Course Prerequisites

Under Faculty of Arts and Science regulations, students are responsible for fulfilling prerequisites. Students enrolled in courses for which they do not have the published prerequisites may have their registration in those courses cancelled at any time without warning.

The Department of Economics supports this requirement and strictly enforces it. Our policy towards prerequisites is clearly laid out in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Calendar:

NOTE: Please read prerequisites and exclusions carefully. Course prerequisites are strictly enforced and are not just “recommended preparation.” For all mathematics and statistics course prerequisites, the level of the course is also important. For all third and fourth year economics courses, FULL YEAR intermediate course prerequisites are mandatory: a similar “half course” version is not acceptable. All prerequisites must be fully completed BEFORE a course can be taken. Courses that are prerequisites cannot be taken simultaneously with the courses for which they are a prerequisite (i.e., they are not "co-requisites"). Students from other institutions must show their transcripts to the department if they are using prior courses as prerequisites. The same rules apply.

We highlight this text in bold for a reason: to convey the seriousness that we take prerequisites. Our approach in program design is to clearly lay out requirements and rules, then apply them consistently and fairly -- without exception. Students must plan their programs according to these guidelines. We never grant exceptions for poor planning, or changes in plans. Ever.

It is the student’s responsibility to check the prerequisites before enrolling in any course.  Any student who lacks one or more prerequisites for any 200+ series ECO course but decides to enrol anyway will eventually be identified through a prerequisite check and removed from the course.  It may then be too late to enrol in another course, which may add time to complete the degree requirements.  Please note that instructors cannot waive prerequisites.

Using UTM/UTSC Courses to Meet Prerequisites

The Department of Economics at St. George accepts the following course equivalents to meet prerequisite requirements, but the reverse may not be true at the other campuses.

UTM Courses			UTSC Courses			UTSG Courses
Course	MIN Grade Requirement		Course	MIN Grade Requirement		Courses
ECO100Y5	67%* or 70%**				equivalent to	ECO101H1 + ECO102H1  ( formerly ECO100Y1 )
ECO101H5	63%* or 70%**	OR	MGEA02H3	67%* or 70%**	equivalent to	ECO101H1
ECO102H5	63%* or 70%**	OR	MGEA06H3	67%* or 70%**	equivalent to	ECO102H1
			MGEA01H3 + MGEA05H3	80%*	equivalent to	ECO105Y1
ECO200Y5		OR	MGEB02H3 + MGEC02H3		equivalent to	ECO200Y1
ECO202Y5		OR	MGEB06H3 + MGEC06H3		equivalent to	ECO202Y1
ECO206Y5					equivalent to	ECO206Y1
ECO208Y5					equivalent to	ECO208Y1
ECO220Y5		OR	MGEB11H3 + MGEB12H3		equivalent to	ECO220Y1
ECO227Y5					equivalent to	ECO227Y1

*   A minimum grade is required to meet prerequisites for ECO200Y1/ECO202Y1/ECO220Y1.

** A minimum grade of 70% is required to meet prerequisites for ECO206Y1/ECO208Y1/ECO227Y1.

Using Other Courses to Meet Prerequsites

Students who believe they have completed courses equivalent to the published prerequisites at another institution must submit a transcript along with a copy of the course syllabus from that institution to the Undergraduate Administrator.  This should be done as early as possible, preferably prior to enroling in a course.  Failure to do so will inevitably result in the student being removed from the course, usually after classes have started.  For visiting / non-degree students, please note that a “letter of permission” from your home institution or campus means that you will receive a transfer credit upon completion of a course offered on the St. George campus but not that you are authorized to enrol in the course.  Only the Department of Economics on the St. George campus can issue such authorization.

If a student has formally been granted a transfer credit for a specific course, that transfer credit will automatically be accepted for prerequisite purposes.

• Remember: Whether from UTSC or another institution, students must have full year equivalents of the relevant intermediate courses (microeconomics, macroeconomics, and/or statistics) completed before they can enrol in 300-level ECO courses. Exceptions are never granted for this rule.
• Commerce students, in particular, are alerted to the fact that many 300-level courses (e.g., ECO349H, ECO365H) require intermediate macro (like ECO208Y or ECO209Y). Intermediate macro must completed before the 300-level course is taken.

Requests to waive prerequisites are almost never approved.  If, after reading this notice, you still decide to submit such a request, you should arrange a meeting with the Undergraduate Administrator or Commerce Administrator and bring a copy of your full academic record to that meeting. The question at that meeting will only concern whether a prerequisite condition is actually met, not whether it will be waived.