hey aska!

I’m nearing the end of my second semester in socsci, having been a transfer?student from art fundamentals at sheridan college, but I’m hating it. I?know I missed the deadline to apply to transfer to visual studies at u of?t, but as the Daniels site is a little confusing, I was hoping you could?help me answer a few questions!

The reason I’m thinking of transferring to Daniels after second year of?socsci is because A. I’m miserable in socsci, and it’s reflected in my?grades right now, and B. currently, my top art school (york’s BDes)?wouldn’t take me with my u of t grades.

I know most art programs base a good like, 80 percent of the application on?the portfolio, but I get the feeling that doesn’t ring true for U of T. Am?I right?

I’ll end this semester with about 3.0 or 4.0 credits. If I take “easier”?classes next year to bring my GPA up while still staying under 10.0 credits?to transfer, will that help?

Also, I’m trying to gauge the likelihood that I’ll get some of my credits?from Sheridan College transferred, like a first year 2D design, or a life?drawing class?

Ps. What’s with this “One Idea” thing? Is it the same every year, like?should I be preparing my answer to this years question so I’ve got it ready?when I apply to transfer?

Wow this was longer than expected, sorry and thanks for any help!

– sad and covered in paint

???????????????

hey there,

i feel like one day daniels is gonna up and revamp their whole website and it’s gonna be the best, most user-friendly website in all of uoft, and all these posts throwing shade at it are gonna make no sense. i await that day patiently.

firstly: uoft doesn’t ask for a portfolio. they base admission on your CGPA and most recent AGPA, and your One Idea supplementary application. the One Idea application is not a portfolio (quote: “The One Idea supplementary application is not a portfolio“), and you shouldn’t treat it as such. it is very much an essay used to assess your?potential for success in the daniels program, rather than a measure of how successful you’ve already been.

as far as i’m concerned, there are no “easier” or “harder” classes, per se. if you pick classes where you think you’ll do well, and then you?do do well (don’t you dare laugh that i just said ‘do do’), well that can only help your chances. just as long as you make sure to stay under the 10.0 credit mark, you should be fine. if you have any questions about how your uoft credits will transfer over from one faculty to another, you can look here.

if you’d like to know what transfer credit you’re likely to get for your sheridan courses, transfer explorer is the place to go. it may just be my favourite uoft website in the ‘explorer’ suite (no shade, @degree explorer). you just type in your sheridan courses, and it spits out any possible transfer credits at uoft. just remember, it’s not a guarantee, just a prediction of the most likely outcome.

i feel like the One Idea question is the same every?year, but to be honest with you i haven’t been paying enough attention to the daniels applications to be certain. what i would do is start preparing your answer when?the next application cycle opens, probably around October next year. definitely do not leave it to the last minute like this person.

best of luck with your application!

aska

Hey there, thank you for keeping up with these questions.
Architecture requires you to take a double major or a major and two minors from art and science. Now if I take a double architecture major, in architectural design and history, art and criticism, will I still be able to enroll in different courses from art and science majors? Do I get to choose whatever course I want to enrol into? and can I take engineering courses or are my choices limited to art and science programs?
Your old dead pal, John Snow
^spoiler

???????????????

hey there,

RUDE. didn’t you spare a thought for those poor souls who are behind in their TV viewing before posting a merciless spoiler like that? how dare you. how. DARE. you.

i’m gonna try to move on from my moral indignation to answer this question. because aska is nothing if not professional. oh – and beautiful. i’m also very beautiful.

ok, so i haven’t been able to find much on that accURSED DANIELS WEBSITE that?explicitly?states that?you’re able to take FAS courses, but everything points to it. if you can enrol in FAS subject POSts, you have to?be able to enrol in FAS courses (ROSI’s really not smart enough to discriminate between people enrolled in a FAS POSt or not). also, it would be impossible?for you to fulfil your breadth requirements without access to non-architecture courses.

the ONLY explicit reference i could find to the fact that daniels students can take FAS courses is this one little sentence on the faculty’s credit/no-credit page:

“Due to the unique relationship between the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design (Daniels Faculty) and the Faculty of Arts & Science, and because Daniels Faculty students are eligible to pursue Faculty of Arts & Science courses and programs of study (Subject POSts), the Daniels Faculty will be following the Faculty of Arts & Science academic practices and procedures in relation to the CUPE strike.”

there you go. found it in writing. Daniels Faculty students are eligible to pursue Faculty of Arts & Science courses. i should be a detective.

as for engineering – nah. you’re stuck with artsci, dude.

xoxo to you, John Snow,

aska

hey yo aska. wondering if you could answer thing question for me: i’m currently an artsci student wanting to transfer to the architecture faculty. i plan on doing a double major (archi + artsci). now i know i’ll have to apply to transfer later this year an then will probably get a reply next spring/summer so i was wondering if i finish my artsci major this year, will the credits transfer over when im hopefully in architecture? hope this makes sense. ty.

???????????????

hey there,

man, this would’ve been like twenty times easier if you’d just told me what year you were in. but i get it. y’all wanna stay mysterious, ask your questions anonymously, not provide any identifying information that would make your question easier to answer. that’s cool. i don’t need details to answer your questions. i’ll just READ YOUR MIND through the screen.

aska is totally fine with general and obscure questions

here’s your blanket answer: if you’ve completed more than 10.0 FCEs already, you won’t be eligible to transfer?to architecture. so if you’re going to have more than 10.0 by the time you want?to apply, you may want to change your course plans around a little bit.

however, if you’re under the 10.0 mark, then you’re eligible to have all of your credits transferred over! note that i said eligible – they may not all carry over, but they’ll all be assessed.

also, you don’t even have to finish your major before transferring – as long as you complete at least one daniels subject POSt?during your degree, you can do both.?isn’t that just?archi-tastic?

keep an eye out for deadlines to transfer so you don’t miss it when the time comes. hope you get in ~

aska

Hello there,
First of all, great work on all the questions you’re answering, it really helped me in many matters.
So, my question is what majors or minors am I allowed to study along with architecture in Daniels Faculty? Can I study something like engineering or astronomy or are my choices limited to the art related courses; as there website is too vague you know and I know nothing.
Thank you,
-Jon Snow

???????????????

hey there Jon Snow,

aw, thanks for saying that, man! honestly, you guys have gotten so polite. what happened to the good old days, when you would shout at me for not getting to your answer within 24 hours? come on, come at me! my fists are up!

as to POSts, you’re pretty much allowed to sign up for whatever you want, as long as you have an appropriate combination of subject POSts. architectural studies only offers majors (which you can pair with another major or two minors – or another specialist, if you’re especially ambitious/crazy), but visual studies is available as a specialist, major or minor.

so you’ve got a lot of options. feel free to explore! and then hopefully by the end of your degree, you will know at least a little bit more than nothing…like, a tiny little something…hopefully. i mean,?i don’t, but i have faith for you.

cheers,

aska

P.S. i feel bad that the daniels website has become a sort of punching bag here at aska. to be fair, it’s not the only confusing uoft site. and it’s actually really pretty.

Hello askas,

I am an urban planning graduate applying to MA and MLA at Daniels and UBC.?Since high school, I have always wanted to study architecture, but wasn’t
in the right environment (language barrier as an immigrant born in a?non-design family in Asia) to interpret creative stimulations until myundergraduate study. My portfolio was mostly projects from planning, with a?few handcrafts, drawing, and photography works. This is my second time?applying, I am hoping for the best, although quite intimidated by the works?from senior students in the master programs at Daniels judging from their?critique photos online.

Through design studios I began to pick up many trends, ideas, and?principles that drive the creative process, and I am in constant amusement?of how unpredictable the methodologies to design projects are. Considering?the breadth of application through design in solving current issues, the?social, environmental, and creative responsibilities each proposal holds,?and the complex impact each physical addition would impose, I struggle to?understand the “whole” picture, let alone propose and justify my projects?with confidence. This is especially evident in the work field when almost?every decision was driven by cost, structural feasibility, and external?factors outside of our control as designers.

I would imagine each individual have different learning style, and the?triggers to our imaginative tendencies vary, but as someone who truly had?to begin the pursuit of this profession from a blank slate, I would love?for you to share your experience on the types of activities, interests,?knowledge, and habits that contribute to the types of thinking possessed by?architects to draw inspirations from in their design. What are some?qualities of architecture and even large scale projects that win your?admiration, and also, qualities of architects (students or professionals,?even starchitects) as characters that contribute to the quality of their?designs and recognition of their excellence.

These are some incredibly vague questions, I’m sure you might be thinking.?Although I am trying to stir a discussion towards your idea on the thinking?process of architects, your answer on any single aspect of these questions?will be appreciated!

???????????????

hey there,

i appreciate all the thought you put into your question, i really do. it was a nice read, like a little article, on this monday evening. however, i don’t think i can be of much use to you.

the kernel of your question, from what i can see, is, “what are some qualities of architecture and even large-scale projects that win your?admiration, and also, qualities of architects (students or professionals,?even starchitects) as characters that contribute to the quality of their?designs and recognition of their excellence”?

that’s a pretty good question. i just think you asked the wrong person.

listen, i’m impressed when people can just get buildings to stand straight up without falling down. i can’t even make a house of cards.

what i can help a bit with is your anxiety about applying to uoft. i can see you’re stressed about being an international student, and i’m sure the fact that this is your second time around, so to speak, is discouraging as well.

all i can say is that uoft is an incredibly international school. we have people from all over, and not only do we have them, we have a?lot of them. so you can rest easy if you’re concerned about that affecting your application.

if you want to see how you might fit into the world of architects, i’d recommend reading stuff by actual architects in the city – ’cause honestly, i could try to give you my opinion, but i’d just be embarrassing myself. all i know is CORINTHIAN COLUMNS! that’s a thing in architecture, right? maybe?

one of our most famous architecture-writers (though he’s not originally trained as an architect…i think) is shawn micallef. he edits spacing magazine (which i highly recommend) and he has a column in?The Star. if you want opinions about architects and architecture, i’d start there. (he also wrote an excellent book about architecture in toronto).

here are some publications about architecture and architects that may interest you. you might also want to browse aska’s architecture tag to get more of a feel for the daniels faculty and uoft architecture students in particular.

good luck with your applications!

aska