Hey, so I have a few questions. I’m from Quebec, transferring in to my?second year with a Major in Religion and two minors in History and East?Asian Studies.
Due to transfer credits, I have almost reached my limit of 100 level?classes I can take, and given it’s mandatory to take 2 100 level classes?for EAS and another for HIS, I hit my max. This is… troubling. Given I?still have breadth requirements to fulfill. So do you have any?recommendations for someone looking to fill the 4+5 Breadth requirement?that *isn’t *a 100 level? I’ve gone through probably 90% of the class?description lists and it’s all higgledypiggledy.
Also! I have an interest in East Asian religions, but the Introduction to?Hinduism and the Introduction to Buddhism are both not offered this year. I?need one of those two to finish my degree in three years, and if they don’t?become available for next year, I’m pretty much down shit’s creek. With?like one little chopstick and maybe a Barbie sized oar. Do you know if?there’s any way to check when they’ll be offered?
Also, what’s all this about ‘professor permission’ on so many classes in?the higher levels. Do you just go up to a professor you’ve potentially?never met and be like ‘hey, I wanna see your face for a semester, can I do?that?’/ What’s the process like?
Thanks so much, this site is a lifesaver.
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hey there,
wow, those are some incredibly specific programs that you got into. good for you. you’re on top of stuff.
just so you know, if you HAVE to, you?can go over the 6.0 100-level courses limit. if you do, those 100-levels you take will be designated “extra,” which means that they won’t count towards your degree or GPA, but they will count towards any program or breadth requirements that you need to fill.
however, i understand the imperative to?not?take extra courses if you can at all avoid it. fortunately, there are also plenty of 200-level courses you can take. AST201H1 is a perennially popular breadth?5 course for the non-scientifically inclined.
for category 4, i’m gonna recommend a few off-the-beaten-track courses:
first off, we’ve got?EEB202H1: Plants and Society. now, just here me out for a sec before you start calling?a course about plants as “boring” and “irrelevant.” this course has BIO120 as an exclusion, which means the course content is probably pretty similar to an introductory, 100-level course. also, it has no prerequisites. ALSO, wouldn’t it be cool to just know an abnormal amount of stuff about plants? distinguishing between angiosperms and gymnosperms could?be your party trick.
there’s also ESS205H1: Confront Global Change (no prereqs), ENV200H1: Assessing Global Change: Science and the Environment (also no prereqs), and?ENV221H1: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Environment (introductory-level course).
re: the hinduism and buddhism courses: i’m gonna guess at least one of those will be offered next year. buddhism was offered in 2014-2015, and if they’ve made them program requirements, they can’t not offer them two years in a row. however, you can always contact the department of religion to get the scoop.
re: instructor permission: weeeell, it depends on the course. a lot of 400-level courses are E-indicator?courses, which means you need to apply through the department to get into the course. that’s handled?in different ways, depending on the department. typically, the department will send out an e-mail inviting eligible students to apply and informing them of deadlines. no direct contact with actual instructors necessary.
the other time instructor permission comes into the picture is when you get something like ‘to take this course you need prerequisite x or permission of the instructor.’
in which case you can, again, just e-mail the prof, present your case as best you can, and hope for the best. it’s not a super big deal; you don’t have to know them at all before making the request. just make sure that, if you’re gonna do it, your only reason isn’t “i really wanna take this course and i don’t have the prereq or any equivalent experience but i really want it so just let me pls i will pay in n00dz.” that probably won’t work.
best of luck!
aska
