Hello! i have a question about applying for programs. so, i’m a first year and i’m thinking about applying for an english major, a cinema studies major, and a creative expression in society minor. the only problem is that i haven’t done the first year cinema studies major, which seems to be the prerequisite for me to actually apply for this program. i know i can just apply for cinema studies in my second year after doing CIN105 in 2nd year (instead of 1st year), but what should i be doing before my second year?

should i just apply for english and creative expression in society after my first year, and just have those 2 programs? or should i applying for another program instead of cinema studies as a backup?

on another note, how many programs should i be applying for in terms of backup programs? can i apply for as many as i want and then choose which to keep and which to drop?

also, what is the 12 credits rule? i’ve heard of it but i’m not sure what it is.

sorry about the super long question! thanks 🙂

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hey there,

if i’m understanding this right, i took a long time to answer your original question so you sent this one in! that’s cool, i’ll just use this post to fill in some more blanks and address your new questions.

it makes sense that you’d be wondering what you should do before your second year. i’d recommend that you apply for your english major and creative expression and society minor, and then add a placeholder major or minor as well. an open enrolment program would be ideal if you’re just picking a random program — but if you can pick something you’re genuinely interested in as a backup, do that instead.

what i will note is that you can’t just request the english major and creative expression minor, because without the minimum program enrolment of a double major, a major + two minors, or a specialist, you won’t be able to register in second-year courses. something in the system will block you, i believe!

i’m actually not sure if there’s a limit on how many programs you should apply for, but i believe you can apply for several and then choose which one to keep. you can probably verify this with a quick email to your registrar.

what is the 12 distinct credits rule? funny that you ask, because everyone has this question. i’ve done a previous explainer here, and if anything’s unclear still, feel free to drop another something in the ask box and i’ll get back to you quicker than last time!

hope the rest of your semester goes well, and good luck <3

be Boundless,

aska

Hi, hope you’re doing well! I’m a first year student at utsg, hoping to major in literature and critical theory. However, there are two streams for it: the comparative stream and the cultural stream. They seem very similar and only have slightly different requirements, and I can’t seem to find anything to determine what the differences between them are, to choose the best one for me. I was hoping you could help. Thanks!! <3

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hi there,

i hope you’re doing well too, and that your first year is going all right!

i don’t personally know anything about lit and crit, and couldn’t find anything on the internet either. i ended up reaching out to a friend who graduated from the program to see if she might know anything about the streams.

she told me that there’s not a huge difference between the streams, but as far as she can recall, the comparative stream requires you to take more language credits than the cultural stream. meanwhile, if you choose the cultural stream, you have to take more social science/cultural studies/humanities classes, like sociology or women & gender studies. otherwise, most of the courses are the same.

i was later able to confirm all that information here — i don’t know how i missed it the first time i was looking. i guess i didn’t quite know what i was looking for.

click that link! it’ll give you all the details you need.

if you have any other program-related questions you can’t find answers for on the internet, remember that you can always reach out to the department, in this case victoria college.

be Boundless,

aska

Hello! I’m sure you’ve gotten this question a lot before, but could you explain how POSTs work? I’m in first year and I want to make sure I understand everything. Is it possible to take 2 programs that are both Type 1 or is it supposed to be a variety of types? I’m in humanities, in case that’s relevant to this question !

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hey there,

absolutely, i can explain POSts!

basically, programs of study or POSts denote what subject area(s) you’re specializing in for your degree. according to this sidney smith commons page, there are three different intensities of POSts. i’ve copy/pasted that info below:

• Specialist Program: 10 credits – 14 credits
• Major Program: 6 credits – 8 credits
• Minor Program: 4 credits

to graduate from u of t, you’ll need to select your POSts according to one of the following combinations:

• one specialist
• two majors
• a major and two minors

that’s the bare minimum, at least. some keeners like to do a little extra. here are some other possible combinations

• a specialist and a minor
• two majors and a minor
• a specialist, a major, and a minor

you’re limited to a maximum of three programs, but if you add a third program it needs to be a minor. i’m realizing now that there’s no rule against taking two specialists and a minor, which is really extra. i’ve never heard of anyone that’s attempted that.

i was just about to explain POSt types, but i looked those up real quick to double check and it looks like u of t has switched the system on us! of course it has. now, there are no more type 1, 2, and 3 programs, there are just “open” and “limited” programs. it looks like there’s no application required for open programs, but limited programs still require things like prerequisites. you can read more about the difference between open and limited programs, including deadlines and how to apply, here. to check the types of the programs you’re interested in, visit this page.

what hasn’t changed is that there are still two request periods during which you can select (or apply for) your POSts. request periods are pretty straightforward, but those deadlines are good to be aware of.

to answer the last of your questions, it is definitely possible to take two type 1 (open) programs — you’ll be making your life a lot easier if you do, honestly. people don’t focus so much on the types of programs you select. just pick what you’re interested in studying!

i’m not sure if this was in-depth enough or if it addressed everything you were curious about, so if you have any lingering questions don’t hesitate to shoot me another message.

also, this is the first time i’m realizing that i’ve never seen the acronym POSt anywhere other than this website. it’s possible that it’s now a relic of times gone by. should i keep using it? should i switch to calling them programs, like sid smith does? hmm.

be Boundless,

aska

Hi,
If I fail the major I am currently studying, will I be able to shift to a major I prefer or will the university decide that for me and give me a different major?

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hey there,

thank you for waiting for this answer!

to my knowledge, you can’t exactly fail your major—what can happen is that you may be placed on academic probation if your CGPA is less than 1.50 at the end of either fall/winter or summer. following being placed on probation, if you don’t manage to raise your CGPA, you may face suspension or be refused further registration down the road. you can read more about that here.

perhaps there’s a specific major that you have in mind with a grade threshold you need to maintain, but i’m not aware of what that might be.

if you don’t do well on the prerequisites for a major you’re interested in, though, you will need to choose another program. i’m not sure how familiar you are with u of t’s system (you may be a prospective student, after all!) so i’ll just elaborate a little. to be admitted into most major, specialist, and minor programs, you’ll need to take specific prerequisite courses, and sometimes achieve a certain grade in those courses in order to be considered. you can find out more about program selection here.

it’s always best to have a backup program or two in mind when you choose your first-year courses, so that if you don’t make it into your program of choice, you have the prerequisites necessary to study something else you’re interested in.

even if i’ve somehow misunderstood this whole thing and you’re a current student in danger of somehow getting kicked out of your major, you’ll just need to apply to a new one of your choice during the next program application period. the university won’t make your academic choices for you!

i hope this helped, and happy 2021. congrats on making it to the new year! may this one be better than the last one, lol. i miss leaving my house.

be Boundless,

aska

heyo! this might be a silly question, but i was wondering if it matters whether i do a major or minor (i’m in first year right now). does doing a double major make you look “better” in the future, or does it really not matter? thanks!

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hello!

i actually think career advising or your registrar would be better qualified to answer this question than i am, but i’m happy to throw my two cents in.

my guess is that you’re choosing between a double major or a major and two minors?

personally speaking, a double major was the right choice for me. having two majors means that you have a strong background in two different subjects. that will serve you well if you might want to go to grad school but don’t know what for yet, or if you’d appreciate more flexibility with future job prospects. there’s a decent argument for diversifying yourself by majoring in two pretty different things, or rounding out your knowledge by choosing two complementary majors. meanwhile, i’ve heard that employers don’t care too much about what you minor in.

i do think double majoring might be a little more intense, given that major programs tend to have more difficult requirements than minor programs. so there is a bit of a tradeoff.

but this decision really depends on what your interests are, and what’s best for you, right? say you want to pursue three different areas of interest, but have one that you like more than the others— in that case, a major and two minors would serve you better than two majors would.

anyway, i think you should reach out your registrar’s office so you can talk this over with someone more in-depth! i’ve relied upon the academic advisors at my registrar in order to make many of the important decisions of my undergrad. i’d trust their advice over mine any day— i’m really just another student, and don’t have the experience or broad knowledge that an academic advisor does.

wishing you good judgement, though, as you make this decision!

be Boundless,

aska

Hiya! I’m a smol first year wondering if it’s possible to do a double major and a minor. I really want to do the creative expression and society minor but I’m just not sure if doing a major + 2 minors is best, which is why I’m wondering if a double major + one minor is possible. Thanks!

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Hi! I was just wondering if it’s possible to do a double major AND a minor. Is that allowed? Would it set me back in my studies? Thanks 🙂

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hello friends,

answering these two questions in one go because they’re quite similar!

the maximum number of subject POSts you can select is three, as long as one is a minor, so it’s definitely possible to do a double major and a minor.

that’s actually how i’ve chosen to complete my degree as well, so i definitely see the appeal in it and wouldn’t discourage you from doing so! in my case, there was a minor i really wanted to take for fun, but i also wanted the security of having two different majors. i can tell you that from personal experience, it won’t necessarily set you back in your studies (ie. force you to take more than 20 FCEs) as long as you have some overlap between your programs and plan things out very carefully.

i say very carefully, because planning out three programs can get quite complicated and, frankly, stressful. that’s particularly true if you “wasted” a few credits in first year (wasted as in took classes that won’t count to any of your programs), have credit/no credited courses, or need to take courses outside your programs for breadth requirements .

here’s some advice i would give you:

• choose programs with at least some potential for overlap. i’m in two majors within the same discipline, so they share a few courses. otherwise, i’d definitely need to take more than 20.0 FCEs to complete my programs. if you have really diverse interests, for example if you want to double major in chem and history, you obviously don’t need to heed this advice. but if you’re not set on specific programs yet, keeping this piece of advice in mind when you apply for POSts will make your life easier.
• understand the 12 distinct credits rule, which will give you a sense of how many credits you can count towards both your majors. the 12 distinct credits rule won’t apply to your minor, so pile on whatever overlap you can there!
• find out if your programs offer any room for flexibility. i know that some interdisciplinary programs will allow you to request course substitutions, which can help you seek out overlap between your three programs. i’ve saved myself some credits by contacting the person who administers one of my programs, to ask if they’ll be willing to take semi-related courses from my other program. if that makes any sense.
• if you run into any roadblocks, get in touch with your registrar’s office. an academic advisor there will be able to help you iron out any issues.
• keep track of what courses you’ve taken and what requirements you’ve fulfilled. degree explorer is a very helpful tool for this. i also like to use excel sometimes, because i can map out all my courses and colour-code them according to what requirement they fulfill.

i hope this helped! if you’d like to talk your decision over further, you can always reach out to your registrar, who will be able to provide you with more in-depth advice.

be Boundless,

aska