Application to UofT
First year applicants to the University should follow the application procedures outlined on the Faculty of Arts and Science Web site. Current details for admission to the BCB Program are listed here, under “Limited Programs”. Students who are interested in BCB should apply to the Sciences program division on St. George Campus. You may choose any related “Subject of Major Interest” (e.g. Biology) for your application, these are collected by the universities for informational purposes and are not binding for students’ course or program choices.
First Year Courses
The required first and second year courses are listed here. Note that this set of courses is specific to the BCB Program and “pure” Life-Sciences or Computer Sciences first-year course sets would differ. This means that even though you will enrol in the Program in your second year at the University, you should make the decision to take these courses as early as possible, ideally on admission, as you choose your first year courses. However, should you change your mind at a later time, there are ways to make up for missing prerequisites. Often this involves the opportunity to take courses during the summer. First year students pay the normal tuition fees.
Enrolment into the BCB Program
The BCB program is a “limited” POSt, with selection based on the average of BIO130H1 plus best of CSC108H1 or CSC148H1 OR the average of BIO230H1 and CSC236H1.
To ensure that students admitted to the program will be successful, applicants with a grade average lower than 75% in these required courses will not be considered for admission. Please note that obtaining this minimum grade average does not guarantee admission to the program. While it is difficult to predict what will constitute a “competitive” grade average in a given year, based on previous years the estimate is = mid 80s. Applications from students lacking a numerical grade in one of the specified prerequisites may be considered on the basis of their entire academic record and the availability of space in the program.
BCB is a Limited Program (limited enrolment, deregulated tuition fees), for enrolment details see here. Logon to ACORN to apply. The first round of application is March 1 to April 28, 2023. The second round is July 8 to August 22, 2023. Students completing one or both prerequisites in summer 2023 should apply during the second round.
After admission into the BCB POSt, “deregulated” tuition fees will apply. For students admitted into the program after 2nd year, retroactive deregulated tuition fees will apply.
Computer Science Courses: Beginning in 2021-22, BCB students are allowed to enrol in up to 2.5 CSC credits at the 300/400 level if they choose to. Please note that CSC373H1 is the only CSC course at this level that is required in the BCB program.
Transfer Students
Transfer options to the University of Toronto, Faculty of Arts and Science are listed on the Faculty’s Transfer Student pages both for transfer within the University and from other Universities. The Transfer office handles decisions on transfer credits.
POSt Transfer Options
Numerous transfer options into life-science-only or computer-science-only POSts exist after the first, second and even after the third year. Most will require additional course work over the summer, but in general, transfer to each of the participating departments’ specialist or major programs will be possible without extending your time to graduate.
Additional Major
It is possible to fulfill the requirements in a Major in one of the sponsoring Departments with only 0.5 to 3.5 additional credits. In addition, students have found that enrolling in a Computer Science Major Program has opened additional course choices, since U of T’s Computer Science courses that are not part of the Program requirements are normally filled to capacity with students who have CS Program enrolment priority. Please enquire for details.
Graduate studies
The BCB Program alone may not necessarily be sufficient preparation for graduate studies in one of the co-sponsoring departments. We recommend that students engage with the Program Director and the Departments’ Graduate Coordinators early and on a continuing basis to include all courses that are required for their diverse career goals. Please enquire for details.
Sample Course Layout
We have prepared a few sample course schedules for illustration:
“Canonical” course layout for the BCB POSt.
Actual study plan – example 1: similar to canonical schedule.
Actual study plan – example 2: CSC courses taken later, after POSt change
*Please note that while the information in this section is as accurate as we can reasonably maintain it, it is a digest of the applicable Faculty regulations and policies and is posted for approximate guidance only. Please refer to the Faculty’s official documents. When in doubt, ask your Registrar!
For more information, check out this BCB program info video and a Guide to the BCB program prepared by the BCBSU.