Graduate Course Enrollment FAQ

If, after reading through the following questions, you have any additional queries, please email deptofenglish.graduate@utoronto.ca

NOTE: At the University of Toronto, the acronym FCE stands for “Full Course Equivalent.” A “full course” is weighted 1.0 FCE and meets for the full year (i.e., two terms or semesters). Almost all of our graduate courses in English, however, run for a single term and are thus called “half courses,” which are weighted 0.5 FCE. (“3.0 FCEs,” in other words, essentially means 6 half courses.)

MA in English

For a more detailed description of MA coursework requirements, please see the MA in English program page.

Over the course of the year (September 1 to August 31), MA in English students must successfully complete a total of 4.0 FCEs, including ENG6999YF Critical Topographies (which meets in the fall but is equivalent to 1.0 FCE) plus 3.0 approved FCEs in English, usually in the form of 6 one-term courses.

A common distribution of courseload for the MA in English stream is ENG6999YF Critical Topographies plus 3 half courses in the fall and then 3 half courses in the winter.

However, as no additional costs are incurred by taking summer courses (fees cover all three terms), some students prefer to spread the courseload over three sessions.

MA in English in the Field of Creative Writing (MA CRW)

For a more detailed description of MA CRW coursework requirements, please see the MA in English in the Field of Creative Writing program page.

Students in the MA CRW program must successfully complete a total of 3.0 FCEs, including ENG6950Y Workshop in Creative Writing (1.0 FCE) plus 2.0 approved FCEs in English, followed by a Supervised Writing Project (the equivalent of a thesis) under the direction of a mentor. 

Commonly, MA CRW stream students complete all coursework in Year 1 (ENG6950Y Workshop in Creative Writing plus 2 half courses in the fall and then 2 half courses in the winter), followed by the Supervised Writing Project in Year 2.

All students must complete ENG6950Y Workshop in Creative Writing in Year 1 of their program.

MA CRW students are not required to take ENG6999YF Critical Topographies.

Combined JD/MA

For a more detailed description of JD/MA coursework requirements, please see the Combined JD/MA program page and the Faculty of Law website's program page.

Students in the JD/MA program must successfully complete a total of 3.0 FCEs in English, including ENG6999YF Critical Topographies (which meets in the fall but is equivalent to 1.0 FCE) plus 2.0 approved FCEs in English

As part of their program requirements, JD/MA students must complete EITHER a JD Directed Research project (at least 3 credits), which counts toward the student's Law requirements, OR an MA English Reading Course (one half-course) on a topic related to law and literature, which counts toward the students English requirements.

Accordingly, during their 2 years in the Department of English, JD/MA students must successfully complete EITHER ENG6999YF Critical Topographies plus 2.0 FCEs, at last 1.0 FCE (2 half courses) of which is from a set of English-designated Law and Literature courses, OR ENG6999Y plus 2.0 FCEs, including 0.5 FCE (1 half course) from a set of English-designated Law and Literature courses and an MA English Reading Course (0.5 FCE) on a topic related to law and literature.

Courseload distribution is flexible because students are enrolled for 2 years in the English MA program.

PhD in English

For a detailed description of PhD coursework requirements, please see the PhD Programs page and the PhD Program Timeline and Policy on Satisfactory Progress.

Typically, in Year 1 of the program PhD students take a total of 3.25 FCEs in English, including the required ENG9400HF Essential Skills Workshop Series (0.25 FCE) plus 3.0 approved FCEs in English.

A common distribution of courseload for the PhD in English stream is ENG9400HF Essential Skills Workshop Series plus 3 half courses in the fall and then 3 half courses in the winter.

ENG9900H Professing Literature (0.5 FCE) is then taken in Year 3 and ENG9500H Professional Development (0.5 FCE) in Year 4.

PhD U (Direct-Entry) in English

For a detailed description of PhD U coursework requirements, please see the PhD Programs page and the PhD Program Timeline and Policy on Satisfactory Progress.

Over the course of the first 2 years in the program, PhD U students typically take a total of 6.25 FCEs, including ENG6999YF Critical Topographies (which meets in the fall but is equivalent to 1.0 FCE) and ENG9400HF Essential Skills Workshop Series (0.25 FCE), plus 5.0 approved FCEs in English.

Typically, in Year 1 of the program PhD U students take ENG6999YF Critical Topographies plus 2 half courses in the fall and then another 2 half courses in the winter. In Year 2 of the program PhD U students take ENG9400HF Essential Skills Workshop Series plus 3 half courses in the fall followed by another 3 half courses in the winter.

ENG9900H Professing Literature (0.5 FCE) is then taken in Year 4 and ENG9500H Professional Development (0.5 FCE) in Year 5.

ACORN and the SWS now have the capability to maintain waiting lists in courses. If the course you have chosen is full, you can choose to join a waiting list. You can only be on one waiting list. We also recommend that you look again at your 2nd and 3rd choices – they may look more attractive! Check ACORN regularly (but not obsessively) there WILL be movement in courses, particularly by the end of the first week of classes.

Both. You should enrol in your top choices, irrespective of the session.

The number of spaces available can be misleading - if you are denied enrolment it usually means all the English Dept. spaces are taken. Keep in mind (a) one place in every course is allocated for an out-of-the-department student (b) instructors cross-appointed with another department or centre will hold spaces for students in that department/centre (c) in courses that are cross-listed with another department/centre our allocation will be proportionate.

RST 9999Y (and RST 8888Y) are ROSI-generated devices for ensuring students are registered in a course for each session of the year (useful for income tax and OSAP purposes). They do not affect your course load; they are supplementary to it and will disappear once you have completed your degree and convocated.

Students wishing to take 1 full course (or 2 half-courses) outside the department should obtain in writing the approval of the Associate Director, MA or PhD. Not all graduate departments allow students to enrol in courses via the web so check local enrolment procedures. It is not too late to begin this process in Orientation week but you should finalize your timetable before the start of fall term classes.

Yes, students may take up to 1.0 FCE (1 full course or up to 2 half-courses) outside the department towards their coursework requirements. Students must receive written approval from the MA or PhD Associate Director for courses taken outside the department. These rules do not apply, however, to the following two kinds of courses outside the department:

  1. Courses taught by English faculty in other graduate units, which are considered "cross-listed" courses
  2. Courses required for a collaborative specialization

Such courses count as English courses and may be taken in addition to the 1.0 FCE limit of courses outside the department. Students do not need to receive written permission to take such courses.

Yes, ACORN is set up to handle course enrolment before fees payment. Fees should be paid by September 15th, however (unless deferred through a fellowship or a TAship) – ACORN is quite patient, but eventually you will be removed from courses.

You will need to drop one of your other courses right away. ACORN will not arbitrarily remove you from a course, but the success of the wait-list depends on how quickly spaces are freed up for others.

In the SWS, go into Course Enrolment, List of Courses, Wait-list. You can also remove yourself from a wait-list at this point.

No, we don't. With ENG6999Y Critical Topographies plus a 4.0 FCE  (full) courseload, many students in the MA literature stream will wish to complete in fall and winter and then take the summer off, but there should be spaces in summer courses for those who wish to complete their course requirements then. 

Graduate enrolment definitely doesn't have the kind of movement that undergraduate enrolment does, but the first 3 students on a wait-list may attend the first class with advance approval from the instructor. With graduate enrolment, what seems to be key is students being flexible and being considerate of each other. If you don’t panic or hoard courses or shop around in the first week of class, the process goes surprisingly smoothly!