The Advanced Academic Program (AAP) provides an opportunity for students to challenge themselves in an academic university setting during the summer months. Designed for high school students with a strong level of English, the Advanced Academic Program will immerse students in engaging projects and discussions using course material and activities typical of a Canadian educational institution.
During this 3-week all-inclusive program, students will be immersed in an English language environment at Canada’s top university and learn about, analyze, and explore a range of concepts related to the subject they are taking. The course will culminate with an independent research project and academic presentation. Students have mandatory morning and afternoon courses, and will participate in co-curricular evening activities and weekend excursions.
Courses
Duration (M-F)
Age
English Level
World Economics
3 weeks, Morning
15 - 18 yrs
Advanced+
Language & Literature*
3 weeks, Morning
15 - 18 yrs
Advanced+
Law, Ethics & Society
3 weeks, Morning
15 - 18 yrs
Advanced+
Sciences Across the Spectrum
3 weeks, Morning
15 - 18 yrs
Advanced+
Film & Cinema Studies*
3 weeks, Afternoon
15 - 18 yrs
Advanced+
Applied Mathematics in Statistics
3 weeks, Afternoon
15 - 18 yrs
Advanced+
Social Psychology in Action
3 weeks, Afternoon
15 - 18 yrs
Advanced+
*Language & Literature and Film & Cinema Studies are not offered in the June Session. They are only offered during the July & August Sessions.
Please note that the International Programs Office may change course offerings due to availability and your selected course may not be available. Please be prepared to select a second choice if your first choice is no longer available. If you have any concerns, please contact the International Programs Office at summeracademy@utoronto.ca.
WORLD ECONOMICS
Course Length: 3 weeks
Classes: 15 hours/week
Sessions: June/July/August
Minimum English Level Required: Advanced+
In this course, students will apply fundamental economic concepts, such as scarcity, wealth, productivity, trade-offs, and markets, to learn how our economic behavior influences, and is influenced by, a globalized, interconnected world. Students will be encouraged to research and reflect upon how these concepts are understood in their own countries and to share their knowledge with their classmates.
This course introduces concepts through lectures, texts, and activities that lead toward successful completion of a final course project. This course is a good fit if:
- You plan to pursue post-secondary education and/or have strong interest in fundamental economics within a globalized world
- You want to practice language and develop academic skills for success in university courses
- You have some experience with critical reading, seminar participation, note-taking, research, and academic writing in any language
- You enjoy a challenging study environment
LANGUAGE & LITERATURE
Course Length: 3 weeks
Classes: 15 hours/week
Sessions: July/August
Minimum English Level Required: Advanced+
What can the written word tell us about a culture? How does what we read and write influence us? Through class discussions and personal reflections, students will critically analyze a range of fiction (such as novels, short stories, and/or poetry), investigating its original social, cultural, and historical contexts; they will then be encouraged to consider how their own cultures and life experiences affect how they interpret a text.
This course introduces concepts through lectures, texts, and activities that lead toward successful completion of a final course project. This course is a good fit if:
- You plan to pursue a post-secondary education and/or have a strong interest in storytelling and language conventions within poems, short stories, and novels
- You want to practise language and develop academic skills for success in university courses
- You have some experience with critical reading, seminar participation, note-taking, research, and academic writing in any language
- You enjoy a challenging study environment
LAW, ETHICS & SOCIETY
Course Length: 3 weeks
Classes: 15 hours/week
Sessions: June/July/August
Minimum English Level Required: Advanced+
How do we decide between right and wrong? Why do we need laws? What are our rights and obligations as citizens? This course challenges students to take on some of society’s toughest questions. Through case studies, group projects, guest speakers and field trips, students will learn the basic principles behind the Canadian legal system, exploring how it compares to their own.
This course introduces concepts through lectures, texts, and activities that lead toward successful completion of a final course project. This course is a good fit if:
- You plan to pursue a post-secondary education and/or have strong interest in legal studies and how society shapes them
- You want to practice language and develop academic skills for success in university courses
- You have some experience with critical reading, seminar participation, note-taking, research, and academic writing in any language
- You enjoy a challenging study environment
SCIENCES ACROSS THE SPECTRUM
Course Length: 3 weeks
Classes: 15 hours/week
Sessions: June/July/August
Minimum English Level Required: Advanced+
How do we begin to understand the world around us? How are we able to explain phenomena that at one time seemed magical? This survey course introduces fundamental concepts across scientific disciplines in a seminar-style participatory classroom, including key concepts from physics, chemistry, biology, and earth sciences. Students will engage in group discussions, examine case studies, and participate in experiments (where practical) to develop a broad understanding of scientific inquiry and problem-solving. Emphasizing cross-disciplinary connection and the scientific method, students will come away with awareness of hypothesis formulation, experimentation, data analysis, and drawing conclusions.
This course introduces concepts through lectures, texts, and participation tasks that lead toward successful completion of a final course project involving small-scale research. This course is a good fit if:
- You plan to pursue post-secondary education and/or have strong interest in any of the sciences
- You want to practice language and develop academic skills for success in university courses
- You enjoy a challenging study environment
APPLIED MATHEMATICS IN STATISTICS
Course Length: 3 weeks
Classes: 15 hours/week
Sessions: June/July/August
Minimum Level Required: Advanced+
In this course, students will learn the fundamentals of mathematical statistics and data analysis, critically examining how statistical data is collected and used to model reality. Through individual work, class discussions, and group projects, students will also apply their analytical skills to explore cognitive bias, game theory, and decision-making.
This course introduces concepts through lectures, texts, and activities that lead toward successful completion of a final course project. This course is a good fit if:
- You plan to pursue post-secondary education and/or have strong interest in mathematics and representations of numbers to describe situations
- You want to practice language and develop academic skills for success in university courses
- You have some experience with critical reading, seminar participation, note-taking, research, and academic writing in any language
- You enjoy a challenging study environment
FILM & CINEMA STUDIES
Course Length: 3 weeks
Classes: 15 hours/week
Sessions: July/August
Minimum Level Required: Advanced+
This course explores how film communicates beyond words. In this course, together we explore a variety of genres (sci-fi, horror, documentary, etc.) and the key aspects associated with narratives in these types of storytelling. We then learn about production techniques and principles of visual composition filmmakers and writers use to exemplify and emphasize their intentions to the audience. During in-class screenings and discussions, students will analyze the many ways in which filmmakers convey stories, ideas, emotions, and biases.
This course introduces concepts through lectures, texts, and activities that lead toward successful completion of a final course project. This course is a good fit if:
- You plan to pursue post-secondary education and/or have strong interest in storytelling through film
- You want to practice language and develop academic skills for success in university courses
- You have some experience with critical reading, seminar participation, note-taking, research, and academic writing in any language
- You enjoy a challenging study environment
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION
Course Length: 3 weeks
Classes: 15 hours/week
Sessions: June/July/August
Minimum English Level Required: Advanced+
Why do we do what we do, and think what we think? Social psychologists try to answer these questions by observing how people relate to one other in different social situations, including how power (or lack of) affects us. Experts claim that our behaviours, our feelings, and many times our thoughts are influenced by the social situations we are in and adapt from one situation to another. In this course, we will explore both intra- and inter-personal topics within social psychology, in order to better understand concepts like social perception, attitudes, group processes, relationships, and research design.
This course introduces concepts through lectures, texts, and participation tasks that lead toward successful completion of a final course project involving small-scale research. This course is a good fit if:
- You plan to pursue post-secondary education and/or have strong interest in behaviour
- You want to practice language and develop academic skills for success in university courses
- You have some experience with critical reading, seminar participation, note-taking, research, and academic writing in any language
- You enjoy a challenging study environment