The University of Regina is a mid-sized public research university in Saskatchewan with a distinctive claim among Canadian schools: it houses the country's only Police Studies program, and it's federated with the First Nations University of Canada, giving it a research and community profile that's genuinely different from the larger Ontario and BC schools most international applicants default to. Founded in 1911 as Regina College, it spent decades affiliated with the University of Saskatchewan before becoming fully independent in 1974, and today enrolls roughly 16,800+ students across undergraduate and graduate programs.
For international students, Regina's appeal is straightforward: a public Canadian degree, a genuinely accessible published tuition figure, moderate English proficiency thresholds, and (for university-level bachelor's degrees) full PGWP eligibility regardless of major. This guide walks through what you need to know: admission requirements, cost of attendance, IELTS/TOEFL/PTE/Duolingo minimums, and what happens after graduation.
University of Regina Acceptance Rate
The University of Regina does not publish a university-wide acceptance rate or a single, standardized minimum GPA/grade-average figure on its public admissions pages. This is consistent with how many Canadian universities present admissions: requirements are described as varying "based on your educational background and which faculty or program you are applying to," with applicants directed to faculty-specific or country-specific guidance rather than one blanket cutoff.
What is confirmed and worth knowing:
- The university explicitly offers a conditional letter of acceptance to international applicants who meet the academic requirements for their program but have not yet submitted (or met) English proficiency test scores, a genuinely useful option for students still working on IELTS/TOEFL prep
- Two faculties (Education and Nursing) have distinct, higher admission and English-proficiency standards than the general university-wide baseline; Engineering and Business follow the general standard
- Because Regina does not publish a specific numeric acceptance rate, applicants should treat the admissions process as criteria-based (grades, prerequisites, English proficiency) rather than try to benchmark against a percentage that isn't publicly available. If you need a program-specific admission-average figure to plan around, Regina's Enrolment Counselling team and International.Recruitment@uregina.ca are the accurate sources, since this figure was not locatable on the university's own public pages during this research.
Tuition and Cost of Attendance
Regina publishes a blended average tuition figure for international undergraduates rather than a full per-faculty breakdown on its main international cost page. For the 2026-2027 academic year:
| Cost item | Amount (CAD/year) |
|---|---|
| Average tuition and fees (approx. 30 credit hours / 10 classes) | $32,500 |
| Books and supplies | $1,500 |
| On-campus housing | $7,000 |
| Food and personal expenses | $6,000 |
| Total estimated cost of attendance | $47,000 |
This is notably lower than international tuition at many Ontario or BC universities, which is part of Regina's practical appeal. Additional fees to budget for: a $100 CAD application fee, a $1,000 CAD enrollment deposit (applied toward tuition, non-refundable except in the case of a denied study permit), and smaller administrative fees (program transfer, $150 CAD; acceptance letter reprint, $50 CAD).
Regina advertises a "Really Big Deal" savings bundle, described as offering up to $21,000 CAD in tuition and fee savings over a four-year degree, though the university's public page does not lay out the exact eligibility criteria or how the savings are structured, so applicants should confirm the specifics directly with admissions before counting on this figure. Engineering programs, which typically carry additional lab and materials fees at most Canadian universities, do not have a separately published international tuition figure on the pages we could access; use the $32,500/year average as a baseline and confirm your exact program's fee schedule with Financial Services before budgeting precisely.
Admission Requirements
For international undergraduate applicants generally:
- Official secondary school transcripts (and post-secondary transcripts if applicable), submitted directly from the issuing institution, either digitally from an official registrar email or by sealed mail
- A copy of your passport
- English Language Proficiency test results (unless exempt through prior education history in certain countries)
- Completed application through Regina's application portal
- $100 CAD application fee
Regina's public pages do not list a single numeric minimum grade average for general direct entry; requirements are instead assessed against your specific educational background and intended faculty. Two faculties apply distinctly higher standards:
- Faculty of Education: elevated English proficiency requirements (IELTS 7.0 with 7.0 Speaking/Writing; TOEFL 103)
- Faculty of Nursing: elevated English proficiency requirements (IELTS 7.0 overall with high sub-scores across all four skills)
Engineering and Business (Hill School) follow the university's general admission and English proficiency standards, with no separately published elevated threshold.
How to Get Into the University of Regina
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Get your transcripts submitted correctly the first time. Regina is specific about how official transcripts must arrive (direct digital submission from an official registrar email, or sealed mail from the institution), and processing delays from improperly submitted documents are a common, avoidable source of admission delays.
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Use the conditional acceptance pathway if your English test score isn't ready yet. Regina explicitly allows applicants who meet academic requirements to receive a conditional offer before finalizing English proficiency test results, which is a meaningfully more flexible policy than universities that require a complete file, English score included, before any offer.
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Confirm your specific faculty's requirements directly, since Regina doesn't publish one blanket GPA cutoff. Because Engineering, Business, and most other faculties don't have separately published numeric grade thresholds on the pages available to the public, get written confirmation from Enrolment Counselling or International.Recruitment@uregina.ca rather than assuming a generic Canadian university average applies.
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Budget for the $1,000 CAD enrollment deposit and $100 CAD application fee as real, separate costs, on top of tuition, when planning your admissions budget.
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If applying to Education or Nursing, treat the English proficiency bar as meaningfully higher (IELTS 7.0 vs. the general 6.5) and prepare accordingly rather than assuming the general threshold applies.
IELTS, TOEFL, PTE, and Duolingo Requirements
Regina's published English Language Proficiency (ELP) requirements, confirmed on its official undergraduate ELP page:
General programs (including Engineering and Business)
| Test | Minimum score |
|---|---|
| IELTS Academic | 6.5 overall, no band below 6.0 |
| TOEFL iBT (before January 21, 2026) | 83 overall, minimum 20 per section |
| TOEFL iBT (from January 21, 2026, redesigned scale) | 4.5 overall, minimum 4 per section |
| PTE Academic | 59 overall, no area below 59 |
| Duolingo English Test (tests through June 30, 2024) | 120 overall (Literacy 105, Comprehension 105, Conversation 105, Production 90) |
| Duolingo English Test (tests from July 1, 2024) | 120 overall (Literacy 105, Comprehension 100, Conversation 115, Production 115) |
Faculty of Education
| Test | Minimum score |
|---|---|
| IELTS Academic | 7.0 overall (Speaking 7.0, Writing 7.0, Listening 6.0, Reading 6.0) |
| TOEFL iBT | 103 overall (Reading 24, Listening 23, Speaking 27, Writing 25) |
Faculty of Nursing
| Test | Minimum score |
|---|---|
| IELTS Academic | 7.0 overall (Speaking 7.0, Writing 6.5, Listening 7.0, Reading 6.5) |
Engineering and Business applicants use the general program thresholds; there is no elevated ELP requirement for either faculty. Applicants may qualify for an exemption based on prior education in certain countries; check with admissions for your specific case.
Career Outcomes and PGWP Relevance
Regina does not publish a consolidated, university-wide graduate employment rate or salary figure on its public pages. What is confirmed:
- Hill School of Business is AACSB-accredited, placing it, per the university's own description, "among fewer than six per cent of business schools worldwide" holding that recognition, and offers majors in Accounting, Finance, General Business Studies, Human Resource Management, and Marketing, plus a Business Law option and a joint BBA/Bachelor of Sports & Recreation Studies internship program
- Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science takes a systems-engineering approach across seven specializations (Electronic, Energy, Environmental, Industrial, Petroleum, Process, and Software Systems), with paid co-op and internship options available through the university's Centre for Experiential and Service Learning
- Regina's own public pages did not confirm CEAB (Engineers Canada) accreditation status for its engineering programs at the time of this research; since CEAB accreditation is the standard requirement for a Canadian engineering degree to lead toward P.Eng. licensure, applicants planning to practice as a licensed engineer in Canada should confirm current accreditation status for their specific program stream directly with the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science before enrolling
On PGWP eligibility: per Canada's official IRCC eligibility criteria, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees carry no field-of-study restriction for Post-Graduation Work Permit eligibility. This applies fully to Regina's Engineering and Business Administration bachelor's degrees: both are university degree programs, not college diplomas, so the field-of-study restrictions introduced for college/non-university programs in November 2024 do not apply to them. Two details worth flagging regardless of program: graduates whose study permit applications were submitted on or after November 1, 2024 must demonstrate CLB 7 language proficiency at the PGWP application stage, and students with a program lock-in date on or after September 1, 2024 must complete at least 50% of coursework in person in Canada to preserve full PGWP validity.
Is the University of Regina the Right Fit?
Regina makes sense if you want a public Canadian research university degree at a genuinely lower published tuition figure than most Ontario/BC schools, a real conditional-acceptance option while you finish English test prep, and full PGWP eligibility on a bachelor's degree in either Engineering or Business. It's a weaker fit if you're specifically chasing a large, internationally famous brand name or a big-city location, since Regina, Saskatchewan is a smaller provincial capital, and the university's global rankings (QS 951-1000, THE 601-800) reflect a solid but not headline research profile.
Because Regina doesn't publish a single admission-average or acceptance-rate figure the way some universities do, the most reliable path is direct confirmation from admissions for your specific faculty, especially if you're applying to Engineering or Business, where general (not elevated) English and academic standards apply.
Prepare for IELTS with Gabble or prepare for TOEFL to clear Regina's 6.5 IELTS / 83 TOEFL general undergraduate threshold (or the higher 7.0 IELTS / 103 TOEFL bar for Education and Nursing) comfortably before you apply.