Glossary of terms

Academic plan:

A set of courses, a number of which may be mandatory and of a specialized nature, leading toward a particular degree.

Antirequisites:

A condition preventing enrolment in a course. The most common antirequisites are courses that have significant overlap. Degree credit will not be granted for both the antirequisite course and a course naming it as such.

Class enrolment:

The process of selecting courses prior to final date for fee arrangement, having them approved and recorded with Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA).

Corequisite:

A course that must be taken concurrently, if it has not been taken in a prior term.

Course:

A unit of study relating to a specific academic discipline, and identified by a course name and number.

Course values:

Most courses cover one academic term and carry the weight of 0.5 units. On occasion, a course covering one term may have a unit weight of 1.0 and will meet during that term for more hours per week than does a 0.5 unit course. In some instances, a course may have a 0.25 unit weight.

Cross-listed courses:

Courses which are listed under two departments and which can be taken for credit from either department, but not both.

Elective:

A course not specifically required for a degree but counting towards it, to be chosen freely by the student either from within a specified group of courses or more broadly from courses offered anywhere across the University.

Milestone:

Milestones are non-course degree requirements (e.g., thesis, comprehensives, master's research paper) that a student must complete toward degree progress in order to graduate.

Practicum:

Supervised placement time in a work setting exercising practical routines and techniques related to a particular academic plan.

Prerequisite:

The requirement(s) that must be met in order to be eligible to enrol in a course [i.e., passed or in-progress courses(s), registration in a specific program or plan, academic level or academic standing].

Term:

A particular four-month period within which sessions are defined and fees are arranged: Fall term - September to December; Winter term - January to April; spring term - May to August. Also used with reference to work terms for students in the Co-operative system of study.

Term activation:

Term activation occurs when the student's selection of courses has been approved and the student has made the appropriate arrangements with the University to pay the required fees.

Unit:

The credit value associated with a course. Unit weights are used in the calculation of averages for academic standing. Most courses have unit weights of 0.5, but some have weights such as 0.25, 1.0, 2.0.