Guide to Taking Arts & Science Courses
As an Engineering student, you will need to take some Arts & Science courses to fulfill your elective requirements. Because these courses are offered by the Faculty of Arts & Science, you are subject to their enrolment regulations, dates, protocols, examination rules and regulations which are different from those of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering.
You can find information on Arts & Science (A&S) courses, including descriptions and timetables, at Arts & Science's Office of the Registrar website.
Types of Electives
There are four types of electives: Humanities and Social Science (HSS) electives, Complementary Studies (CS) electives, Technical electives and Free electives. Please consult the Faculty’s Academic Calendar to see which electives you need to take to fulfill your program requirements. For complete descriptions of each type of elective, please consult chapter 6 of the Academic Calendar.
If you are having trouble deciding what elective(s) to take, you should consult your
Undergraduate Academic Counsellor.
Choosing Half-Year or Full-Year Courses
Arts & Science courses are either half-year or full-year courses. The last letter of the nine-character course code (e.g. ENG 140Y1
Y) is the course’s session code and indicates when the course is offered during the year.
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Y courses are full-year courses (September - April)
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F courses take place during the Fall Session (September - December)
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S courses take place during the Winter Session (January - April/May)
Because the Engineering curriculum is divided into two sessions—Fall and Winter—you would only be able to enrol in a Y code course if the course does not conflict with either your Fall or Winter schedules.
If you are enrolled in a Y code course, please note that your final course mark counts toward the weighted session average and grade point average of your Winter Session (second session), not the Fall Session.
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Enrolment Controls (For Fall-Winter)
Enrolment dates for A&S courses are staggered and they give preference to A&S students by allowing them to enrol in courses first. Engineering students may begin to enrol in A&S courses during a period called “Open Round”.
Some A&S courses have enrolment restrictions, so you will need to pay special attention to each course’s enrolment restriction. While most courses are open to students in any program of study, some courses have enrolment conditions, which consist of enrolment indicators and enrolment controls that govern who can take certain courses.
Enrolment Indicators and what they mean for Engineering students:
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P—Students in a specific admission category or subject POSt and/or year of study will receive priority until August 11.
- R—The course is restricted to a specific group of students. This restriction does not change anytime during the enrolment cycle. Engineering students will not be able to enrol in courses with this Enrolment Indicator.
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RP—The course is restricted to a specific group of students until Open Round. During the Open Round of enrolment—beginning August 13th for Engineering students—priority remains in place for certain students; however, some spaces may be made available to other students. This enrolment control typically applies to CSC or ECE courses. Engineering students must get permission from their respective departments to enrol in “RP” courses.
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E—Students must enrol for the course at the A&S department that is offering the course. Departmental enrolment instructions are located in the timetable listings. You cannot request an “E” course on ROSI. Waiting lists are not available for “E” courses.
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PE—Students in a specific admission category or subject POSt and/or year of study will receive priority until August 13. Beginning August 15, the priority is removed and any remaining spaces are made available to all students; however, you must enrol at the department that is offering the course.
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AE—Students must receive approval by the A&S department that is offering the course in order to enrol in an “AE” course.
If a course has an enrolment control, it typically means that it is a popular course and has limited enrolment space; therefore, the Faculty of Arts & Science needs to restrict enrolment to students who need to take the course to satisfy their program requirements.
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Waiting Lists (Fall-Winter term)
In response to student feedback, the Faculty of Arts & Science introduced waiting lists last year for some of its courses. After a course is full, students may add their names to a waiting list on ROSI. If a student cancels his or her enrolment in a course, the student at the top of the waiting list will automatically be enrolled in the course.
Please note that ROSI has a new enhancement, which will notify you when you have been added to a course that you were on a waiting list for; however, the message will only be sent to you if you have a valid University of Toronto email address listed in your ROSI profile.
In addition to the email, a notification message will also appear on the first page of your ROSI profile the first time you log in after the course was added to your record. The notification will state: “A change has occurred in one or more of your wait-lists.”
You will also receive an email if you are removed from a waiting list after the waiting list period has ended.
Engineering students should take note of the following:
- Being on the waiting list does not guarantee you a space in a course. We recommend that you do not risk adding your name to lengthy waiting lists.
- Use the waiting list function as a last resort to get into a course that you desperately would like to enrol in. You should have back up courses in mind in case you cannot get your first choice.
- Waiting lists will be removed in September for F and Y courses and
January, for S code courses. After the waiting lists are removed,
enrolment works on a first-come, first-served basis; however, tbe
mindful of the last day to add courses for the Fall Session. See the
current Academic Calendar and Enrolment and
Registration Guide for these dates.
- You may be on a waiting list for a maximum of 2.0 full course
equivalents (i.e. four half courses or two full courses), depending on
your program and year of study; however, you must not carry more than a
regular course load by the last day to add courses for the Fall Session.
The regular course load for your program and year of study is outlined
in the Academic Calendar.
For more information on Arts & Science waiting lists, please visit the
Arts & Science waiting list website; however, please note that not all of the information is applicable to Engineering students.
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Taking Summer Courses
Many Engineering students take A&S courses during the Summer Session, either to satisfy elective requirements or for personal interest. Students registered in summer courses are considered part-time students. Please note that even if you take an A&S course in the summer, you will be charged Engineering course fees because you are an Engineering student.
Because the Summer Session is not seen as an official Engineering session—with the exception of select first year courses, Engineering courses are not typically offered in the summer—Summer Session weighted session averages are not used to assess the Faculty’s promotion regulations. In order to pass and retain credit for a Summer Session course, you need to obtain a final grade of 50% or greater. Please note that there are exceptions if you are in the T-Program. For more information on the exceptions regarding Summer Session and the T-Program, please contact the
First Year Office.
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Courses at UT Scarborough and UT Mississauga
You may also take courses at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) and Mississauga (UTM) campuses. As with all electives, you should consult your Departmental Counsellor if you plan to take an elective at UTM or UTSC. Your Departmental Counsellor will be able to let you know if the course you would like to take will fulfill your degree requirements.
Timetable for UT Scarborough
Timetable for UT Mississauga
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Arts & Science Exams—Things You Should Know
To view the exam schedule for Arts & Science courses, please visit Faculty of Arts & Science—Exams.
If you have any exam issues regarding your A&S courses, you must contact the Engineering Office of the Registrar.
Exam Conflicts
If two of your final exams are scheduled for the same time slot, or three consecutive final exams in a single day, you should contact the Engineering Office of the Registrar. The Office of the Registrar can attempt to make special accommodations with the Faculty of Arts & Science so that you can write your exams at another time.
Exam Deferrals
Arts & Science exam deferrals are typically granted under extraordinary circumstances. If you have to miss your exam for personal or medical reasons, you must submit a petition to the Engineering Office of the Registrar. If your petition is granted, you will likely have to write a deferred exam. In most cases, you must write the final exam when the course is offered next, which could be months in the future. Arts & Science will charge you $70 to write a deferred exam. Please note that Arts & Science does not typically grant students permission to rewrite an exam.
Petitions
If you wish to petition an Arts & Science final exam, you should consult the Engineering Office of the Registrar immediately. You must submit your petition and all supporting documentation within five days of the end of the exam period. All petitions go through your registered Faculty (Engineering)
Exam Copies, Re-checks and Re-reads
The Faculty of Arts & Science stores their own course exams, and they offer both exam re-checks and re-reads. You may also order a photocopy of your exam, or view your exam for free in a supervised room. For more information, please review the
Faculty of Arts & Science's re-check and re-read policies. All exam-related services go through the Faculty providing the course (Arts & Science).
For additional information on A&S exams, policies, rules of conduct, locations and more, please visit their
exams webpage.
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Course Evaluations—The Anti-Calendar
Every year, the A&S Student Union (ASSU) conducts course evaluations and asks students to rate courses, professors and TAs. The results are compiled and published in a handbook called the Anti-Calendar.
The Anti-Calendar is a useful resource if you would like to know which professors are popular among students and which courses leave students with a high level of satisfaction; however, please be advised that the results are sometimes derived from a small sample of the class and not all A&S courses are featured in the Anti-Calendar.
You may pick up a copy of the latest Anti-Calendar at the ASSU Office in Sidney Smith Hall (100 St. George Street), room 1089. A paper copy of the latest Anti-Calendar can be picked up at the ASSU Office in Sidney Smith Hall, room 1089. As well, both the latest edition and past editions of the Anti-Calendar are available online on the
ASSU website.
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Late Withdrawal
It may be possible to drop your Arts & Science elective course after the last day to drop courses. To find out more, see the Faculty's policty on
Late Withdrawal from an Arts & Science course.
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