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PhD — Fall Enrolment & Registration Guide


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Doctoral (PhD) Students

Fall 2022 & Winter 2023 Enrolment and Registration Guide

Last Updated: April 19, 2022, 2:45 PM ET

COVID-19 related updates regarding upcoming Term(s) and more can be found on the COVID-19 Information for Students page.

Please review the information below on the enrolment and registration process. If you have any questions, please consult your admin advisor (Christine Chan).

Understanding Enrolment and Registration

Enrolment:

    • The process of choosing and signing up for courses on the University of Toronto Student Web Service, also known as ACORN.
    • You will need to log into ACORN with your UTORid and password.
    • COURSE ENROLMENT OPENS AT:
      • Returning Students: July 29, 2022, 6 AM ET
      • Incoming Students: August 5, 2022, 6 AM ET

Registration:

    • A student is only considered “registered” once they have made minimum tuition payment or deferred their fees based on PhD Funding, a major award or government loans.
    • Our Doctoral Students in the funded cohort may defer fees directly in ACORN.
      • To defer your fees on ACORN: click “Tuition Fee Deferral” on the left hand menu under Finances, then click “Process Fee Deferral” and click confirm.
    • Students are able to enrol in courses without being registered.
      • Deadline to Register: September 1, 2022.
    • Please review this page for information on how and when to make tuition payments.

Adding & Dropping Courses

Adding Courses

    • Students enrolled in the doctoral program are required to complete elective courses in partial fulfilment of pre-candidacy requirements.
    • Elective courses must be graduate level (i.e. PhD or Master’s level) and may be taken either inside or outside the Faculty of Information.
    • Any elective courses taken at the undergraduate level will not count towards the degree.
    • Check that the courses you have selected meet degree requirements and discuss your electives with your Research Advisor.
    • Students are only able to add/enrol in courses once enrolment has started. Every graduate unit has their own enrolment start time.
    • Be sure to review the key academic dates and deadlines for Faculty of Information enrolment start times.

PhD-Level Courses (Internal — INF3XXXH)

Doctoral students may add Faculty of Information (internal) PhD-Level (e.g. INF3XXX) courses directly using ACORN. To add / enrol in these courses, go to “Enrol & Manage” in ACORN. More details below under Courses and Timetables.

Reading / Research Courses (Internal — INF3015H)

Students are allowed to take up to 2 Faculty of Information (internal) reading courses (Course Code: INF3015H + individual title) in partial fulfilment of this requirement.

    • Provide your Research Advisor with a brief justification for creating the reading course.
    • Work with your Research Advisor to identify and confirm an appropriate instructor for the proposed reading course.
    • You and the instructor will then complete the Reading / Research Course Form (PDF) and prepare:
    • Obtain your Research Advisor’s signature.
    • Submit the Reading/Research course form and syllabus to Student Services.
    • The PhD Director gives final approval for the course and Student Services contacts the student to confirm enrolment in the reading course.
    • See Example of INF3015H Reading Course Syllabus

PhD-Level Courses (External — University of Toronto)

Students may take a maximum of 4 half-credit course (2.0 FCEs) in other departments/faculties/programs at the University of Toronto. Within this maximum, students may enrol in up to 2 half-credit courses (1.0 FCE) outside the University of Toronto. Elective courses require the approval of the student’s Research Advisor, the course instructor, and the PhD Director.

    • Provide your Research Advisor with a justification for the choice of elective.
    • If your Research Advisor approves your choice of elective, the student then approaches the course instructor to request permission to take that course.
    • If the instructor gives that permission, complete an Add / Drop Form (PDF), and attach to it the justification for taking the course, the course description/syllabus (which clearly states that the course is PhD level) and submit these to the instructor and Research Advisor for their signatures.
    • Submit the Add / Drop Form and syllabus to Student Services.
    • The PhD Director gives final approval for the course and Student Services contacts the student to confirm enrolment in the external course.

PhD-Level Courses (External — Other Institutions)

Within the allowable 4 half-credit (2.0 FCEs) external courses, students may enrol in 2 half-credit course outside the University of Toronto (1.0 FCEs).

    • Provide your Research Advisor with a justification for the choice of elective.
    • If your Research Advisor approves your choice of elective, the student then approaches the course instructor to request permission to take that course.
    • If the instructor gives that permission, locate and complete the appropriate SGS Exchange Form (see under Exchanges & Agreements, this replaces the Add/Drop form) and attach to it the justification for taking the course, the course description/syllabus (which clearly states that the course is PhD level) and submit these to the instructor and Research Advisor for their signatures.
    • Submit the Exchange Form and syllabus to Student Services.
    • The PhD Director gives final approval for the course and the School of Graduate Studies contacts the student to confirm enrolment in the external course.

Master’s-Level Courses (Any)

    • Provide your Research Advisor with a justification for the choice of elective and how the course aligns with Faculty of Information’s PhD learning outcomes.
    • If your Research Advisor approves your of elective, the student then approaches the course instructor to request permission to take that course, and obtain their written agreement that the work assigned to the student will be consistent with that of a doctoral level course (e.g., a longer, more in-depth paper, a more sophistical theoretical treatment).
    • If the instructor gives that permission, complete an Add / Drop Form (PDF), and attach to it the justification for taking the course, the course description/syllabus, and confirmation of doctoral level work, and submit these to the instructor and Research Advisor for their signatures.
    • Submit the Add / Drop form and supporting information to Student Services.
    • The PhD Director gives final approval for the course and Student Services contacts the student to confirm enrolment in the external course.
    • As an example, please view this document: Confirmation of Doctoral-Level Work (PDF).

Dropping Courses

If you need to drop a course during an academic term, you will also do so through ACORN prior to the deadline by which students can drop course(s) without any academic penalty. Please refer to key academic dates and deadlines for the drop deadlines for Fall & Winter courses. For more information on dropping courses, please review our guide on dropping courses.

Fall and Winter Courses and Timetables

For up-to-date details on course offerings, please view the Course Timetables.
For program requirements, please consult the Degree Requirements on the PhD page.
For your convenience, below is a list of PhD level Faculty of courses that are being offered this year:

Fall 2022

Faculty of Information Fall 2022 PhD-Level Courses and Timetable
COURSE: DAY / TIME / DELIVERY: INSTRUCTOR: NOTES:
INF3001H-F LEC0101 — Research in Information – Foundations Fridays, 1–4pm
(In-Person)		 Patrick Keilty PhD students only
INF3009H-F LEC0101 — Theory and History of Media Technology Wednesdays, 1–4pm
(In-Person)		 Jeremy Packer PhD students only
INF3102H-F LEC0101 — Ethics of AI Tuesdays, 1-4pm
(In-Person)		 Brian Cantwell Smith PhD students only

Winter 2022

Faculty of Information Winter 2023 PhD-Level Courses and Timetable
COURSE: DAY / TIME / DELIVERY: INSTRUCTOR: NOTES:
INF3010H-S LEC0101 — Power, Media, and Technology Tuesdays, 9am–12pm
(In-Person)		 Alessandro Delfanti PhD students only
INF3012H-S LEC0101 — Social Scientific Methods for Media Thursdays, 1-4pm
(In-Person)		 Jeff Boase PhD students only
INF3104H LEC0101 – Data Science Foundations Mondays, 1-4pm
(In-Person)		 Rohan Alexander PhD students only

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Key Academic Dates and Deadlines

Enrolment Start Times

    • Returning Students: July 29, 2022, 6 AM ET
    • Incoming Students: August 5, 2022, 6 AM ET
    • All times are Eastern Time (ET) as per ACORN.
    • Please note that the above times are only for students to enroll into Faculty of Information courses. If you are interested in taking external courses (outside of the Faculty of Information), you are not bound to the above start times – it follows the timeline of the offering department / unit instead. Please view the section on external courses at the University of Toronto and external courses at other institutions for more details.

Key Dates

Please view the Academic Dates & Deadlines for full list of important dates

Fall Term (F-Section)

    • Classes Start: September 12, 2022
    • Last Day of Classes: December 12, 2022
    • Exam Week (if applicable): December 13–19, 2022
    • Final Date to Enrol in F- or Y-Section Courses: September 26, 2022
    • Final Date to Drop F-Section Courses (without academic penalty): October 31, 2022

Winter Term (S-Section)

    • Classes Start: January 9, 2023
    • Last Day of Classes: April 10, 2023
    • Exam Week (if applicable): April 11–17, 2023
    • Final Date to Enrol in S-Section Courses: January 23, 2023
    • Final Date to Drop S-Section Courses (without academic penalty): February 27, 2023

Full Term (Y-Section)

    • Classes Start: September 12, 2022
    • Last Day of Classes: April 10, 2023
    • Exam Week (if applicable): April 11–17, 2023
    • Final Date to Enrol in F- or Y-Section Courses: September 26, 2022
    • Final Date to Drop Y-Section Courses (without academic penalty): February 27, 2023
    • Note: INF3006Y: Major Area Reading Course has its own unique drop deadlines.
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