certificate program within the scheduled number of terms and students may have to return to complete an additional term. Additionally, if you are studying in the summer term, that means you must be registered in courses in both summer terms (S61 and S62).
January 2025 course registration instructions
Term 1
- ADMN 1221H Financial Accounting
- ECON 1010H Micro-Economics
- ECON 1020H Macro-Economics
- ECON 2200H Introduction to Statistics
- COIS 1620H Information Systems
Term 2
- ADMN 3021H Managerial Accounting
- ADMN 3200H Financial Management
- ADMN 3221H Intermediate Financial Accounting
- ADMN 3250H Legal Environment of Business
Term 3
- ADMN 3710H Taxation - Individual
- ADMN 3321H Intermediate Financial Accounting II
- ADMN 4030H Strategic Management
- ADMN 4301H Auditing
- ADMN 3121H Intermediate Management Accounting
Term 4
- ADMN 4300H Financial Management II
- ADMN 4710H Taxation - Corporate
- ADMN 4302H Advanced Management Accounting
- ADMN 4303H Advanced Financial Accounting
For students who have accepted their offer of admission and have questions about registering in their courses or life at Trent in Peterborough, please email ptbocerts@trentu.ca.
Application to Graduate from the Certificate
At the beginning of your last term, when you believe you are ready to graduate, you can submit the Application to Graduate form found in myTrent under Academics > Self Service > Graduation Overview. You should apply as soon as your course registration for your final term is finalized (early in Summer term if you are graduating in September; early in the Fall term if you are graduating in January; early in the Winter term if you are graduating in Spring). The deadline to apply to graduate can be found in the Academic Calendar site under Important Dates, as well as at Important Dates & Deadlines. A minimum cumulative average of 65% is required to complete the certificate.
Convocation ceremonies for students who graduated during the last year (September, January and Spring) are held the first week of June. Please visit Convocation site for the most up-to-date information.
