There is excess demand for spaces in 400-level economics courses, and given explicit program requirements, there are often no good substitutes for them. In order to allocate scarce spaces in the courses as fairly and optimally as possible, we use Course Match. Course Match employs an algorithm to assign students—before the standard enrolment period — to 400-level courses on the basis of their preferences.
A primary goal of implementing course match is to make sure that every student enrolled in an economics program who is in their final year of studies can enroll in the number of 400 -level courses needed to satisfy their program’s requirement. In particular, these are students who — if they complete the courses in which they are enrolled — will satisfy the following criteria: i) have accepted an invitation to an Economics program; ii) will have completed at least 14.0 credits by the end of the Summer; and iii) will not have satisfied their program's 400-level course requirement by the end of the Summer.
Course Match will assign two courses to Specialists who, as of the end of Summer, will not have completed any 400-level courses. It will assign one course to Specialists who will have completed one 400-level course and to Majors who will have completed none by the end of the Summer. Those who are expected to have completed their program’s requirement for 400-level courses by the end of the Summer are not eligible to participate.
By June 1, we will send an email invitation to participate in Course Match to all students who qualify according to our records. If you believe you qualify but did not receive an invitation, as soon as possible and by June 14 email the department’s Undergraduate Administrator (ugadministrator.economics@utoronto.ca) subject Course Match.
The Course Match algorithm allocates scarce spaces in 400-level courses as optimally as possible. Students submit a ranked list of most-preferred courses, and the algorithm uses these preferences to figure out how to allocate space in these courses as optimally as possible. While Course Match does not guarantee you a spot in your most preferred course — for the most popular courses, luck plays a big role in determining who gets a slot — it gives you a better chance of gaining access to one of your top choices than the usual enrolment process. Participating also guarantees enrolment in the minimum number of 400-level courses you currently need to complete your program’s requirements for a June 2024 graduation.
From June 1–19, you can submit and update your rankings on the Course Match website: https://app.cognomos.com/rank/toronto-ECO-23. Before the regular enrolment period, you find out in which 400-level courses you are pre-enrolled.
You can find additional guidance on submitting your preferences here and a description of the underlying algorithm here.
List, in the order of your preferences, at least five courses you are willing to take. That’s it. The algorithm is strategy proof, meaning listing the courses from most preferred to less preferred is a best response. Trying to game the system cannot improve your outcome. In particular:
Note that when you go to the Course Match website, you will be asked to place one course in a bucket labeled Favorite and additional courses in buckets labeled Great, Good, and Acceptable. Courses in different buckets are ordered as expected, and the order you rank courses within a bucket matters as well. For our purposes, however, only the overall order matters.
Let us say your top five classes, in preference order, are 495 > 494 > 493 > 492 > 491. In this case, you clearly put 495 in the Favorite bucket. After that, all of the following express the same preference rankings and would result in the exact same outcome.
Of course, if you are not planning on taking any 400-level economics courses in the upcoming academic year, you do not need to participate.
If you want to take 400-level economics courses in the upcoming academic year, participation is highly encouraged. Participation increases the likelihood of getting the courses you want, and may be the only route to enrolment in certain courses. Furthermore, only by participating are you guaranteed next-year enrolment in the number of 400-level courses your program requires. In other words, if you do not participate in Course Match, the Dean’s Promise (as it relates to 400-level courses) does not apply.
Students who participated in Course Match and desire to register for additional 400-level courses—as well as those who did not participate in Course Match—will have the opportunity to enroll in additional courses during the University’s normal registration process. Note, however, that we use Course Match to allocate the vast majority of400-level spaces. Some sections will be completely filled by Course Match.
Some important dates for this process
Focus in Data Analytics with Economics Major (ASFOC1478B)
In order to meet the Major and Focus requirements, you must complete one of the following courses: ECO403H1F, ECO403H1S, ECO404H1F, ECO404H1S, ECO418H1S, ECO439H1F, ECO439H1S, ECO475H1S, ECO481H1F, ECO482H1F, and ECO482H1S.
*ECO466H1F and ECO499H1Y are not available for pre-enrollment, please enroll during open enrollment. See A&S Timetable for information on how to submit a supplemental application.
Focus in Data Analytics with Economics Specialist (ASFOC1478A)
In order to meet the Specialist and Focus requirements, you must complete two of the following courses: ECO403H1F, ECO403H1S, ECO404H1F, ECO404H1S, ECO418H1S, ECO439H1F, ECO439H1S, ECO475H1S, ECO481H1F, ECO482H1F, and ECO482H1S.
You should not use Course Match for ECO475H1S as this is a required course. Please enroll during the priority enrolment period.
*ECO466H1F and ECO499H1Y are not available for pre-enrollment, please enroll during priority enrollment. See A&S Timetable for information on how to submit a supplemental application.
Questions? Email ugadministrator.economics@utoronto.ca subject Course Match.