What Can I Study?

Before beginning to determine which U of T faculty is the best fit for your intended studies, please review the English language requirements for exchange at U of T.

What you can study while on exchange at U of T largely depends on which faculty you are admitted to. Below you will find details about eligibility, academic options and restrictions, and application requirements by U of T faculty. All graduate-level exchange students should be nominated to the School of Graduate Studies.

Am I Eligible

What Can I Study?

How Do I Apply?

Admitted Students: What Should I Do Before Arriving?

University of Brussels logo

University of Brussels

Country: Belgium

Level(s) of Study: Undergraduate

At U of T, the Faculty of Arts & Science incorporates all arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences (including computer science) programs/departments. U of T Arts & Science is one of the most comprehensive and diverse academic divisions in North America and the heart of one of the world’s leading universities.

Exchange students admitted to U of T Arts & Science are able to take courses from multiple departments within the faculty – over 4,000 courses in a wide range of disciplines. There is no restriction on taking courses from within only one discipline/department.

The Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology and the Department of Chemistry offer summer research programs to students from their select partners. You can find more information on our undergraduate summer research page.

St. George Campus

U of T’s downtown St. George Campus blends historical architecture and inviting green spaces as a backdrop to a truly remarkable community.

Set in the centre of Toronto, one of the world’s most dynamic and diverse cities, it is a place where students, staff and faculty engage with a vibrant academic life and countless co-curricular activities.

Just beyond the campus are the many events, neighbourhoods and industries that Toronto has to offer. From Nuit Blanche, an annual art festival that runs from dusk until dawn, to sports games at one of the Varsity Centre’s high-performance facilities, this location is intrinsically linked with the city’s renowned cultural offerings to create a rich and unique experience for everyone.

Campus(es)

St. George

Contact(s)

CIE Inbound Exchange
How Do I Apply?
Academic Calendar
Academic Timetable

 

Eligibility

Minimum CGPA of 2.25


Restrictions

While we do our best to keep you informed of any exchange student course restrictions, this list is not necessarily comprehensive, as course offerings and availability vary from year to year. We cannot guarantee enrollment in any course. It is important to maintain an expectation of flexibility in your course load.

Closed Courses

The following courses are not available to exchange students:

  • English Language Learning (ELL)
  • Peace, Conflict and Justice (PCJ)
  • Research Opportunities Program (ROP)
  • Many 100-level courses hosted by our colleges (e.g., VIC1XX, NEW1XX, INI1XX, UNI1XX, WDW1XX, SMC1XX, TRN1XX)
  • Many 100-level courses that are open to Year 1 FAS students only (e.g., ANT19X, AST19X, CHM19X, CSC19X, EAS19X, ENG19X, ESS19X, FAH19X, GGR19X, HIS19X, MAT19X, PHL19X, PHY19X, POL19X, PSY19X, SOC19X, STA19X, etc.)
  • Academic Bridging Program through Woodsworth College
  • Biochemistry (BCH): All courses except BCH210 and BCH311 (BCH210 and BCH311 have limited spaces for exchange students)
  • Economics (ECO): All 100-level courses
  • Human Biology (HMB): All 400-level courses, and HMB322
  • Molecular Genetics and Microbiology (MGY) laboratory courses
  • All Restricted (R1) Sociology (SOC) courses are not available: SOC201, SOC202, SOC204, SOC251, SOC252, SOC254, SOC319-354, and all 400-level SOC courses
  • Statistics (STA): STA130, STA49* courses (STA490, STA492, or the reading courses STA496, STA497, STA498, and STA499), JSC courses

 

Restricted Enrollment

The following departments/courses have very competitive enrollment and/or small class sizes and are therefore difficult for exchange students to get into at the St. George campus. However, many of these programs/courses are also available at our Mississauga (UTM) and Scarborough (UTSC) campuses. If you wish to take a full course-load in Computer Science, Sociology, or Statistics, we strongly recommend you consider one of our other two campuses.

Please do not expect to take a full course-load in these areas at the St. George campus:

  • Computer Science (CSC)
    • Exchange students may request 300- and 400-level CSC courses after the enrollment period for degree-seeking students. However, these advanced CSC courses tend to be over-subscribed once enrollment opens to exchange students, and it is unlikely that all exchange students are able to get in. Historically, many of the 400-level courses and the following 300-level courses tend to be full and exchange students should not expect to be able to take these courses:
      • CSC301H1: Introduction to Software Engineering
      • CSC303H1: Social and Information Networks
      • CSC304H1: Algorithmic Game Theory and Mechanism Design
      • CSC311H1: Introduction to Machine Learning
      • CSC369H1: Operating Systems
  • Drama (DRM)
  • Political Science (POL) 400-level courses
    • Many 400-level POL courses have very small class sizes (10-13 people), so we cannot enroll many exchange students into them
  • English (ENG) 400-level courses
  • Human Biology (HMB)
  • Sociology (SOC)
  • Statistics (STA)

 

Rotman Commerce (Business) Restriction

Business courses at the St. George campus (course code: RSM) are not available to exchange students from your home institution. If you are pursuing a business degree (e.g., B.B.A. or B. Comm.) or a similar degree at your home institution, and you want to take business courses while on exchange, you should be nominated to one of our other campuses:

  • University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) – management
  • University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) – commerce/management

 

Computer Science 

Eligibility

If you are interested in taking more than 1.5 credits (3 courses) in 300- or 400- Computer Science (CSC) courses at the Faculty of Arts and Science, you must:

  1. Be pursuing a degree or major in Computer Science at your home institution.
  2. You must be nominated to the Faculty of Arts & Science on Mobility Online.

Course restrictions

  • Students who are not enrolled in a Computer Science degree or major at their home institution are limited to a maximum of 1.5 credits (3 courses) in 300-/400-level CSC courses. This program at the home institution must be Computer Science (e.g. students in Computer Engineering, Information, etc. will be limited to 1.5 credits.)
  • There is high demand for upper-level CSC courses, and many courses fill quickly with Arts & Science students. Not all exchange students will receive a space in requested CSC courses, so it is important for all students requesting CSC courses to identify alternative courses for enrolment.

 

Faculty of Law

If you are studying law and your home institution does not have a partnership with the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Arts and Science offers a number of law-related courses that may be of interest to you, such as Ethics, Society and Law or the Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies. Speak with your home institution’s exchange office to determine your eligibility to be nominated for exchange to the Faculty of Arts and Science at U of T.


Application

After you have been nominated by your home institution, you will be invited to apply for exchange at U of T via our Mobility Online portal. The Faculty of Arts and Science requires the following documents:

Student applicants must submit:

* All student documents must be submitted in PDF (Word or other forms will not be accepted).

  1. Statement of interest (1-2 pages)
  2. Course descriptions: A typed chart/list that briefly details all post-secondary courses you have/will complete before coming to the University of Toronto. The chart/list should include course titles and a short description or list of the main topics covered in each course (copying and pasting from a course calendar/syllabus is fine).

 

Partner institution staff must submit:

* All partner documents must be submitted in PDF (Word or other forms will not be accepted).

  1. Academic transcripts of all previous post-secondary study
  2. English language test, if applicable: Please refer to our English language requirement page for details.

 

Course Enrolment

After you are admitted to U of T Arts & Science, you will receive an email with instructions on how to submit course requests. The course selection process will begin in June for the upcoming fall and winter terms.


The University of Toronto Mississauga campus is situated on 225 acres of protected greenbelt along the Credit River, 33 kilometres west of the university’s St. George campus in downtown Toronto. UTM has many of the same Arts & Science departments as the downtown St. George campus, as well as unique courses in Forensic Science and Commerce/Management (open to business students who are not eligible for Rotman Commerce at our downtown campus).

Exchange students admitted to undergraduate studies at UTM are able to take courses from multiple departments within the faculty – there is no restriction on taking courses from within only one discipline/department.

Campus(es)

UTM

Contact(s)

UTM International Education Centre CIE Inbound Exchange
How Do I Apply?
Academic Calendar
Academic Timetable

 

Eligibility

Minimum CGPA of 2.25


Restrictions

All second year Commerce (MGT) and Management (MGM) courses are not available for registration, but selected upper year (3rd + 4th year) courses may have limited spaces available for exchange students. Commerce and Management courses are generally reserved for UTM Commerce and Management students and spaces in these courses are not guaranteed for incoming exchange students. You may request to be enrolled in any upper year Commerce and Management course; enrollment will be based on availability, and you may be placed on a waitlist for courses.


Application

After you have been nominated by your home institution, you will be invited to apply for exchange at U of T via our Mobility Online portal.

Student applicants must submit:

* All student documents must be submitted in PDF (Word or other forms will not be accepted).

  1. Statement of interest (1-2 pages)
  2. Course descriptions: A typed chart/list that briefly details all post-secondary courses you have/will complete before coming to the University of Toronto. The chart/list should include course titles and a short description or list of the main topics covered in each course (copying and pasting from a course calendar/syllabus is fine).

*Students interested in pursuing a research course as part of their academic exchange must connect with the UTM International Education Centre at global.utm@utoronto.ca at the time of nomination to discuss their options.

 

Partner institution staff must submit:

* All partner documents must be submitted in PDF (Word or other forms will not be accepted).

  1. Academic transcripts of all previous post-secondary study
  2. English language test, if applicable: Please refer to our English language requirement page for details.

The University of Toronto Scarborough campus is a 300-acre campus in the Highland Creek Valley, one of Toronto’s most spectacular natural settings, situated in the east-end of Toronto.

Experiential education is the hallmark of the UTSC campus.  Students get a head start on their futures through hands-on research, community engagement and a vibrant campus life.

UTSC is home to the new Aquatics Centre and Field House, which represents Canada’s largest investment in amateur sport infrastructure, opened in 2015 for the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games.

UTSC offers standard Humanities, Social Sciences, Science and Management programs (English literature, Statistics, Economics, etc.), but also some interesting and unique programs listed below.

Exchange students admitted to undergraduate studies UTSC are able to take courses from multiple departments within the faculty – there is no restriction on taking courses from within only one discipline/department. There are, however, department-specific restrictions that exchange students should be aware of that are listed below.

Campus(es)

UTSC

Contact(s)

CIE Inbound Exchange
How Do I Apply?
Academic Calendar
Academic Timetable

 

Eligibility

Minimum CGPA of 2.25


Restrictions

The following courses/programs of study are not available to exchange students:

Scarborough (UTSC) Campus

  • Co-op (work placement) programs
  • Applied Microbiology (IMC)
  • Environmental Science and Technology (STE)
  • Journalism (JOU)
  • New Media Studies (NME)
  • Paramedicine (PMD)
  • Studio Art (VPS)

Courses with Limited Spaces

The following is a list of high demand courses where there are very few spaces available for exchange students:

  • Selected Biology courses: BIOA11H3F, BIOB12H3S, BIOB32H3S, BIOB35H3S, BIOC10H3S, BIOC14H3S, BIOC17H3S, BIOC23H3S, BIOC62H3S, BIOD17H3S, BIOD19H3S, BIOD23H3F, BIOD26H3F, BIOD27H3F, BIOD29H3S, BIOD33H3S, BIOD48H3F, BIOD43H3S, BIOD65H3F/S
  • City Studies C and D-level courses
  • ENGA10
  • ENGA11
  • FREA96
  • FREA97
  • Geography GGR D-level courses
  • All Health Studies courses
  • LGGA80
  • LGGA81
  • LGGA60*
  • LGGA61*
  • Management C and D-level courses
  • Neuroscience C-level courses, specifically: NROC60H3, NROC63, NROC64
  • Neuroscience D-level courses
  • Selected Political Science courses: POLB30H3, POLC32H3. POLC36H3, POLC38H3, POLC39H3, POLC56H3, POLC68H3, POLD30H3, POLD42H3, POLD45H3
  • Psychology C-level courses with a lab component: PSYC70, PSYC71, PSYC72, PSYC73, PSYC74, PSYC75, PSYC76
  • Psychology D-level courses
  • Computer Science D-level courses

Housing

UTSC Student Residence provides ~765 self-catered spaces on-campus to both international and domestic students.  Students generally live in their own room with shared cooking and common areas, either in the Townhouses or Joan Foley Hall (apartment-style). Students on exchange are not guaranteed a space but are given priority provided they apply by deadlines.


Application

After you have been nominated by your home institution, you will be invited to apply for exchange at U of T via our Mobility Online portal. The Faculty of Arts and Science UTSC requires the following documents:

Student applicants must submit:

* All student documents must be submitted in PDF (Word or other forms will not be accepted).

  1. Statement of interest (1-2 pages)
  2. Course descriptions: A typed chart/list that briefly details all post-secondary courses you have/will complete before coming to the University of Toronto. The chart/list should include course titles and a short description or list of the main topics covered in each course (copying and pasting from a course calendar/syllabus is fine).

 

Partner institution staff must submit:

* All partner documents must be submitted in PDF (Word or other forms will not be accepted).

  1. Academic transcripts of all previous post-secondary study
  2. English language test, if applicable: Please refer to our English language requirement page for details.