Admission Information | Calendar Home | A&S Students Home | University of Toronto Home

Guide to Programs and Courses

Definition of “Course” in this Calendar

In these two pages the word “course” is used in two senses:

1. In reference to a single course (such as “standing in a course” etc.) “course” refers equally to a full course or a half course.

2. In reference to a given number of courses (such as the requirement of obtaining standing in at least 20 courses for an HBA or HBSc) “courses” refer to FULL courses OR the equivalent number in FULL AND HALF courses combined. To “pass a course” or “obtain standing in a course” normally means to obtain a mark of 50 or more in that course.

Codes used in the Program of Study Listings

• “Specialist Program (X full courses or their equivalent)”; “X” is the number of courses required for that program out of the total of 20 courses needed for an Hon. B.A. or Hon. B.Sc.
• “Major Program (X full courses or their equivalent)”; “X” is the number required for that program out of the total of 20 courses needed for an Hon. B.A. or Hon. B.Sc.
• “First Year”, “Second Year”, etc.: Sequences of courses are given as guides, but need not be followed in the exact order listed, provided all pre- and co-requisites are observed.
• Higher Years = Second, Third and Fourth Years
• An oblique stroke (“/”) means “or”. A comma and a semi-colon both mean “and”.
• 200-series = courses numbered in the 200’s ONLY;
• 200+series = courses in the 200’s or 300’s or 400’s
• 300+series = courses numbered in the 300’s or 400’s
• Approved = approved by the college or department sponsoring the program
• Group = a group of related courses; Groups are at the end of the relevant program listings
• Courses = full courses or the equivalent in full and/or half courses.
• The code Y1 or H1 in a course code in this Calendar indicates the credit value:
  • Y1 = a full course, for which one credit is given, e.g., ANT 100Y1;
  • H1 = a half course, for which one-half credit is given, e.g., HIS 321H1.

Choosing Courses

NOTE: While Departmental counsellors and College Registrars are always available to give advice, THE ULTIMATE RESPONSIBILITY RESTS WITH THE STUDENT for completeness and correctness of course selection, for compliance with exclusions, prerequisite and co-requisite requirements, for completion of Program details, for proper completion of the Distribution Requirement, and for observance of regulations, deadlines, etc. Students are responsible for seeking guidance from a responsible officer if they are in any doubt; misunderstanding, misapprehension or advice received from another student will not be accepted as cause for dispensation from any regulation, deadline, Program or Degree requirement.

Please Note:

1. The Faculty of Arts & Science Council reserves the right to change the content of, or to withdraw, any course. In such cases every effort is made to provide equivalent alternative instruction, but this cannot be guaranteed.

2. The Faculty reserves the right to limit the number of students in any course or any section of a course if the number wishing to take the course should exceed the resources available. Notwithstanding this, every effort is made to accommodate students in 100-series courses.

Key to Course Descriptions

Course descriptions, in alphabetical order by Department/College, are listed in the Programs and Courses section. For an explanation of terms and abbreviations used in these descriptions, including prerequisites, co-requisites, exclusions, etc., see below. Students may choose from among these courses, subject to the following rules:

1. Students must satisfy the degree and program requirements and other regulations set out in the Calendar and its supplements.

2. Students must meet all prerequisite, co-requisite and exclusion requirements.

3. Students may take no more than six 100-series courses for degree credit.

Number of Courses Taken (“Course Load”)

Students may proceed towards the degree at a rate of their own choosing, except as provided below:

1. The recommended course load for full-time students in each of the Fall and Winter Sessions is no more than five courses.

2. The recommended course load during the Summer Session is a maximum of two courses.

3. Students “On Academic Probation” may take no more than five courses in each of the Fall and Winter Sessions except as provided under “students restricted to a reduced course load” (see 4. below).

4. Students restricted to a reduced course load on admission may take no more than 2.5 courses over the Fall-Winter Sessions. They may take no more than 3 course activities in a Fall or Winter Session unless approved by their College Registrar. They may take a maximum of 1.0 courses in the Summer Session. Students restricted to part- time studies who wish to transfer to full-time studies should consult with their College Registrar.)

5. Students should attempt to balance their course load between the Fall and Winter Sessions.

6. To calculate course loads, students should consult this Calendar together with the Registration Handbook & Timetable. The code “Y1” or “H1” in a course code in the Calendar indicate the credit value:

• Y1 = a full course, for which one credit is given, e.g., ANT 100Y1
• H1 = a half-course, for which one-half credit is given, e.g., HIS 332H1

7. In the Timetable a section code is associated with a course code to indicate when the course is offered:

• F = first half of the Fall-Winter Sessions (Sept-Dec), or first half of the Summer Session (May-June), e.g., HIS322H1 F
• S = second half of the Fall-Winter Sessions (Jan-Apr), or second half of the Summer Session (July-Aug), e.g., HIS322H1 S
• Y = Fall and Winter sessions, or First and Second subsessions of the Summer Session, e.g., ANT100Y1 Y

8. Students should note that courses designated as “...Y1F” or “...Y1S” in the Timetable are particularly demanding.

9. Full-time students (except those in 3. and 11.) may select a sixth course after the priority period expires during the course enrolment cycle (see the Registration Handbook and Timetable for details).

10. Students are advised to use discretion in adding any more courses to their program than the number recommended in 1. and 2. Students will not receive special consideration of any kind on account of a course overload. Examination schedules may be affected by a course overload.

11. In each of the Fall and Winter Sessions, students who are in good standing may request to add additional courses, beyond six, through their College Registrar. In the Summer Session, students may request to add additional courses, beyond two, through their College Registrar. The College Registrar, following Faculty guidelines, has the discretion to approve such requests. Note: students enrolled in Commerce subject POSts cannot add additional courses beyond six in the Fall-Winter Sessions.

12. Students are not allowed a sessional course activity overload in any session until they have completed four full courses in the Faculty. This applies to first year students and transfer students from other institutions.

“Extra” and “Supplemental” Courses

"Extra" courses are ones that do not count for degree credit. Such courses appear on a student's permanent academic record with the final course mark, and are noted as "XTR", but do not count as accumulated degree credits and are not included in calculating a student's Grade Point Average.

Each course with a passing mark or CR counts for credit towards a degree unless:

- the course is a 100-series course and the maximum of SIX 100-series courses (6.0 FCEs) allowable for degree credit has already been completed; it will then be designated an Extra; or

- the course repeats work previously taken, either the same course taken over again (see below) or a course taken for which an exclusion has already been completed; or

- advance permission has been given by petition for a course to be taken as an Extra course. Students may not petition to have completed courses designated as "Extra", nor will the “Extra” designation be removed from the record after the fact.

" Supplemental" courses are those courses with a particular designator (e.g. ENG or PHY) where the student has already passed the maximum number of courses allowed with the same designator, i.e. 15 full credit equivalents. These supplemental courses will count in the grade point average, program and distribution requirements, but will not contribute to the 20 accumulated credits required for the degree. .

Repeating a Course as an "Extra"

All students (both degree and non-degree-seeking) may repeat up to 1.0 full-course equivalent for which they have received credit (i.e., achieved a grade of 50% or higher or CR) for reasons other than to gain a required mark above passing to qualify for entry into a Subject POSt or a course required for a prerequisite. The repeated course will be designated an "Extra" course: it will appear on the academic record, but will be marked "Extra" and will not be included in GPA calculations or in the degree credit count.

Students may not use this one-time-only Extra provision to repeat a passed course yet again which they have already repeated once as an "Extra" to qualify for entry into a Subject POSt or for entry into a course for which the repeated course is a prerequisite i.e., a student may repeat a specific passed course only once.

Students requesting to repeat a course in this way must do so at their college registrar’s office, where they will receive appropriate advising and will be enrolled, provided there is space available, only after other degree students have had an opportunity to enroll. .

Credit/No Credit

Effective beginning the 2008-09 Fall-Winter Session, degree students in the Faculty of Arts & Science may select up to 1.0 full-course equivalents of their degree credits to be assessed on a Credit/ No Credit basis. Students must choose this mode of assessment no later than the last day to enrol in the relevant course. Once the deadline has passed, students may not under any circumstances reverse this decision.

To achieve a status of CR (Credit), a student must achieve a final mark of at least 60%. Marks below that will be assessed as NCR (No Credit). Courses with a final status of CR will count as degree credits but will have no effect on the student’s GPA. They will count as Distribution Requirements and degree credits, but cannot be used to satisfy subject POSt requirements.

Courses with a final status of NCR will not count as degree credits but will not count as failures, and will also not be included in the GPA calculation.
Students may exercise this option to a total of 1.0 full-course equivalents within the total number of credits required for a degree. The choice is not restricted as to year or level of course. This option is not available to Arts & Science non-degree students or to students from other faculties/divisions of the University of Toronto.

Year of Study

The University of Toronto uses the following to define the year equivalency and therefore the academic status of a student:

4th year St. George degree student: has completed 14.0 full course equivalents or more;

3rd year St. George degree student: has completed 9.0 to 13.5 full course equivalents;

2nd year St. George degree student: has completed 4 to 8.5 full course equivalents;

1st year St. George degree student: has completed less than 4 full course equivalents.

Full/Part-Time Status

Part-time status

A student enroled in 2.5 full course equivalents or fewer for the Fall-Winter sessions is considered to be part-time.

A student enroled in 1.0 full-course equivalents or fewer for the Summer session is considered to be part-time.

Full-time status

A student enroled in 3.0 full course equivalents or more for the Fall-Winter sessions is considered to be full-time.

A student enroled in 1.5 full-course equivalents or more for the Summer session is considered to be full-time.

Cancelling Courses, Repeating Courses, Courses Outside the Faculty and University

For further information on these matters see the Rules and Regulations section..

Codes Used in the Course Descriptions

Course Designators

Course designators are the three-letter codes which appear at the beginning of each course code (e.g., CHM is the designator for chemistry courses; PHL for philosophy courses).

All courses are listed in the following pages by sponsoring department in alphabetical order. See the Table of Contents for a complete listing of sponsoring departments, and this page for a full alphabetical list of programs available to students in the Faculty.

Course Number

The course number generally indicates the level of difficulty, e.g., a 100-series course normally indicates an introductory course, a 400-series course is an intensive course at the senior level. In some departments several courses may have the same general title; in these cases, the numbers are listed together, separated by “/” which means “OR”; for instance, “ECO 350Y1/351H1/352H1” = ECO 350Y1 OR ECO 351H1 OR ECO 352H1, each one being a seminar on a selected subject.

“Y1” and “H1” Course Suffixes

The codes “Y1” or “H1” in a course code in the Calendar indicate the credit value:

Y1 = a full course, for which one credit is given, e.g., ANT 100Y1

H1 = a half-course, for which one-half credit is given, e.g., HIS 322 H1.

Types and Duration of Instruction

L= Lectures

S= Seminars

P= Practical work in laboratories or studios

T= Tutorials

In the Fall-Winter Sessions the normal period of instruction is 24 weeks; the Fall Session lasts 12 weeks, and the Winter Session lasts 12 weeks. The number preceding the instruction codes opposite the course number and title indicates the total number of hours of instruction given in the course. The number of hours listed is approximate only; the actual contact hours of a course, or of different sections of a course, may vary from the number indicated in the Calendar, due to the size of the class or section, and the use being made of the tutorial or practical components of the class. This variation is at the discretion of the “course sponsor” (the college or department sponsoring the course); any questions concerning the allotment of hours in a course should be addressed to the course sponsor.

Prerequisites, Co-requisites, etc.

Students are responsible for fulfilling prerequisites and co-requisites; students enroled in courses for which they do not have the published prerequisites may have their registration in those courses cancelled at any time without warning. Students must also observe exclusions. Failure to meet these requirements may result in academic difficulties. If students withdraw from a course they must also withdraw from any course for which it is a co-requisite unless the Department giving the latter course agrees to waive the co-requisite.

Explanation of Symbols

The comma (,) the semi-colon(;) the ampersand (&) and the plus sign (+) all mean “AND”. The slash (/) means “OR”.

Exclusions

Students may not enrol in a course if that course lists as an exclusion a course they are currently taking or a a course they have already passed. If allowed by special permission to enrol in an excluded course, the second course taken will be listed as an “Extra” course. Students will be required to withdraw from the course if discovered during the session of enrolment and will be refused degree credit in the excluded course if discovered at any time in a subsequent session.

Prerequisite

A course (or other qualification) required as preparation for entry to another course. If students consider that they have equivalent preparation, they may ask the Department concerned to waive the stated prerequisite.

Co-requisite

A requirement to be undertaken concurrently with another course. The co-requisite will be waived if a student has previously obtained standing in it, or if the Department consents.

Recommended Preparation

Background material or courses that may enhance a student’s understanding of a course.

This page shows a course description in diagram form, with explanations of all the various symbols.

Section Code

Section codes do not appear in the Calendar. In the Registration Handbook & Timetable, however, a section code is listed with a course code to indicate when the course is offered:

F = first half of the Fall-Winter Sessions (Sept-Dec), or first half of the Summer Session (May-June), e.g., HIS 322H1 F

S = second half of the Fall-Winter Sessions (Jan-Apr), or second half of the Summer Session (July-Aug), e.g., HIS 322H1 S

Y = Fall and Winter sessions, or First and Second subsessions of the Summer Session, e.g., ANT 100Y1 Y