Overview
utmONE First-Year Foundations courses support students to develop fundamental learning strategies, and sharpen their academic skills so that they can be successful in their university studies. The small-size of these classes provide a supportive classroom environment where students can build connections with their peers, professor and teaching assistant.
These courses are for-credit and can count toward students' distribution requirements. Depending on the course students can use the 0.5 credit toward their Humanities (HUM), Social Science (SSC), or Science (SCI) distribution credits.
Each utmONE First-Year Foundations course is taught around a theme that allows students to strengthen their academic skills while exploring an interesting topic as part of a scholarly community.
utmONE First-Year Foundations courses offered in 2024-2025:
Our utmONE First-Year Foundations courses are open to all first-year students studying at the University of Toronto Mississauga.
How to Enroll
Students can enroll themselves in a utmONE course via ACORN on their enrolment date. Search for the course code or you can find all courses offered by the Institute for the Study of University Pedagogy by selecting the department from the drop-down menu in the Timetable Planner.
Before enrolling in a utmONE First-year Foundations course, please review the course pages above, the course highlights below, and our FAQs. Questions are welcome and can be sent to isup.advisor@utoronto.ca.
Highlights of all utmONE First-Year Foundations Courses
- Supportive classroom. utmONE courses are smaller than most first-year classes, capped at 55 students per lecture and 28 students per tutorial. This means you'll have more personal contact with your instructor, TA and fellow students. You'll get to know your classmates and work together more than you might in a larger class.
- Academic foundations. The skills you are taught in utmONE aren't only meant to support your success in utmONE courses, but to support you in your other courses throughout your entire degree. You'll build a strong foundation including critical reading and writing skills, using academic sources, note-taking, time-management and preparing for exams while also exploring the theme of the course collaboratively with your classmates.
- 0.5 credits toward your distribution requirements. Each utmONE course is one-term in length and provides 0.5 credits toward your distribution requirements that you need to graduate. Depending on the course, you can earn distribution credits in either Science (SCI), Social Science (SSc) or Humanities (HUM).
Featured Student Experiences
Perhaps the best way to know how a utmONE course will benefit you is to hear from other students who have experienced utmONE and are now using the skills and strategies they learned to support their success. Check out these video testimonials from recent utmONE students.
Questions?
Please direct your questions to isup.advisor@utoronto.ca.