Current Students

Graduate External Courses

This page gives you all the information you need about enrolling in courses outside of your Faculty of Information graduate program.

Master’s students

MI and MMSt students are eligible to take up to 2.0 credits outside of their degree program to fulfill part of their degree requirements. 1.0 of the 2.0 credits can even be taken at another University.

Enrol in Faculty of Information courses outside of your program

This applies to MI students interested in taking MMSt courses (course codes beginning with MSL), and MMSt students interested in taking MI courses (code codes beginning with INF) as electives.

You can enroll directly in the course once enrolment starts through ACORN, provided there is space available.

You will need to submit an Add/Drop course form to Student Services no later than 5 business days after you have enrolled in the course.

There is no need to get the instructor’s approval.

Enrol in U of T courses outside the Faculty of Information

This applies to MI and MMSt students interested in taking courses outside of the Faculty of Information.

To enrol in an external course, you’ll need permission from the instructor, the host graduate unit, and the Faculty of Information.

Steps to enrol:

  1. Try enrolling in the course on ACORN. Different graduate units set up their courses differently, so you may or may not be permitted to enrol, depending on the unit. You may be provisionally enrolled with a status of REQ (requested). This will be changed to APP (fully enrolled) once your enrolment is approved. Move on to Step 2, regardless of your REQ status.
  2. Complete an SGS Add-Drop form and obtain a copy of the course description and/or syllabus
  3. Send your completed form and course description/syllabus to the course instructor and the administrator of the graduate unit offering the course (the ‘host unit’) to request permission. Tell them a bit about why you want to take the course, how it is relevant to your program, and your experience with the subject matter, if any. Note: Step 3 is not required for Computer Science courses. You may send your completed Add-Drop form directly to Student Services, without getting permission from the course instructor and Computer Science graduate administrator first.
  4. Once you have approval from the course instructor and the graduate unit administrator, send your signed form to Student Services, along with your explanation of why you wish to take the course and how it is relevant to your program.
  5. Student Services will inform you when a decision has been made, and if approved, will enrol you in the course if you were not able to enrol yourself on ACORN.

Note that Faculty of Information grade submission deadlines must be met, regardless of the deadlines of the other departments involved.

Enrol in courses outside UofT, but within Canada

Students may take up to two 0.5-credit graduate-level courses (or the equivalent of 1.0 credit) at other universities.

Universities within Ontario

For universities within Ontario, complete the Ontario Visiting Graduate Student Agreement form.

If you wish to take courses specifically at McGill University, Université de Montréal, or University of British Columbia, complete the Graduate Exchange Agreement form.

For universities outside Ontario, but within Canada, complete the Canadian University Graduate Transfer Agreement (CUGTA). Please contact the host institution first and make sure that they are a CUGTA member!

Submit the following to Student Services:

  • Your completed form
  • A course description and syllabus (if possible)
  • A statement about why you wish to take this course, and how it is a good fit with your academic and/or career goals

Permission is conditional upon:

  • approval of the other department(s) concerned
  • approval from SGS

Notes:

  • Final grades from courses taken at other universities will appear on your transcript as CR (credit) instead of an alphanumeric grade.
  • Following completion of the course, students are responsible for arranging to have the transcript sent to SGS by the host institution.
  • Under the CUGTA agreement, students pay fees directly to the host university.
  • Under the OVGS agreement, students pay fees to UofT as usual.
  • Not all universities in Canada subscribe to either of these agreements. If the institution where you are interested in taking a course is not a member of CUGTA or OVGS, please contact Student Services for guidance on how to proceed.
  • It is strongly recommended that you do not take a course outside of UofT during your final term. As transcripts can take months to be processed, your final grade in the exchange course will likely be posted to your academic record months after the term has ended. If taken in your final term, this will prevent you from being able to graduate on time.

Enrol in courses outside of Canada

Graduate students are eligible to take up to 2.0 elective credits at international institutions on an official exchange. Only electives are permitted; required courses must be completed at the Faculty of Information.

International exchanges are managed centrally by the U of T Centre of International Experience, through the Learning Abroad program.

Courses that you wish to take at the host institution must be pre-approved by the Faculty of Information. Contact Student Services for guidance on how to proceed.

Notes:

  • Final grades from courses taken at other universities will appear on your transcript as CR (credit) instead of an alphanumeric grade.
  • Following completion of the course, students are responsible for arranging to have the transcript sent to SGS by the host institution.
  • Students must meet all requirements set out by the host institution.
  • It is strongly recommended that you do not take a course outside of UofT during your final term. As transcripts can take months to be processed, your final grade in the exchange course will likely be posted to your academic record months after the term has ended. If taken in your final term, this will prevent you from being able to graduate on time.

PhD Students

PhD students may take a maximum of 2.0 FCEs (4 half-credit courses) in other graduate departments/faculties/programs. Within this maximum, students may take up to 1.0 FCE (2 half-credit courses) outside the University of Toronto.

Undergraduate-level courses may not count towards the PhD degree.

Courses taken outside of your program require the approval of your research advisor, the course instructor, the host unit (if outside the Faculty of Information), and the PhD Director.

Enrol in Faculty of Information courses outside of your program

This applies to PhD students interested in taking MI or MMSt courses.

Permission to enrol in these courses is dependent on space being available; MI/MMSt students have priority enrollment.

Steps to enrol:

  1. Provide your research advisor with a justification for the choice of elective and how the course aligns with iSchool’s PhD learning outcomes.
  2. If your research advisor approves, then approach the course instructor to request permission to take the 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 sophisticated theoretical treatment – see below for an example).
  3. Submit the following to Student Services:
    • A completed add/drop form, signed by you and your research advisor
    • A statement containing your justification for taking the course
    • The course description and syllabus (if possible)
    • The written agreement concerning doctoral-level work from the course instructor
  4. Student Services will seek approval from the PhD Director on your behalf.

Once your request is approved, Student Services will enrol you in the course.

Enrol in UofT courses outside the Faculty of Information

Example of confirmation of doctoral-level work

This applies to PhD students interested in taking courses outside of the Faculty of Information.

Steps to enrol:

  1. Provide your research advisor with a justification for the choice of elective and how the course aligns with iSchool’s PhD learning outcomes.
  2. If your research advisor approves, then approach the course instructor to request permission to take the course. If the course is a Master’s-level course, you’ll need to obtain written agreement from the instructor 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 sophisticated theoretical treatment – see below for an example).
  3. Submit the following to Student Services:
    1. A completed add/drop form, signed by you, your research advisor, and the course instructor
    2. A statement containing your justification for taking the course
    3. The course description and syllabus (if possible)
    4. The written agreement concerning doctoral-level work from the course instructor, if applicable
  4. Student Services will seek approval from the PhD Director on your behalf.
  5. Try enrolling in the course on ACORN. Different graduate units set up their courses differently, so you may or may not be permitted to enrol, depending on the unit. You may be provisionally enrolled with a status of REQ (requested). This will be changed to APP (fully enrolled) once your enrolment is approved.
  6. Student Services will inform you when a decision has been made, and if approved, will enrol you in the course if you were not able to enrol yourself on ACORN.

Enrol in courses outside U of T

Speak with your research advisor and the PhD Director for guidance regarding taking courses outside the University of Toronto.