Program Information

General Course Information

Here is some important information that applies to all courses.

What are the Fall and Winter sessions?

The section code denoting when a course is offered is given in the last character of the course code, for example, the 'F' in SOC999H1F. Think of this as the DURATION of the course.

• F means the course runs for the Fall session, September to December, plus final examination, if any. Exam period is in December.
• S means the course runs for the Winter session, January to April, plus final examination, if any. Exam period is April - May.
• Y means the course runs through both Fall and Winter sessions, September to April, plus final examination, if any. Exam period is April - May.

What are the Summer sessions?

• F means the course runs for the first subsession of the Summer, May to June, plus final examination, if any. Exam period is in June.
• S means the course runs for the second subsession of the Summer, July to August, plus final examination, if any. Exam period is in August.
• Y means the course runs through both subsessions of the Summer, May to August, plus final examination, if any. Exam period is in August.

Does that affect the weight of the course?

The weight (full or half course) is given in the character right after the three-digit number in the course code, for example, the 'H' in SOC999H1F. This gives the CREDIT VALUE for the course, which reflects the amount of material covered.

• H means it is a half course.
• Y means it is a full course.

This is independent from the session information explained above. Do not confuse the two, as various different combinations exist. For example, there can be half courses that take both summer subsessions, and full courses that take only one subsession.

IMPORTANT! The weight (credit value) and session (duration) combine to determine the number of hours per week of lecture and study outside of class students should expect. For example, a full course compressed into one subsession (for example SOC999Y1F) may meet every day and may have several hours of homework / study / assignments from each meeting. Consider weight and session carefully when making your course selections and accommodating them and your other activities.

Why are the readings and evaluations all "tentative" in the descriptions?

Given the way course selection is handled in the Faculty of Arts and Science, these descriptions must be prepared and published far in advance of the actual start of the course. Effort has been made to provide accurate information. However, circumstances arise that may result in changes to offerings, instructors, and course design. Sometimes courses are under review and instructors make refinements at a later date, close to the start of the course.

The objective now is to assist students in their course planning. Descriptions are provided to help determine if the main themes of a course are of interest to the student and relevant to their programs, and are not intended as detailed course outlines and/or schedules.

We have made available all of the information that the instructor has provided to the Department so far. If you have specific questions, contact the instructor directly. Instructor contact information is available here.

When will students know the official readings and outlines?

Detailed outlines, including texts, assignments, and due dates, should be provided by the instructor during the first week of classes. This will set the official course format.

Should students purchase books in advance?

Even if a reading on the tentative list does not end up on the official list, it will nevertheless be relevant to the topic. Therefore, any advance preparation you decide to do should enhance your understanding in the course. However, if cost is a consideration, the department recommends waiting until the official outline is distributed in class before making purchases.

You may wish to contact the bookstore about their refund policy before buying in advance. Alternatively, check the university libraries to see if materials are available for loan. You can access the libraries through the University of Toronto homepage.

What type of testing is used?

For instructors who have planned that far in advance, and who have provided this information, we have included it in the descriptions. However, some instructors reserve that decision until a later date. The course enrolment and teaching assistant resources available when the course begins will also affect the test type, as grading workload will change.

Are printed copies of the descriptions available

We regret that we are unable to provide printed copies of this book to every student. However, for those who prefer reading a paper copy, it is available for office use at the Department of Sociology. You may borrow it to make full or partial copies at the copy shop near our building.

Using the web to deliver this information allows us to update the information centrally, rather than having thousands of invalid copies in circulation. This way, students will be informed of major changes, such as course additions, cancellations, instructor changes, etc. as they occur. Furthermore, this will also help reduce paper waste, since most students are interested in only a few select SOC courses in their areas of interest and will not print this entire book from the web.