Your UofT Degree & Programs

Degree Requirements: You must complete a minimum of 20.0 credits, comprised of your program requirements, electives and breadth requirements, as well as a minimum CGPA, to be eligible for graduation. Follow the degree requirements in the Calendar of the academic year you were admitted to UTSC (e.g. if you were admitted in September 2020, follow the degree requirements in the 2020- 2021 Calendar).

Program Requirements: Every program at U of T has a specific set of mandatory courses, called program requirements. Requirements may change from year to year. Follow the program requirements in the Calendar in place based on the start session of the program (per Degree Explorer, see below). Students who declared a program prior to April 2013 can complete the program requirements in the Calendar of the year they enrolled at UTSC, or any subsequent Calendar.

Electives: These are additional courses taken outside your program(s).

Breadth Requirements: All UTSC courses are categorized under one of five breadth requirements. The requirement is noted in the course description found in the Calendar. Students who began their studies as of Summer 2010 are required to earn a 0.5 credit in each of the five categories: 

Arts, Literature & Language
History, Philosophy & Cultural Studies
Social & Behavioural Sciences
Quantitative Reasoning
Natural Sciences

Year of Study: U of T designates your year of study based on the number of credits completed as a degree student, not on the number of years attended. Non-degree students and visiting students are not assessed for a year of study.

1st Year	2nd Year	3rd Year	4th Year
3.5 credits or fewer	4.0 - 8.5 credits	9.0 - 13.5 credits	14.0+ credits

Double Degree Students only:

1st Year

2nd year

3rd Year

4th Year

5th Year

3.5 credits

or fewer

4.0 - 8.5 credits

9.0 - 13.5 credits

14.0 - 19.5

credits

20.0+ 

credits

Types of degrees 

UTSC offers the following Honours degrees: 

Honours Bachelor of Arts (HBA)
Honours Bachelor of Science (HBSc)
Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)

UTSC currently offers these Double Degrees.

UTSC currently offers these Combined Degrees.

The type of degree students receive, whether HBA or HBSc, will be determined by the Specialist or Major program completed.

Tools you'll need

Degree Explorer

Degree Explorer is U of T’s official degree planning tool. Use your UTORid and password to log in. Degree Explorer includes the following tools:

Academic Planning Feature: Used to create mock timetables for future sessions and add mock programs to help make informed decisions about courses and programs.
Status Bar: Demonstrates which requirements are pending, incomplete, or complete. This is a helpful assessment tool to ensure you are on track for graduation.
Academic History: Students are encouraged to use this tool throughout their studies, it can also be used to assess eligibility for Convocation.

ACORN

ACORN is an online platform that enables course management activities and maintains a record of your academic history and performance. You will use ACORN to enrol in courses, view grades and tuition fees, and much more. Keep your personal information up to date (address, email, bank information, legal status). Tuition refunds will be sent using the details you provide. This contact information is also used to send critical registration information. To login, use your JOINid/UTORid and password.

Timetable Builder

The Timetable Builder website is the University’s official tool to help students plan their schedules. Automatically generate a visual course timetable based on your time preferences and course selections. You can also block off time to accommodate jobs and other personal commitments. Note: The Timetable Builder includes only UTSC courses.

UTSC Academic Calendar
The Calendar is an annual document with up-to-date information on programs, courses and university policies. Use the program and degree requirements in the appropriate Calendar to determine the courses you need to graduate. See which courses are offered in each term to build your timetable accordingly.

Understanding your program

A program is a collection of courses focused on a specific subject area. When you are expecting to complete 4.0 credits (or your first year of study), you must declare your program(s) on ACORN. Transfer and IB credits count toward the number of credits that determines your year of study.

There are three types of programs: Specialist, Major and Minor. Program types indicate the level of concentration in a subject area. A Specialist has the highest focus on a topic and a Minor has the least.

To complete your degree, select a program/combination of programs that suits your academic interests. Your degree must be composed of one of the following combinations of programs: 

1 Specialist OR 
2 Majors OR
1 Major & 2 Minors

A specialist program provides an in-depth, focused understanding of a subject area. Of the 20.0 credits you need to graduate, a specialist program can satisfy between 12.0 – 16.0 credits, depending on the program. 

A major program provides a concentrated understanding within an academic field. With a major, you can combine programs across Arts, Sciences and Economics for Management. It is not enough to study one major program, you must combine your major with an additional major program, or two minors. One major program can satisfy 7.0 – 9.0 credits. 

A minor program introduces you to a subject area and allows you to augment skills applicable to other fields. A minor program can satisfy 4.0 – 5.0 credits.

Trying to find the right program for you? The Academic Advising & Career Centre and your faculty can help. Learn more about your program options through the AA&CC’s opportunities, such as fairs, workshops, online chats and more.

Limited and unlimited programs

Unlimited programs: Programs with unlimited space that you can enrol in at any time on ACORN.

Limited programs: Programs that require an application. You must meet the requirements to be considered. 

How to enrol in a program

Declare Your Program on ACORN. To apply for a limited program, or enrol in an unlimited program: 

Visit the link above to view all program options.
Login to ACORN. 
Under the Academics menu, click on “Enrol & Manage,” and select “Programs.”
Using the search field box, type your program name, or Subject POSt code, and select the appropriate UTSC program. 
Read the program enrolment pop-up and click “Enrol.”   
If you have successfully enrolled, you will receive a success notice on the top right corner of your screen. The program will be listed under your currently enrolled programs. *Some limited programs have additional application requirements; check the relevant program section of the Calendar.

Remove a Program from ACORN

Follow steps 2-3 from the above list on applying to a limited program.
Click the gear icon on the top right corner of the program you wish to remove.
Select “Remove Program” from the drop-down menu that appears and confirm.

When to enrol in a program

Unlimited programs

Degree students expecting to complete 4.0 university credits (including eligible transfer credits) by the end of a session must enrol in a program. You must be active in either a Specialist, two Majors, or one Major and two Minors on ACORN before course enrolment begins, or your course enrolment will be blocked. 

Limited programs

Application cycle information and dates for limited programs can be found on the Unlimited and Limited Programs section of our site.

If your application to a limited enrolment program is successful, your status will be "Invited" until you accept it or the offer expires (see chart). If you miss the deadline to accept the offer, you must wait until the next request period to apply. 

When your status is "Active," you are enrolled in that program. If your application to a limited program was refused, you must have an alternate active program on ACORN. 

You may enrol in only one co-op or limited enrolment specialist program. If you are invited to more than one, accept the one you want and delete the others.

If you are waiting for a reply to a limited enrolment program application, temporarily select an acceptable combination of unlimited programs to continue adding courses. 

You can make changes to your program(s) as your academic career progresses. As a UTSC student, you may only apply for and complete UTSC programs. Non-degree and visiting students cannot select a program. 

Transfer Credits

The transfer credit process will begin after receipt of an offer of admission. Students applying to transfer from other post-secondary institutions must pay a processing fee (contact the Admissions and Student Recruitment Office for details) and submit all documentation specified in their offer of admission.

Transfer credit assessments for domestic institutions may take 3-4 weeks and transfer credit decisions for international institutions may take up to 6 weeks.

Please do not enrol in courses at UTSC that duplicate prior studies. Once your official transfer credit assessment is complete, you can make necessary adjustments to your UTSC courses. Use Transfer Explorer to check the transferability of your post-secondary studies.

Acceptance into a limited enrolment program will be finalized once your transfer credit assessment is complete. Students receiving transfer credit(s) from secondary studies are not required to pay the processing fee as consideration is automatic upon receipt of final scores. For questions regarding your assessment, contact utsc.transfercredit@utoronto.ca

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Understanding your U of T Degree