Hi Aska,
After being an engineering student for 3 years, I finally discovered my true passion for history and philosophy of science. I would really like to get into the MA program there. How selective are they? I screwed up my first two years (somewhat) but my third and so far fourth year has been amazing. Do you have any direct or indirect understanding of the admission procedure and whether or not an engineering student who has been through Inferno can live to see her days at the lovely institute? Thank you 🙂
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Well, would you look what the wind blew in. An engineering student coming to aska for help? Do you know how much time aska has spent crying in the corner of his/her room after being viciously hurt by the engineers who insist on yelling “who do we hate? ARTSIES!” at him/her during Frosh week?! Do you know how many engineers have offended aska by telling him/her, “You’re in artsci, you have it easy”?
What’s that? You apologize? Aw, well, um, that’s okay, I guess. *blush*. That’s very sweet of you 🙂 *giggle*.
Well, um, you should know that aska is affiliated with Innis College, which doesn?t have any connection whatsoever to grad school. So I can?t provide you any specific information on how selective the program is. Looking at the admission process though, it certainly seems quite competitive: ?Admission to the MA program requires a four-year University of Toronto bachelor’s degree, or its equivalent from a recognized university with an average grade of at least a B+ in the final two years of undergraduate work. While the majority of accepted students exceed this standard, the very broad scope of the field and the variety of fruitful approaches to it also imply that many different backgrounds are appropriate. Accordingly, grades are only one criterion by which applicants are judged. These are minimum criteria and do not, in themselves, guarantee admission.?
Looks like you have your work cut out for you, honey. At least they don’t seem to care much about the marks you got during your first two years. In fact, they don?t seem to emphasize grades that much, so try to broaden your horizons a bit (I know engineering programs can be quite rigid), both in the courses you?re taking and in your extracurricular pursuits. Is there anything that you think will set you apart from the other applicants? ? an engineering project? A month spent volunteering abroad? Job experience that could be applied to research in history and philosophy of science?
To become a full-fledged artsie, you have to scrape the purple dye off your toenails first (eww!). And don?t forget to pick up The Dummy’s Guide to Spelling from your local bookstore. You’re welcome :). *blows a kiss*
3 Comments
some engineer
there are good reasons why engineering students make fun of artsies 😛
this comment brought to you by a UofT engineering student interning on the other side of the continent and across the border… catch me if you can.
Sean
There are technical writing/design courses in first year. Engineers are perfectly capable of writing well written documents and text. Just because we don’t embellish or repeat information, for the purpose of eloquance, it does not mean we can not write. It is far harder to write concisely than it is to expand.
The comment you posted in the last line is both without backing evidence and without truth. I’m enjoying my employability as well as my writing skills.
I also like that our Frosh weeks are superior and that Godiva week >> Winterfest.
some arts student
Sean, aska’s reply was a clear reference to how engineers stereotype *themselves* as being unable to spell (e.g. “Skule”, the “Lady Godiva Memorial Bnad”), to which you seem oblivious despite having presumably been in the faculty for 4 years.
Don’t they teach you about humour in technical writing? 😉
Not to mention that concise writing is encouraged in the arts as well. I am an English student and as a general group, we do not “embellish or repeat information for for the purpose of eloquence” – unless we wish to achieve a specific style.