Course Enrolment

Adding a Course After the ACORN Enrolment Period: After the deadline, you must use the Add/Drop Course Form to enrol in a course. The form must be approved and signed by the course instructor. 

Courses From Other Faculties or Departments Outside OISE: These courses require several levels of approval.  Students are required to complete and submit a SGS Add/Drop Course Form to the Host Department Registrar's Office.

Individual Reading and Research Courses: Obtain the required signatures and submit the Individual Reading and Research Course Form to the Office of the Registrar & Student Experience (ROSE) by the deadline dates listed on the form.

Courses that Require Instructor Approval: These courses can be dropped – but not added – via ACORN. Submit a completed Add/Drop Course Form, instructor's written approval must be received or the course will be dropped from your record.

Compressed/Modular Courses: Courses which have variations in timing have add and drop dates that can differ from the sessional dates, and are set on a course by course basis. For these courses the add/drop dates are individual and based on the following SGS principles: 

• Add date: no more than 15% of the course has been completed. 
• Drop date: no more than 50% of the course has been completed. 
• E.g., for a 2-week (10 day) compressed course, the add date should be no later than the second day of classes and the drop deadline should be no later than the end of the first week.  If you cannot use ACORN to drop a compressed course, submit a course drop form.
• Dropping courses may have implications for your progress in the program.

Courses are dropped using ACORN or via a Course add or drop form, which can be found on the Student Forms webpage.

Students must adhere to deadlines for adding and dropping courses. If the drop deadline isn't met, the course may permanently remain on your record with the earned grade.

If you miss the ACORN drop deadline and have compelling extenuating circumstances, complete the SGS Add/Drop Course Form and submit it along with rationale and supporting documentation (medical) to your department.  If supported, your department will sign and include a letter of support for review by SGS.

Compressed/Modular Courses

• Courses offered on a non-standard schedule have drop dates that can differ from the standard sessional dates and are set on a course-by-course basis. SGS guideline: in order to drop a course without academic penalty, no more than 50% of the course can have been completed. 

Withdrawing From a Session 

• Withdrawing from a course does not automatically withdraw you from the session. Nor does it automatically change your status (Full-time to Part-time).
• To withdraw from a session (if your program permits) or request a status change, you must email your registration specialist; the refund schedule applies to the date requests are received. 

Coursework Extensions

• Students are expected to meet the course deadlines the School of Graduate Studies and OISE set and are advised to plan accordingly. Students who find themselves unable to meet SGS deadlines for completing coursework can, under certain conditions, receive extensions for completing the work after the date set by SGS. The completed coursework extension request form must be submitted before the grade submission deadline. 
• Please note that students must be registered in the session in which they complete coursework extensions. If students go on a leave of absence, the coursework is then usually submitted in the session in which they return from their leave.
• Once the form is approved and processed a SDF (Standing Deferred) code is assigned to the course on ACORN.  Upon completing the outstanding work by the new deadline, the SDF code is replaced by a final grade.
• The Extension to Complete Coursework form - Course Extension (SDF)(PDF), can be found on the School of Graduate Studies website.  

Some courses have waiting lists. If the department offering the course has opted to allow a waitlist, and either your enrolment category in the course or the course itself is full, you can choose to join a waiting list. 

ACORN will inform you of your place on the waitlist for your category (not necessarily on the whole waitlist) and how many spaces are allotted for that course.

Some courses have multiple waitlists due to multiple enrolment categories (x spaces for this group of students and y spaces for this group of students). You would only see where you are on the waitlist that applies to your category.

If space becomes available in your category and you are next on the list, you'll be automatically enrolled and a notification will be sent to your U of T email address.

If you are on the waitlist for a course in one student category and you change to a different category (e.g., if you transfer from one program to another), this can positively or negatively change your ranking on the waitlist.

Being on the waiting list does not guarantee a space in the course. Waitlisted courses do count toward your maximum course load.

There are no fees associated with being on the waiting list for a course. Graduate program fees are based on program status: full/time or part/time. 

Starting the Winter 2023 session, waitlist cancellations and the final day that students can add courses via ACORN will be January 16, 2023.  From January 17 to January 23, adding a course requires an approved Course Add/Drop Form routed to the appropriate person for approval and then to ROSE for processing. The course instructor or coordinator must approve the form as indicated on the course timetable/schedule.

If you have taken graduate courses at another university, you may request to receive up to 1.0 full-course equivalent (FCE) or 25% of the course requirements – whichever is greater. Transfer credit may be granted for graduate work completed in another program, provided that the course has not been credited towards another degree, diploma, certificate, or any other qualification.

Students participating in an approved exchange program may also receive transfer credit for up to 50% of the course requirements for their degree. Transfer credit arrangements must be recommended by the Registrar's Office and approved in advance by the School of Graduate Studies.

There is no financial credit awarded for a transfer credit. In other words, a student transferring a credit from any other institution or U of T program is still required to pay the minimum total program fee.

With the approval of the home graduate unit and the School of Graduate Studies, a student may be exempt from a specific course requirement permitting the substitution of another course to meet degree requirements. However, overall course credit requirements for your degree will not be reduced. 

Make a Transfer Credit and/or Exemption Request

• Complete the Transfer Credit and/or Course Exemption Form and submit it to your department for approval and signature before it is sent to your registration specialist, along with the final transcript showing the course results.