The Academic Calendar is a Faculty of Arts & Science document that houses the most current information on the degrees, programs, and courses offered, as well as rules and regulations. The Academic Calendar is published once a year in mid-May. Updates made post-publication may address corrections to courses, programs, or other general information.

Much of the information in the Calendar will be seen in other places. For example, course descriptions can also be found on the Timetable Builder, and a breakdown of completion of program – and the degree – can be found on Degree Explorer.

Program and Certificate Search: Search the Academic Calendar for programs and certificates by keyword, type (Specialist, Major, Minor, Focus, Certificate), or by subject area.

Course Search: Search the Academic Calendar for courses by keyword (in the course code, title, or description), program area, prerequisites, or breadth requirements.

Program Areas A-Z: Review a list of program or subject areas.

Course Changes: Review a list of all approved new and retired courses since the publication of the previous Academic Calendar.

Program and Certificate Changes: Review a list of all changes to programs and certificates since the publication of the previous Academic Calendar.

PDF version: Access a PDF version of the current Academic Calendar (typically available after the start of the Fall session).

Archived Calendars: Access PDF versions (including updates) of Academic Calendars from previous years.

Publication Updates: Review all updates to the current Academic Calendar following initial publication.

The top (horizontal) navigation menu of the Academic Calendar provides access to degree requirements, rules and regulations, and rights and responsibilities.

Conventions

Certain conventions are useful in reading parts of the Calendar that deal with requirements, whether for courses (prerequisites, corequisites, recommended preparation) or programs.

• Commas (,) and semi-colons (;) indicate items in a list. Context indicates whether the list is of options a student can pick from, or whether it is a list of courses where a student is expected to take all of them. If not stated specifically, assume the list indicates that a student must take all options.
• The plus sign (+) means “and” but may be used as a strong “and” to indicate courses that are paired to be a single option or requirement.
  A forward slash (/) means “or” and distinguishes multiple options to fulfil a specific requirement.
• Parentheses ( ) or brackets [ ] identify courses that are grouped together to form a specific option or requirement.

For example, the First Year Requirements for the Cell and Molecular Biology Specialist:

• First Year:
  BIO120H1, BIO130H1; (CHM135H1, CHM136H1)/ CHM151Y1; JMB170Y1/ (MAT135H1, MAT136H1)/ MAT137Y1/ MAT157Y1.

This text explains that there is a series of course requirements needed for first year, but within these there are options. Going from the beginning, this means:

• BIO120H1 and BIO130H1 are both required.
• There is a Chemistry (CHM) requirement, which is filled either by:
  • CHM135H1 and CHM136H1; or
  • CHM151Y1.
• There is also a Math requirement, filled either by:
  • JMB170Y1; or
  • MAT135H1 and MAT136H1; or
  • MAT137Y1; or
  • MAT157Y1.

These style conventions help the academic units offering programs try to list the options in a concise way. For any clarification, reach out directly to the academic unit, a College Registrar’s Office, or the Faculty at ask.artsci@utoronto.ca.