hi, I recently got accepted into uoft- ccit major, but I want to change my major to finance or commerce, do I need to finish my freshman year first and then transfer programs or can I directly do it. I’m an international student and I’m so lost since there is no one to explain how the system works at uoft.

——————————————

hey there,

i feel ya. u of t is a maze of a bureaucracy– even those of us who are from around here and have been at the school for a while are constantly confused. it’s just one of the joys of going to a big, complicated school. navigating it is a lot like this:

but hey, i’ve sifted through all the CCIT stuff on the internet in an effort to help you out. as far as i can tell, the program works the same way as most other POSts. which is to say, you’re not actually a CCIT student (or a polisci student, or a chemistry student, or ANYTHING sigh) until you apply for POSt. this is also reflected in the fees you pay: i believe CCIT tuition is higher, but you only begin paying that in second year when you become a CCIT student.

if you’re not familiar, POSt stands for Program of Study, and it’s essentially another hurdle all students of certain faculties need to jump once they get into undergrad. you apply to POSt at the end of your first year, and most of them have prerequisite courses you’ll need to get in. those courses are usually what you’ll focus on getting through in your first year.

so as far as i know, if you wanted to transfer to finance or commerce you’ll just want to make sure you have the right prereqs, and then when you apply to POSt just indicate whichever program you want. one of the things i love about u of t is that it’s relatively easy to switch programs around as long as you have the prereqs. for example, if i was studying… indigenous studies and wanted to switch to canadian studies, i wouldn’t have to fill anything out, just make sure i had the requirements and apply to POSt during the application period.

to be honest, i feel a little iffy with you using this as your only source of advice since i’m not ~that~ familiar with ccit as a program. i’d encourage you to get in touch with their department, because they’ll be able to confirm or correct anything i said. the university at large tends to operate in much the same way, but there are always those quirky niche programs that do their own thing and ccit could be one of those. the utm registrars may also be able to help you out.

over n out,

aska