{"id":46985,"date":"2022-07-12T21:08:06","date_gmt":"2022-07-13T01:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=46985"},"modified":"2023-02-10T14:40:40","modified_gmt":"2023-02-10T19:40:40","slug":"take-a-deep-breath-and-dont-worry-about-breadth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2022\/07\/12\/take-a-deep-breath-and-dont-worry-about-breadth\/","title":{"rendered":"Take a Deep Breath and Don\u2019t Worry About Breadth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>With course selection right around the corner, for the indecisive bunch, figuring out what to take can be a tricky task. I remember starting my studies and hearing the words \u201cbreadth requirements\u201d a lot. Not really knowing what that meant, and as an arts student who saw a list that included math and sciences, fear of revisiting my grade twelve calculus class plagued my mind.&nbsp; Don\u2019t let these requirements freak you out, since trying to find courses to fill breadth requirements led me to take one of my favourite courses. The breadth requirements are extremely valuable, as they encourage students to become well-rounded, and versed in many different subject areas. They can guide you toward subjects you never thought you'd like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let's take a look at what breadth requirements are. Each course is labeled under a different category including Creative and Cultural Representations; Thought, Belief, and Behaviour; Society and Its Institutions; Living Things and Their Environment, and The Physical and Mathematical Universes.  Any course you take will automatically have one of these groups attached to it, but if you\u2019re someone who was hoping to take all chemistry or art history courses, they won't give you the \u201cbreadth\u201d you need. That\u2019s why when planning for course selection, it\u2019s essential to look at these breadth groups and find an elective in another subject area, to graduate with all the requirements you need. The breadth requirements may differ depending on your faculty and program, so always speak to your registrar first!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"612\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2022\/07\/IMG_0377-612x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Screenshot from UofT Academic Calendar:\nEEB215H1: Conservation Biology\n\nHours\n24L\/12T\n\nIntroduction to the scientific discipline that deals with threatened species and habitats. Topics include: biodiversity, extinction, threats, demography, genetic diversity, protecting, managing and restoring ecosystems (e.g., nature reserves, captive breeding, conservation corridors), sustainable development, and global warming. Ties between the study of conservation biology and environmental law, economics, and policy will also be covered. For non-science students in all years and disciplines. For non-science students in all years and disciplines.\n\nExclusion\nBIO120H1\nDistribution Requirements\nScience\nBreadth Requirements\nLiving Things and Their Environment (4)\nMode of Delivery\nIn Class\" class=\"wp-image-46994\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2022\/07\/IMG_0377-612x1024.jpg 612w, https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2022\/07\/IMG_0377-179x300.jpg 179w, https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2022\/07\/IMG_0377.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 612px) 100vw, 612px\" \/><figcaption>Caption: This is a an example from the Academic Calendar showing which Breadth Requirement the course satisfies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Almost all my mandatory program courses in my first year filled the<em> Creative and Cultural Representations<\/em> and <em>Society and Its Institutions<\/em> breadth requirement. I\u2019ve heard a lot of people say \u201cget your breadth requirements out of the way early\u201d which is a great tip, so you don\u2019t have to worry about them in your final year. I decided to get a <em>Living Things and Their Environment<\/em> course out of the way in the summer session, and as a non-science student, totally LOVED it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I took EEB215 Conservation Biology, which ended up being one of my favourite classes this year. It was directed for non-science students, so it attracted a wide range of students in all different years and programs. It was refreshing to take a class in a completely different subject area than all the courses I took during the year. It also gave me a new passion for conservation biology, the environment, and wildlife, which I'm now hoping to continue learning about and linking to my studies in art and literature in courses like CRE271: Reading the Wild. I\u2019ve also been able to tie what I learned about conservation into my own daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"861\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2022\/07\/IMG_0375.jpg\" alt=\"Black cat outside behind tree branches\" class=\"wp-image-46987\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2022\/07\/IMG_0375.jpg 750w, https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2022\/07\/IMG_0375-261x300.jpg 261w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><figcaption>Caption: Sammi's cat Luna enjoying nature.\ud83c\udf31\ud83c\udf3b<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite feeling intimidated to take a course outside of your typical scope of studies, it\u2019s a great way to meet new people, find alternate subjects of interest, and help narrow down your course options. Who knows, maybe it could even lead you in a totally new direction.&nbsp; Isn't that what learning is all about?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until next time,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sammi Herlich\ud83c\udf38<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\n<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nWith course selection right around the corner, for the indecisive bunch, figuring out what to take can be a tricky task. I remember starting my studies and hearing the words \u201cbreadth requirements\u201d a lot. Not really knowing what that meant,&hellip;\n<\/div><div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2022\/07\/12\/take-a-deep-breath-and-dont-worry-about-breadth\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Take a Deep Breath and Don\u2019t Worry About Breadth&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2022\/07\/12\/take-a-deep-breath-and-dont-worry-about-breadth\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Take a Deep Breath and Don\u2019t Worry About Breadth&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":448,"featured_media":46990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[27552,1614,23685,1087,176,1360],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46985"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/448"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46985"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47969,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46985\/revisions\/47969"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}