Second UG Degree at UofT

[Rsceu]

I'm considering maybe pursuing a second UG degree to increase my GPA and have a few questions I was hoping someone could answer.

 

I know that at UofT, you can not complete a second UG degree of the same "type". So, if you did a BSc, you cannot do another one. In my scenerio, I'm doing one major in the social sciences (health studies) and one in the sciences (health care ethics). Since I have one major in the arts and one in the sciences, I can chose whether I want to graduate with a BSc or a BA.. From my understanding, this means that if I want to pursue a BSc as my second undergrad, I would chose my first degree to be a BA. (This is all a little bit confusing to me.... can anyone confirm that this thinking is correct ?)

 

I'm also wondering if there are restrictions regarding your POSts. Since I already completed one major in the human biology department, would I be able to complete another major in it for my second degree?

 

I also have a question regarding transfer credits (last oneee.. promise ). At UofT, you can transfer up to 5 from your previous degree. If you will be taking courses that have prerequisite courses you already completed formerly... would you use up those transfer credits on those courses that you need as prerequisites? What do you base what credits you transfer on? Also, if you need more than 5 prerequisite courses, what do you do?

 

Thank you so much in advance !!!!

[dreamer]

I did an undergrad degree at U of T, but it was in engineering so I don't know too much about subject posts and stuff in the A&S faculty.

 

But, I'm just curious, are you considering a second degree at U of T because you have to, maybe because it's close to home?

 

I know that academic performance has a lot to do with your own work ethic and ability, but I also know as a fact having been to two schools in Ontario that there are enormous differences in teaching standards and ease of workload (i.e. grades that you will receive). In other words, I really believe there are easier ways to get your GPA up...

[Andie]

I can't answer the first couple of questions as I did my undergrad elsewhere... but I'm doing my second degree at U of T...

 

You submit your previous degree transcript to the transfer credit assesment office and tell them what progam you are planning on pursuing for your second degree. They try and assess your first degree and see what classes are best to use for your 5 transfer credits in place of many of the common first/second year core courses so that you will not have to repeat them for manditory classes required for your second degree. Then, any extra classes will be listed as sort of exemptions that can be used for pre-requisite purposes, but not counting towards number of credits required for the second degree.

 

So I got transfer credits for Bio1XX, Chem1XX, Phys1XX, Calc1XX etc (5 credits), so my whole first year courses of any POST was covered, and then had exemptions from some other second year courses pre-reqs, and social science breadth requirements etc but without counting towards the 15 remaining credits of the second degree.

 

I hope that helps a bit. Your best bet is to talk to the transfer credit office directly or your college registrar (for mature or second degree students you'll likely end up at Woodsworth College).

[Rsceu]

Thanks guys for the replies!! It is very helpful

 

One of the reasons I want to do it at UofT is because its close to home. I'm also already familiar with the system, area, and courses to take since I've already been there once. Besides for that, UofT only lets you take 5 transfer credits = 3 years instead of 2 (like at Western I believe?) to complete = more of a chance to prepare to apply/increase GPA.

 

..I'm still considering other schools though.

 

Is anyone familiar with the policies of second degrees at other schools? Ie. Can I do a second BSc?

Also, if you do a second degree at UofT, will your college stay the same? Right now I'm in Trinity.

[dreamer]

Sorry for the late reply... But, I wouldn't worry about being able to finish a degree in TOO LITTLE time. You would have more flexibility if you can finish earlier. In fact, the more credits they can transfer to your degree the better.

 

Western allows you to transfer up to 10 credits, or half of your degree. If you really wanted to extend your stay (perhaps for the schools that look at your last three years) you can certainly do so just as long as you take a full course load. I'm not aware of any school in Canada that requires you to take only courses that contribute to your Major for that extra year. I'm not sure if this wording is confusing, but basically you should be fine whereever you did your degree at if you finished in two years.

 

I'm not sure if they allow you to do another B.Sc., so that you would have to ask them. But if you're considering health science stuff, they have a Bach of Health Science program there that looked really fun when I considered doing it.

 

I'm sorry but I think I've been permanently scarred by the U of T experience to give you an objective answer about that school!

[nosuperman]

Thanks guys for the replies!! It is very helpful

 

One of the reasons I want to do it at UofT is because its close to home. I'm also already familiar with the system, area, and courses to take since I've already been there once. Besides for that, UofT only lets you take 5 transfer credits = 3 years instead of 2 (like at Western I believe?) to complete = more of a chance to prepare to apply/increase GPA.

 

..I'm still considering other schools though.

 

Is anyone familiar with the policies of second degrees at other schools? Ie. Can I do a second BSc?

Also, if you do a second degree at UofT, will your college stay the same? Right now I'm in Trinity.

 

I can chime in for 2nd degree rules at UWO.

 

If your first degree is an honours degree then your second degree must also be an honours. The implication of this is that you can't do a full honours module in 2 years unless you have a good number of transferable pre-reqs from your previous degree.

 

In my case I don't have the 1000 level courses which would mean it'd take 3 years to do my second degree. The only way around this was to do a double major, which requires less courses but still counts as an honours (thus satisfying the first requirement) which I'll be able to do in 2 year with a bit of summer work.