Preparing future-ready graduates: leadership and scope
U of T is innovating its academic programs to prepare students not just for the current job market, but for a lifetime of learning, adaptation and contribution.
Commitment leads
Professor Nicholas Rule
Vice-Provost, Academic Programs
Trevor Young
Vice-President and Provost
To meet the Commitment to Prepare Future-Ready Graduates, we are designing new degree pathways to give students more control over how they build a University of Toronto education. As a part of this commitment, we are currently developing four initiatives:
Stackable credentials
Stackable credentials will enable students to build professional master’s degrees by earning a series of smaller credentials in stages and at their own pace. Each credential will stand on its own while, at the same time, applying towards advanced standing for a full degree. In some professional fields, a single credential may be applied to more than one master’s program. This pathway is built for people who are already working, including those who are changing careers or returning to study after time away.
Accelerated study
A small number of students at the University of Toronto already complete honours bachelor’s degrees in three years by carrying heavier course loads and studying through the summer. A working group has identified an opportunity to make this pathway available to more students. We will increase institutional supports and build the advising capacity, faculty mentorship and academic planning that the route requires so that students who pursue this pathway are properly supported.
Experiential learning
The University of Toronto offers a large number of work-integrated and experiential learning opportunities in programs across our three campuses: partnering with research labs, community organizations, hospitals, startups, government offices and industry. Currently, these programs are not organized in a way that students and potential employers can easily navigate. We are designing a program of study that captures the competencies a student develops through experiential learning within and alongside their record of academic credit to fully demonstrate their readiness to apply their education.
Advanced commitment
This initiative will allow incoming undergraduate students to be simultaneously admitted to both an honours bachelor’s degree and a guaranteed pathway to a second professional degree at the point of their initial application to the university. During their undergraduate years, they will complete structured coursework that will also be credited toward advanced standing in their graduate program. The student can pursue undergraduate studies in any area of interest, secure in the knowledge that their pathway to a second professional degree is set.
What we are doing now
We are currently evaluating each pathway with specific pilot programs before considering wider adoption. Every pathway must pass through the university’s rigorous academic evaluation and governance process. We are also working with employers, government, colleges, polytechnics and other universities to widen the entry points into a U of T education and to understand where demand for talent is moving.
What comes next
Pilot program design and testing will continue through the 2026-27 academic year. We are examining how experiential learning is recorded on transcripts and co-curricular records, along with ways in which these types of records can describe student skills in addition to the courses they took.
How we will measure progress
Student uptake and demand for new degree pathways, student retention, student feedback, employer feedback.
Featured news
Explore the Presidential Commitments
See how U of T is acting now to prepare students for the future, advance responsible AI adoption and move research discoveries into the world.
Preparing future-ready graduates
U of T is innovating its academic programs to prepare students not just for the current job market, but for a lifetime of learning, adaptation and contribution.
Advancing responsible AI adoption at scale
As Canada’s AI leader, U of T is working to define what responsible, useful and trustworthy AI adoption looks like at institutional scale.
Mobilizing knowledge for social and economic impact
U of T is strengthening the networks and infrastructure that turn research discoveries into impact for Canada and the world.
