Introduction

First Year Seminars: 199H1/Y1 Courses

Director: Anne-Marie Brousseau, Associate Dean Undergraduate Academic Programs
deb.shaw@utoronto.ca (416-978-0359)

The199Y1 and199H1 seminars are designed to provide entering Arts & Science (St. George) undergraduates with the opportunity to work closely with an instructor in a class of no more than twenty-four students. Each Seminar focuses on specific disciplinary or interdisciplinary issues, questions or controversies of particular interest to the instructor, and introduces the students to the excitement of discovery inherent in academic work at the University of Toronto. In addition, students are encouraged to develop their ability to think analytically and to express ideas and logical arguments clearly and coherently, both orally and in writing.

These interactive seminars are not designed as introductory surveys to a discipline or program. Rather, they are intended to stimulate the students’ curiosity and provide an opportunity to get to know a member of the professorial staff in a seminar environment during the first year of study. Thus, students are encouraged to experience material and methods that are outside the area in which they will eventually concentrate in order to benefit fully from the diversity of the Faculty of Arts & Science.

Each 199Y1 and199H1 seminar has a generic designator, which corresponds to the Breadth Category the course can fulfill: CCR199 (Creative and Cultural Representations), TBB199 (Thought, Belief, and Behaviour), SII199 (Society and Its Institutions), LTE199 (Living Things and Their Environment), PMU199 (The Physical and Mathematical Universes), or XBC199 (Y course that counts as half in each of two breadth categories).

The199Y1 and199H1 seminars count for degree credit in the same way as any other course, but do not count towards a subject POSt. First-Year Seminars can be used to satisfy the Breadth Requirement; for details, see page 25). NOTE: 198H1 may be used to allow enrolment in two199H1 seminars in the same session. Students may enrol in ONLY one199Y1 OR two 199H1s.

Research Opportunity Program: 299Y1 Courses

Director: Anne-Marie Brousseau, Associate Dean Undergraduate Academic Programs
deb.shaw@utoronto.ca (416-978-0359)

The Research Opportunity Program (ROP) provides an opportunity for Arts & Science (St. George) students in their second year (i.e., after completing at least 4 but not more than 8.5 courses) to earn one course credit by participating in a faculty member’s research project. Each 299Y1 course has a program-specific designator, such as ANT, CLA, CSB, VIC, etc. Not all departments or programs will necessarily participate in the ROP each year.

Descriptions of ROP projects are available on the Faculty's web site and in the Program Office (room 1067, Sidney Smith Hall, 100 St. George Street) after Reading Week. Students wishing to participate should email online ROP Application forms to deb.shaw@utoronto.ca by the due date indicated on each Project’s Description Form, either March 15 or May 19. Students can apply to a maximum of five ROPs, but can accept only one. Students are informed in early July (late April for Summer courses) whether they have been accepted. Successful applicants are registered by the Program office.

Students are expected to keep a journal recording meetings, progress, and what was learned about the project in particular and the nature of research in general.

Independent Experiential Study Program: 398H0/399Y0 Courses

Director: Anne-Marie Brousseau, Associate Dean Undergraduate Academic Programs
deb.shaw@utoronto.ca (416-978-0359)

The Independent Experiential Study Program (IES) provides an opportunity for Arts & Science (St. George) students in their third year (i.e., after completing at least 9 but not more than 13.5 courses) to participate in a practical or experiential activity under the supervision of a faculty member. The practical, experiential component can take the form of research/learning in archives, laboratories, libraries, or in a field camp, etc.—but not in a classroom at another university (that is covered by the Faculty’s summer abroad and exchange programs). The projects normally run within the May-August period, when both Faculty and students would be able to make the time commitments necessary. Regular tuition fees apply.

Eeach 398H0/399Y0 has a program-specific designator, such as ANT, CLA, CSB, VIC, etc., and would be eligible to count towards program completion if the program sponsor (Chair or Director) so chooses. A limited number of 398H0/399Y0 courses are available each year. Faculty supervisors propose the projects and choose the students who apply. Students must also attend a Safety Abroad Seminar.

Descriptions of the projects are available on the Faculty's web site and in the Program Office (room 1067, Sidney Smith Hall, 100 St. George Street) after March 2.

Applications are available online and must be emailed to the supervising instructor by March 22. Students are informed in early May whether or not they have been accepted. Successful applicants are registered by the Program office.