ccit - askastudent

academic success, ccit, digital enterprise management, GPA, hard

stars, do you like dem?

May 10, 2024

hi there! i’m currently a grade 12 student looking at the ICCIT program, specifically DEM. i’ve been doing research (going on reddit) and i can’t really figure out wheter it’s a good program or not. i want to go into communications, and pursue project management, or public relations or something like that, and i’m not sure if i’m going to do higher education.

i’m not sure what to do, and am really scared of having a low gpa (cause everyone says UofT is hard to maintain a good gpa in)

any advice?

-plankton

hey plankton,

broo i haven’t seen you since you played the lead role in spongebob! nice to hear from ya.

ok, doing “research” on reddit is so real. but please don’t trust everything you read on there or let it scare you off! some people go on there just salty after bad experiences/grades, and others are just straight up Wrong. also, like, people are more likely to rant on reddit if they’re mad than if they’ve had good experiences. so you gotta proceed with as much suspicion as you can muster.

in terms of advice, i can tell you what i think. however, keep in mind that i can’t speak from experience since i’m not in a CCIT program, and also don’t know anyone in one either.

ccit programs

i think the communication, culture, information, and technology (CCIT) programs look really good. in general, u of t programs are quite high quality—there are hiGh stAndards here—and CCIT certainly doesn’t seem like an exception to that. especially if you want to go into communications, this seems pretty perfect for you. as you can see from the arts & sciences calendar, the department offers such interesting and unique courses. what you would learn here seems like it would be current, relevant, and applicable, for careers in the context of today’s digital age. they offer courses about topics from rhetoric and media, to digital marketing, to sound studies, to surveillance studies.

the digital enterprise management (DEM) specialist definitely sounds like the most “practical”-y program out of that list, since it incorporates business management. you mentioned you might want to pursue project management, so this seems like a good choice for you!

maintaining a good gpa

so i guess u of t is Just A Girl. it just can’t escape the juicy, frightening rumours spreading about it around high schools. but, the rumours are sort of true, because when i got here, i was

.

everyone talks about how if you’re an A student in high school, you become a B student at u of t—and if you’re a C student, you become a D student. and i think this does happen to most people, but it is definitely possible to not fall into this!

i think the reason why this gpa drop happens is that there’s just a huge jump from what’s expected from you in high school vs. uni, in terms of workload, speed of material, and grading standards, as well as a larger disconnect between teaching teams and students compared to high school. here, a lot of people say professors couldn’t care less about you, but i think most of them really do (i’ve been lucky to have the most caring, amazing, and passionate professors and TAs recently). you just have take the initiative to connect with them, whether that’s through class participation or office hours. by connecting with your instructors, you’re more likely to feel comfortable asking clarifying questions and ask for help with assignments.

essentially, academic success at u of t requires a whole lot of self control and intrinsic motivation. in uni, it’s all up to you whether you go to lecture, whether you take notes, whether you stay on top of course content, and whether you take extra time to go to office hours. nobody else could care less if you don’t. so most people end up skipping class and falling behind, then cramming right before exams.

overall though, the big make-or-break factor is your program. you could have all the work ethic and motivation in the world, but if your program is difficult, all i can say is :D. for example, i have seen many fallen soldiers in rotman or life sci. some extremely smart and hardworking people i know met their fate with low marks there (in certain courses, not all courses!). but guys, don’t look at this and be discouraged, i also know some people in rotman and life sci with high gpas!

but for CCIT, i honestly haven’t heard anything about it being one of these notoriously hard programs. from the looks of it, it seems like you should be fine.

anyways, i wish someone had told me all that gpa stuff before i went into first year.

depends what your end goals are

finally, i think your choice really depends on where your future plans lie.

you mentioned you’re not sure if you’re going to do higher education. well, maintaining a high—or even good—gpa only really matters if you want to go to grad school. if you plan to go straight into the workforce, no employer is gonna ask for your gpa. they’re just going to ask for your experience. getting a degree from a reputable institution is going to hold more weight, and i’ve heard having a u of t degree looks really good for getting a job. u of t is number 1 in the country and ranked like, super high worldwide. (don’t ask me for an exact number).

wishing you luck with whatever you decide! i’m always here if you have more questions. here are some gold stars to launch you into uni life <33

over and out,

aska

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ccit, new kids

ccit for newbies

April 10, 2024

hi! im an international student and i just got accepted at uoft in ccit! is there any specialization we can take in the degree? thanks!

hey there,

first of all, congrats on your acceptance.

second of all, woah, this is a cool department. i am getting absolutely sold by its description on the artsci website.

i’m guessing you’re asking about specialization within the CCIT department, and not within the CCIT major? if it’s the former, then yes, there are several programs you can choose from the communication, culture, and information technology department. as you can see on the arts & sciences calendar, they offer a specialist, a minor, and several majors. (if you’re unfamiliar with what those are, refer here for the difference between program types).

they offer five different programs that you would apply to after your first year:

1. specialist in digital enterprise management (DEM). this is basically a management program that specializes in the tech industry. and it sounds so cool? an important thing to note, though, is that you cannot take this at the same time as a major in CCIT, a major in management, a major in commerce, or a major in TCS.

2. major in CCIT.

3. major OR minor in professional writing and communication (PWT).

4. major in technology, coding, and society (TCS).

5. professional experience certificate in digital media, communication, and technology. this is an add-on certificate to the other four programs, since it requires that you’re enrolled in one of them. it’s like an internship sort of thing that lets you get some out-of-classroom experience in a 12-16 week work placement.

but if you were asking about specialization within the CCIT major, there is always room for personal choice and exploration within each major. the CCIT major requires 8.0 credits to complete. of those eight credits, four will be taken up with required courses. but with the other four credits, you have freedom to choose between any third year or fourth year CCT or VCC courses. so you can build-your-own-degree based on what you’re interested in!

anyways, i hope this was helpful! good luck with everything.

over and out,

aska

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ccit, switching, UTM

[insert clever pun about ccit here]

April 30, 2019

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

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ccit, first year, newly admitted, UTM

sorry for shia

July 13, 2018

Hi,
I’m an incoming freshman and I am COMPLETELY lost about which courses I’m allowed to take, in which campuses, which faculties, basically everything.
I’ve been accepted to CCIT and I know there are two prereqs I need to take in my first year. Other than that I know nothing, zero, nada. Please help.
Thanks

——————————————

hi!

first, i want to apologize for how late this answer is. i was on vacation for the last month and a half! even aska deserves some time off.

second, welcome to uoft!

so, based on your question, you’d be enrolled at the utm campus (which is the only campus that offers the ccit program). however, you aren’t TECHNICALLY in ccit. ccit is a limited enrolment program that you have to apply for after your first year at utm. according to this link, you need to have completed at least 4.0 FCE (full credit equivalents) and have achieved at least a 65% in CCT109 and CCT110 (which are the two prereqs you already know about).

as for other courses you’re “allowed” to take, the world is yours! however, you should look into what other programs you are interested in apart from ccit. ccit only offers a major program, which means that you need to take another major or two minors in conjunction with ccit in order to fulfill the requirements of a u of t degree. just remember that all u of t students must be enrolled in either a specialist, two majors, or a major and two minors. for more info on degree requirements, check out the academic calendar. it’s a good idea to check out all the programs that utm offers and see what you may what to do with your ccit major and then take the required first year courses so that you can apply for the program in your second year. for a list of all the programs and their requirements, check out the academic calendar.

another thing that i 100000% suggest is making an appointment with an academic adviser at the registrar’s office. they can answer more specific questions that you may have and give you some great advice on anything academic-y. do it. i promise you that you won’t regret it. DO IT.

good luck!

xoxo,

aska

PS- sorry, i really really couldn’t resist the shia gif.

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ccit, enrollment, UTM

maybe we are both ignorant

April 23, 2018

hi! do you know where i can find ccit major’s minimum cgpa requirement? i’ve checked their academic calendar already and either it’s not there or i’ve skipped over it? thanks in advance!

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hi!

i was about to make some snarky joke about how easy it was to find the ccit calendar with all the requirements listed but then… i couldn’t find the minimum cgpa requirement. so, jokes on me i guess.

according to the ccit calendar, it says that “each year the ICCIT program sets a minimum required CGPA. This will vary from year to year and is based, in part, on supply and demand.” i’ve looked around on the iccit website and the course calendar and couldn’t find anything either. this might mean that they haven’t set the minimum required cgpa yet, or that we are both ignorant and don’t know where to look.

you should get in contact with the ccit department themselves. check out this link for info on how to contact the student adviser/ program coordinator.

i hope this helps!

good luck.

xoxo,

aska

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ccit, enrolment, UTM, wait list

waitlists do not mean the end

June 4, 2017
Hi! I got accepted into Humanities at UtM, and although I have not yet accepted, I want to switch from Humanities to CCIT. However, when I went on my friend’s ACORN account, it said that the two pre-req. courses lectures had blocked enrollment. Can I still try to take those classes or will I be wait listed for a long time? 🙁

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hey,

thanks for writing in. i think this is good time to introduce you to a wonderful thing called the UTM timetable! plop in your session, year, and subject area and you’ll see everything you need. i’m not sure why you’re using your friend’s ACORN to look this up, but the timetable is definitely a much handier and accessible tool than your friend’s ACORN.

the ‘blocked enrolment’ thing that you’re referring to are actually called enrolment controls.
they ensure priority for students in that specific subject area or other related subject areas.
the pre-req courses for the major program (if that’s what you were going for): CCT109H5 and CCT110H5 have the following enrolment controls, meaning that students in these categories are given priority access:
Upper Year Studies, Honours Bachelor of Arts Newly Admitted Transfer Students – Arts (ERTRFHBA)

Studies in Communication, Culture, Information and Technology – Year 1 (ER CCI1)

Studies in Communication, Culture & Information Technology – Year 1 (ER CCI1R)

Visual Studies – Year 1 (ER VST1)

Visual Studies – Year 1 (ER VST1R)

^CCIT priority enrolment to you, a humanities student:

seeing as though you’ve been accepted as a humanities student, you wouldn’t be able to switch your admission category in first year. yes, this does mean that you might be put on a waitlist for these classes since you won’t be part of the priority enrolment group, but it seems that the classes are both quite large, (total enrolment of 700 students for CCT109 and total enrolment of 500 for CCT110) so i would keep your fingers crossed! enrol and see what happens. just make sure you have a backup in your schedule if, for some reason you don’t get in the classes.

^ this could be you! (let’s hope not)

if you’re super super super desperate and want to know if you have more options, you can always try contacting the undergraduate counsellor for CCIT at UTM.

they’ll probably be able to give you more advice on getting into the program!

best of luck to you and your friend!

peace and love,

aska
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ccit

angling for management

June 15, 2016

hey there,

Hi just had a quick question about a program. Im currently a student at utm and really want to do a double major in ccit and managment. I know its highly competitve but do you think I can get in with a cgpa of 2.5 especially the managment program? Thanks

Also I got a offer for Scarborough, it said have a min of 70 in everything. one of my top 6 marks will be in the 60s by April. Will they wait for June report card, rather than judge me by my April one?

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hey there,

the CCIT major is a type 2, which means that as long as you meet the requirements, you should be able to enrol. as for management, that’s a type 3, which means that meeting the requirements does not guarantee that you will be admitted to the program. management is a pretty popular program at utm, so there’s no guarantee that meeting the minimum requirement of a 63% in MGM101H5, MGM102H5 and ECO100Y5 will get you in. in fact, you will almost certainly have to do better than that. unfortunately, how much higher above the cut-off you will have to achieve all depends on the competition that year. as always, i am not a crystal ball; i’m not in the business of making admission decision predictions. i’m in the business of sassing people anonymously online – how brave of me.

i’m a bit confused about your second question, but that’s nothing new on this site, so i’ll just try and answer what i think you’re asking. i believe you’ve confused the admissions process for high school students with the internal transfer process. internal transfers don’t have a ‘top six’: you’re assessed based on your transcript to date. as for meeting conditions: it’s really a case-by-case thing. obviously, not meeting the condition is not great.

that being said, if that course is an exception to an otherwise strong transcript, then the admissions committee may overlook it. unfortunately i can’t really give you an answer one way or another, because again, this falls into predicting admission for you, which i just can’t do. i may be unearthly beautiful, but i’m not magic (outside the bedroom). i’d recommend calling enrolment services with those kinds of questions.

ok peace out,

aska

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ccit, transfer credits

i’ll take one course to-go, please

November 24, 2014

Hey Aska!

So, I am a 3rd year Digital Enterprise Management student and I just had a question about transferring a credit. There is a 4th year course (MGD428) which is REALLY difficult and heavy (I took it this year but dropped it because it is really hard) and it is only offered in the fall semester so I have to take it next year.

But I was wondering if I take a project management course (4th year) at Guelph Humber which has the same weight and extremely similar description to MGD428, I can transfer it and use it towards my degree? I wanna take it during the summer so I won’t have to take it at UTM in the fall. I read the guidelines for transfer credits and LOPs, and I think I can do this, I just wanna make sure?? I know I have to get at least 60% but I feel like I can.

The one at Guelph-Humber is significantly easier (I know taking it at UTM will hurt my GPA) and uses a much easier textbook but the actual content and work you do is really really similar. And the Guelph-Humber prof is much better (there is only 1 section taught at UTM every year with a really hard prof).

Thanks! You’re awesome!

* and PS I know I can take it and pass at UTM but I want to keep my GPA high for grad school and I know taking it at UTM will make it go down.. :\

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hey there,

i checked transfer explorer for MGD428 at University of Guelph-Humber and i wasn’t able to find any equivalencies, so i can’t tell you what your chances are in getting it granted, but i wouldn’t despair just yet – all that means is that no one has requested it before.

even though i haven’t been able to find a precedent of people doing this specifically for MGD428, you still can certainly request it using an LOP.

as long as you meet the eligibility requirements for the LOP, i’d say there’s no harm in making a request. if you want to know your chances of having it granted, have a chat with CCIT and ask them if they’ve ever granted a request for that course before.

other than that, just submit the LOP and hope for the best! i’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.

best,

aska

P.S.: here’s a tip for you – saying that you want to take a course somewhere else because it’s easier probably won’t fly with the people who approve these requests. if you have another reason for making the request, maybe emphasize that one.

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ccit, UTM

if i’m not in ccit, can i still be a ccit student

May 24, 2013

Hey, I am starting my second year at UTM in September. I came into UTM into the CCIT program. To enroll in the Subject Post for the CCIT Major, I need a GPA of at least 2.0. I am planning on applying to two minors as well; Earth Science and Environmental Science, which don’t require a GPA of 2.0. I will apply to the Posts in June. If my GPA is below 2.0, should I just apply to the two science minors? Will I still be considered a CCIT student? Will I have to apply for the CCIT Major next year? Please help, thanks.

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Yo.

If your GPA is below 2.0, then you won’t be able to get into the CCIT program, but do heed the required grades for those other programs you’re interested in. Do note, however, that you can’t just be in two minors. UTM requires students to be enrolled in either one specialist, two majors, or one major and two minors.

But no, you won’t be considered a CCIT student. Naturally, you’re only considered one if you’re in the program.

Although you can certainly apply for the program in the following year once you’ve bumped up your CGPA.

Cheers!

aska

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