First Year Biology Orientation

Department of Biology

Diane Matias – Undergraduate Advisor d.matias@utoronto.ca Ph: 905-828-3999 Office – Room #3057 William Davis Building Stephanie do Rego – Undergraduate Assistant Office – Room #3056 William Davis Building Advising regarding course selection, program selection, graduation assessments, personal or academic problems, withdrawal from courses, missed exams/tests, general questions.

Degree Types at U of T

• There are currently four degree types at the University of Toronto:

•  Honours Bachelor of Science (HBSC) •  Bachelor of Commerce (BCOM) •  Honours Bachelor of Arts (HBA) •  Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)

What determines a degree type?

•  Degree types are determined by the type of “program(s)” you choose.

•  If you choose mainly “Arts” programs then your degree type will

become an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree

•  If you choose mainly “Science” programs, then your degree type will become an Honours Bachelor of Science degree

•  If you choose mainly “Business” or “Economics” programs, then your degree type will become a Bachelor of Business Administration or a Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Honours Bachelor of Science Degree

•  If you choose one of the following program combinations, your degree type will be an Honours Bachelor of Science:

•  One Science Specialist •  One Science Major and one other Major (can be

Science or Arts) •  Two Science Minors with a Major (can be Arts

or Science)

What is a Program?

•  A “program” is the subject that you wish to study or specialize in. These can also be called “subject posts”.

•  Examples of programs (or subjects posts) are: •  Biology Major (Science) •  Chemistry Minor (Science) •  Italian Major (Arts) •  Psychology Major (Science) •  Sociology Minor (Arts) •  Economics Major (Arts, B.Com.) •  History Major (Arts)

•  Biology currently offers five Specialist programs •  Biology •  Ecology and Evolutionary •  Biotechnology •  Comparative Physiology •  Molecular Biology

Specialist programs

Major and Minor Programs

•  Biology currently offers three Major programs: •  Biology •  Biology for Health Sciences •  Paleontology

As well as offering two Minor programs: •  Biology •  Biomedical Communications

Combination of Biology Programs

A few examples of program combinations could be: •  Molecular Biology Specialist •  Biology Major + Chemistry Minor + Forensic Science

Minor •  Biology Health Science Major + Psychology Major •  Environmental Major + Biology Major •  Anthropology Major + Statistics Minor + Biology Minor

What is the difference between a Specialist, Major and a Minor program? §  A Specialist program is designed to be a research-

intensive program that gives students the necessary training to pursue graduate education (Masters, PhD). Emphasis in fourth year is placed more in lab/research work. Specialist consists of 13.5 -15.0 credits

§  A Major program is designed to give students a basic and fundamental understanding. There is more flexibility to combine classes with other majors and minors. The Major consists of 8.0 – 8.5 credits.

§  A Minor program is a set of courses that provide some degree of content mastery in a particular area that will complement the student's other Major, Minor or Specialist program. 4.0 – 4.5 credits.

When you do pick your programs?

§  Students cannot choose their programs until after completing a minimum of 4.0 UTM credits and earning a CGPA (this includes transfer credit students).

§  First year course load should be minimum 4.0 credits which include: BIO152H, BIO153H, CHM110H, CHM120H, MAT134Y

§  Request time for programs is usually around May and July of each year.

§  Students must request to be enrolled into a program through ACORN. Request is then sent to Biology Dept.

Enrollment Requirements of Programs?

•  Programs in Biology have specific enrollment criteria that all students must meet. Please check the most recent calendar for these requirements.

•  If students do not meet the program requirements after their first year, programs can be requested in your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year of study.

• Major Program ERMAJ2364 Biology (Science) • Limited Enrollment – Enrolment in this program is limited to students who have completed 4.0 credits (including BIO152H5 and BIO153H5) and who have achieved a CGPA of at least 2.0.

Degree Explorer – Degree Assessment Tool

•  Degree Explorer is the University of Toronto's degree planning tool. Review your academic history, degree requirements or use the planner to determine how future course choices might meet your requirements.

https://degreeexplorer.utoronto.ca/degreeExplorer/login.xhtml

Assessment of your degrees is a two step process. •  Degree requirements are different than program

requirements. •  The Office of the Registrar is responsible for assessing

your overall degree requirements. •  The departments are responsible for assessing your

program requirements. •  Check Degree Explorer on a regular basis. •  At the beginning of your final year, make sure to book an

advising appt. with the Office of the Registrar and the departments from which your programs are based, to make sure you are on track for graduation.

Degree Requirements:

•  To graduate from the University of Toronto all students need to fulfill the following degree requirements: •  No more than 6.0 credits at the 100 level •  At least 6.0 credits at the 3/400 level •  Minimum CGPA of 1.85 •  Must have 1.0 credit in a Humanities course •  Must have 1.0 credit in a Social Science course •  Must have 1.0 credit in a Science course •  Students must have 12 distinct credits

Program Requirements

•  Every department has different program requirements.

•  Review the progress of your programs on Degree Explorer or check with the Academic Advisor of each department.

•  Requirements for programs should be followed from the year you were enrolled into the program.

The Key To Success

•  Please make sure to check your utoronto email. •  Do not forward your utoronto email to another

gmail, hotmail or yahoo account. •  Take advantage of the Academic Skills Centre,

Science Library Rep, Office of the Registrar, Biology Office.

•  Get involved in class, extra curricular activities, group study sessions.

•  Ask for help when you need it (ask me, TA’s, Instructor, Health Services, UTMSU

Good luck with your studies this year!