Faculty of Arts & Science
2014-2015 Calendar

199/299/398/399/Big Ideas (Faculty of Arts & Science Programs)


First-Year Seminars: 199H1/Y1 Courses

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

The199Y1 and199H1 seminars are designed to provide entering Arts & Science (St. George) degree 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 the Degree Requirements section of this Calendar).

NOTE: 198H1 may be used to allow enrolment in two199H1 seminars in the same session in the same Breadth Category. Students may enrol in ONLY one 199Y1 OR two 199H1 courses.


Research Opportunity Program: 299Y1 Courses

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

The Research Opportunity Program (ROP) provides an opportunity for Arts & Science (St. George) degree students in their second year (i.e., after completing at least 4 but not more than 8.5 credits) 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 mid-February. Students wishing to participate should email online ROP Application forms to deb.shaw@utoronto.ca by the due date indicated on the website.

Students can apply to a maximum of three ROPs in total, but can accept only one project. Students are informed in early July (mid-April for Summer courses) whether they have been accepted. Successful applicants are registered by the ROP 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.


Research Excursions: 398H0/399Y0 Courses

Directors:
Anne-Marie Brousseau, Associate Dean Undergraduate
Mary-Priscilla Stevens, Director, International Programs and Partnerships
deb.shaw@utoronto.ca (416-978-0359)

The 398/399 Research Excursions provides an opportunity for Arts & Science (St. George) degree students in their third year (i.e., after completing at least 9 but not more than 13.5 credits) 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 run within the May-August period, when both Faculty and students would be able to make the time commitments necessary. Regular tuition fees apply.

Each 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 in early February.

Applications are available online and must be emailed to the supervising instructor by late February. Students are informed in mid-March whether they have been accepted. Successful applicants are registered by the 399 office.


Big Ideas Courses

Contact: Adam Doyle, First-Year Initiatives Coordinator: 416-978-5471; adam.doyle@utoronto.ca

The most challenging problems of our complex, interconnected world do not always fall neatly into academic disciplines, typically requiring creative solutions that bridge traditional boundaries of thought. The Big Ideas courses provide entering undergraduate students a unique opportunity to engage with stellar instructors and stimulating peers in an enriched learning experience that addresses a number of the most critical societal problems of today.

Details on the Big Ideas courses can be found in the "Big Ideas Courses" section.