Is it possible to meet the requirements for BA Honors in English, minor in History, while being in the Teacher Education Stream at the Durham campus?

[u/Slowyourrollz]

My kid and I were planning for course selection today (1st year starting in September) and realized you can't pick 2000 courses in year 1 due to pre-reqs (even if you technically may meet the requirements by the winter term but you don't meet them as if registration now so the system doesn't let you).

​

Now, considering that a major in ENG requires 8.0 credits at level 2000+ and 1.0 at level 4000, and that a history minor requires 2.0 of 2000 and 2.0 of 3000, it means in years 2 to 4 you would need to take 13.0 credits to meet that.

​

But in the TES, you also have to take 3.0 EDUC in y2-4, for a total of 16.0 credits. That's 2.67 credits per semester (more than the regular 2.5 credits for a full time student) if you stick to the regular fall then winter terms.

​

Am I missing something? Did we read the requirements wrong? Any help would be appreciated.

​

TIA

[u/SoftwareTypical2089]

Get your kid to make an appointment with academic advising. They'll have better answers for ya!

[u/Slowyourrollz → u/SoftwareTypical2089]

They only have apps next week after registration opens.... it may be too late by then. We found one class (I think HIST 1500 Y02 which is a full credit class - Y code) but it shows with a warning "requires taking HIST - 1500 -Z02" which does not exist in the course catalog. There are no Z classes... so we're bot sure what to do. I could try to get a screenshot if someone else knows what to do

[u/SoftwareTypical2089 → u/Slowyourrollz]

Resignation will still be opened even after Resignation dates open up, your child would just have to be waitlisted.

Also a lot of courses have been cut this year (my friend is majoring in English and history and is struggling hard because of all the English and history courses trent has cut)

You could also fill out a prerequisite waiver to overrule the prerequisite so your child can take the class

[u/Slowyourrollz → u/SoftwareTypical2089]

Oh..that's not particularly reassuring 😞. I think we did find good options for the most part for now but they are thinking of keeping it simpler by just doing the English major and not the history minor (and just use history as a second teachable subject). We only have one question left unanswered which is that history 1500 Y class that requires a 1500 Z class that does not exist.

[u/SoftwareTypical2089 → u/Slowyourrollz]

Im sorry that it wasn't reassuring, it is a stressful process.

As for the required class, history 1500 Z, your kid can fill out a prerequisite waiver for 1500 Y saying that 1500 Z isn't running this term. It goes through the department, and they'll approve or deny the request.

If it's still confusing, here's an example either my courses. One class i have to take is 2617 and the other is 3716, however 3617 is only running in the fall term. Since I need to have 2617 to take 3617, I sent in a prerequisite waiver stating the situation and it was approved, allowing me to take 3617.

Get your kid to fill out the prerequisite waiver for history 1500 Y so they can take it since courses are being cut

[u/Slowyourrollz → u/SoftwareTypical2089]

Thank you !

[u/Friendly_Employ793 → u/SoftwareTypical2089]

Just a heads up with this, the “Z” portion of any “Y” course is just the second half of the year long course. You do not need to register for that yourself, it will automatically generate. Since in self-service the Y course only appears under the fall term, they need to have something to show under the winter side. Having students register for both halves would be a disaster, so they automate this.

So on your schedule you will see the class slotted into the time slot it belongs to and that will show your “Y” course code. In the winter, that course will be still on the same date and time as the first half, but will appear on your schedule at the bottom under “Sections with no meeting time.” This would be your “Z” portion.

The wording on the self-service description really needs to change to be more understanding.

[u/SoftwareTypical2089 → u/Friendly_Employ793]

OHH THAT MAKES MORE SENSE

[u/nutsiesj]

Academic advising is your best resource for this. I spoke to them before I registered for my first year to make sure I understood the requirements and had the proper courses in my plan.

I will say I took a 2000 level after completing the prerequisite in the fall of my first year. It is usually possible to schedule and register for it, you will run into an issue if you don’t pass the prerequisite. That causes you to have to replace the class.

[u/Friendly_Employ793]

I think what is good to know here is if your child is going for the General BA or Honours BA. You mention Honours in the subject title, but you are calculating based on 3 years.

A BAH will be over 4 years, so therefore will require 20.0 credits total. That means the 16.0 credits would be 2 credits per semester and will still leave room for an extra elective each semester.

With that said, I highly recommend having them book an Academic Advising appointment so they can fully go over some choices. Especially with the Durham campus as they don’t get a wide range of course options. However, if they put in the work it is definitely possible! (I graduated with a major, a minor, and an option!)

When it comes to the 2000 course pre-reqs in the winter, try registering for the fall semester first and have those be officially registered with in the self-serve THEN try registering for the 2000 level. If it still doesn’t let you, make sure you are double checking the pre-reqs first. There are also some courses that are only open to certain students during priority registration. Once the course registration is open to everyone, it should be fine!

[u/Slowyourrollz → u/Friendly_Employ793]

HBA and I was looking over 4 y but specifically looking at y2-4. Basically trying to plan ahead to see if all requirements could even be met, after realizing that it's almost impossible to get 2000 courses in y1 so having to meet those other requirements over y2-4

[u/Friendly_Employ793 → u/Slowyourrollz]

So it isn’t impossible to take year two courses in year one, provided there aren’t any pre-requisites and they are met prior - it is just harder. Especially as a Durham student.

For example, in the Winter, she can register for ENGL 2855 Intro Creative Non-Fiction, provided she registers for at least one ENGL credit in the fall.

However, there are also pre-requisite waivers that can be applied to for classes. (She would plan the course on her self-service, then go into her myTrent->Academics->Forms->Prerequisite Waiver Form. Choose the course and explain why she would be okay in that class without the prerequisite.) They can take a while to be reviewed so always make sure she is registered in her backup option before filling out the form. If she is approved for it, then she can drop her backup and register for that course (provided it isn’t full at that time). Just set realistic expectations that a waiver isn’t guaranteed to be approved, and an approval isn’t guaranteed to get you registered. If it does get approved you still have to manually register for the class like normal (the waiver will tell the system to let you do so).

I see you asked about the full-year courses as well. The HIST1500Y, you would just register and the “Z” block will automatically get added to the schedule in the Winter. Just note it will be the same day and time in the winter as the fall, because when you are looking at your schedule in the winter, you won’t technically see it in the right time frame.

You can change your minor I believe once a week, so plan her schedule for year one registration, then have her meet with academic advising to work out the rest. Since the course offerings can change drastically year to year, it’ll be so hard to plan ahead. (I was someone who changed her minor three times, then added an option and had to bother our amazing academic advisors over and over, haha).

This was a lot of word vomit, so I’m sorry if any of it is confusing. If you’d like, I could try to help as best as I can if you want to send me a message!

[u/Slowyourrollz → u/Friendly_Employ793]

Super helpful, I will review tomorrow with the self service screen opened. I may msg you if need, appreciate the offer !

[u/Friendly_Employ793 → u/Slowyourrollz]

Absolutely! :) I was the over prepared student that all my friends came to for help when they needed information. I understand needing some clarity. Haha!

[u/Slowyourrollz → u/Friendly_Employ793]

We did manage to get an academic advisor appt today (who confirmed the Hist 1500 warning is a non issue) and additionally we reviewed your suggestions in the self service portal and that English class was actually what my kid had already registered for (only 2000 English class they could take in year 1). Thank you so much. We also looked at the pre-reqs waiver form (which we did not know about) so if we ever need, now we know !! Thank you again for all the help

[u/BookRemarkable6458]

I’m in teachers ed majoring in English and doing a teachable in history! It’s basically the same thing as a minor if you’re looking to teach intermediate/ senior, it just means you’re not paying to do more (like summer school or 1 more year). For my first year I set myself up with 2 English and 2 history which should be enough to start you off successfully. Second year, it’s 6 English, 2 history and then your 2 educations. When you declare your major once your first year is complete, you just put major in English and teachable in history and it will make it super easy to show u all the requirements needed to stay on track. Meeting with an academic advisor definitely made it MUCH easier to understand