I am very familiar with the fact that U of T requires students to pursue (at the very least) a specialist, a double major or a major and double minor – I have spent many days pondering specialists, majors, minors and switching subject POSts. I am just now wondering why this is required. I have never heard of any other universities that require this. Is there any special reason for the requirement? Do they just like us to be well rounded? If you know the answer, please enlighten me.
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hey there,
wellll my friend, uoft is a bit different from other canadian universities in that it takes its inspiration from many different university systems. for example:
most canadian universities follow the U.K.’s ‘course’ model. in this model, students enrol in a course (translated into our vernacular as ‘program’ for most canadian unis). the ‘course’ is very prescriptive, and dictates all or most of the classes you have to take.
uoft follows the american model, in which students can mix and match ‘majors,’ ‘minors,’ ‘specialists’ etc. the terminology can change slightly for uni to uni, but it’s pretty much the same deal everywhere. notice harvard has a ‘concentration’ (essentially a major or specialist), ‘electives’ (which allow for something like the completion of a minor) and ‘general education requirements’ (similar to our breadth requirements).
there are pros and cons to each model. the U.K. model allows for very focussed study, and provides structure that some people find to be a relief. some programs at uoft find this model preferable – for example, uoft law or rotman commerce.
the american model allows you to pursue multiple interests, even if they are very different. you can double major in math and philosophy, if you feel so inclined. a U.K. university course would make that very hard, unless you could find an interdisciplinary ‘course’ specifically called ‘math and philosophy.’
the american system is also very flexible. at uoft in particular, you have one whole year to figure out which program(s) you’d like to apply to, which is really helpful to lots of students who don’t have a CLUE what they might like to study.
it’s my opinion that this flexibility, as well as the breadth requirements, do create well-rounded students. however, some specialists are so intensive that the well-roundedness is lost, and some students pair together very similar subject POSts, resulting in essentially the same degree as someone who follows one specific ‘course’. i guess the the point is that the choice is theirs, and i think that’s important.
anyway, i’m not an educational theorist, so i don’t have any definitive answers. it’s interesting to think about, though.
cheers,
aska
P.S. i know that the U.K. and the States are not the countries that came up with these models – obviously both countries are based on cultures and traditions that go much further back and spread across the globe. also, not every university in the U.K. or the States are exactly like this, it’s just a general trend. i just used those two countries as examples because most of us are familiar with their universities more than we are with other countries’.