Prospective students now have the option to apply to UTM’s Computer Science (CS) Specialist program directly from high school. They must meet minimum grade requirements and complete a supplementary application detailing “experiences that are not reflected in [their] transcript.” This Year 1 Computer Science (CMP1) “direct admission” pathway will be in addition to the current “competitive admissions.” Currently, students can only enter the CS program by enrolling in the Program of Study (POSt) upon successful completion of 4.0 credits, which is usually at the end of their first year. 

Two pathways

For the past six years, UTSG has used an admissions process that allows students to either apply directly from high school or enter through POSt by the end of their first year. UTSC, by contrast, only accepts students directly from high school. In an email to The Varsity, Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences Assistant Professor Rutwa Engineer wrote the decision to offer two pathways for UTM students had been in the works for “a few years.” However, it first needed to go through “appropriate university channels for approval” before being reflected in the academic calendar. 

With this new pathway, two new CS courses will also be introduced: CSC110Y5 — Foundations of Computer Science 1 and CSC111H5 — Foundations of Computer Science 2. “The intention behind developing these two courses is that we assume students in our [direct admissions pathway] might have more prior programming experience than those in the competitive admissions pathway,” Engineer wrote, adding that “we wanted our computer science curriculum to reflect that.” 

Engineer, whose research explores “student-centered learning design,” added that these courses will emphasize concepts relevant to mathematical reasoning and analysis.

While Engineer acknowledges that “the competitive admissions pathway is suboptimal,” they noted that it remains in place, “allow[ing] students who may recognize their interest in pursuing computer science after their first year of study (or later) to be able to apply.” Core CS courses — such as CSC108H5 and CSC148H5 — will still be offered alongside the new CSC110Y5 and CSC111H5 offerings. 

This decision, while meant to align UTM with UTSG, is also an effort to improve students’ experience in the program. “The two pathways converge by the time students take our second-year computer science courses. So, these changes to our computer science program are a positive development for our long-term goals, as they will alleviate some stress for students and improve their sense of belonging in computer science,” wrote Engineer.

What do UTM CS students think?

The Varsity asked current UTM CS students what they think of these changes. Third-year CS specialist Omar Zaheer wrote, “In some ways, it’s definitely a less stressful direction because CS POSt used to have a reputation for being really rough with entrance requirements. With the new changes, students admitted into the CMP1 stream won’t have to worry about [the uncertainties of securing a spot in the program].” 

At the same time, Zaheer noted that “the obvious drawback is that since the previous admissions system let a lot more people in tha[n] CMP1 probably will, getting into UTM CS is now a little more locked behind high school academic performance.”

In a message to The Varsity, third-year CS specialist Sanchit Manchanda wrote that they believe that grade inflation across Ontario high schools makes these grades “a poor choice to determine a student[’s] admission into a program.” 

“[High school] grades are way too noisy of an indicator of a student[’s] ability to succeed in a university program and this issue is intensified in the most competitive programs [such as in U of T or Waterloo University],” Machanda continued, adding, “your 1st year performance… is a much stronger and fair[er] indicator [of your ability to succeed].”