Spend Reading Week Travelling & Learning
International & Indigenous Course Modules are a great way to enhance your course learning by participating in an international or Indigenous experience. In each 0.5 or 1.0 credit IICM course, a small number of students can travel outside Toronto for immersive, course-related, faculty-led experiences during either the Fall or Winter Reading Week. The Faculty of Arts & Science covers travel and living expenses for students and faculty.
Benefits of International & Indigenous Course Modules (IICM)
As an IICM student, you can:
- Strengthen your ability to draw connections between theoretical course concepts and your IICM experience
- Gain a deeper understanding of complex concepts, ideas, information and perspectives
- Gain meaningful experiences that can help with your applications for jobs, graduate studies, professional faculties and volunteer roles
- Bond with fellow students and instructors and build a stronger network of professional support
Who is Eligible to Participate?
IICMs are open to students in any year, but you are limited to the courses that offer an IICM component. To be eligible, you should be:
- A full-time undergraduate degree student in the Faculty of Arts & Science — St. George campus (exchange or non-degree students are not eligible to receive IICM funding)
- In good academic standing
- Enrolled in the course the IICM is part of
Is There an Additional Cost?
IICMs are covered through your regular tuition fees. Each student selected to travel during Reading Week is asked to pay $200 (which can be raised through group fundraising events) to help offset travel costs.
IICM Courses
| Course | Instructor | Location |
|---|---|---|
|
AMS310H1 - Approaches to American Studies |
Leah Montange | San Diego & Los Angeles, USA |
| ANT319H1S - North American Archaeology | Katherine Patton | New Mexico |
| CAS400Y1Y - Capstone Seminar – Critical Perspectives on Asian Modernity | Rachel Silvey | Singapore |
| CRI427H1S - Organized Crime and Corruption | Matthew Light | Mexico City |
| ESS221H1F - Minerals and Rocks | Grant Henderson and Russell Pysklywec | Central Turkey (Cappadocia, Nevsehir, Goreme—A UNESCO Geological World Heritage Site), Istanbul |
| ESS222H1S - Petrology and ESS423H1S - Mineral Deposits | Xu Chu and Daniel Gregory | South Africa |
|
ESS223H - Earth Materials & ESS445H - Global Tectonic |
Grant Henderson and Russell Pysklywec | Central Turkey (Cappadocia, Nevsehir, Goreme—A UNESCO Geological World Heritage Site), Istanbul |
|
ESS423H - Mineral Deposits & ESS322H - Igneous Petrology |
Daniel Gregory and Corliss Kin I Sio | Chile |
|
HMB 226H - Indigenous Holistic Health |
Melanie Jeffrey | Six Nations Reserve, Ontario |
| HMB323H1S - Global Health Research | Helen Dimaras and Maria Papaconstantinou | Athens, Greece |
| HMB440H1S - Dementia | Franco Taverna | The Netherlands |
|
LAS350H1: Indigenous Realities in Latin America |
Victor Rivas | Peru |
|
LIN303H - Introduction to Indigenous Languages of the Americas |
Pedro Mateo Pedro | Guatemala |
| POL359Y1Y - Enlarging Europe: The European Union and its Applicants | Robert Austin | Tbilisi and Signagi, Georgia |
|
SMC185H - SMC One: The Gilson Seminar in Faith and Ideas |
Reid Locklin | Sault Ste. Marie |
Dates and Application Process
Before the IICM Reading Week travel period, you will need to do the following:
- Attend orientation sessions with your professor and U of T staff
- Complete Safety Abroad requirements if travelling outside of Canada
- Prepare travel documents as required, well in advance. You are responsible to ensure you have valid travel documents, such as a passport and visa, to enter and exit the destination. The costs associated with travel document applications are not funded by the University. Contact the PIP office (pip.international@utoronto.ca) if you need a supporting document for your travel document application.
- Complete immunizations as required. Complete immunizations and travel documents as required. Check whether there are required and recommended vaccinations on the Government of Canada Travel Vaccinations page. You should also check with a health care provider as soon as possible regarding vaccinations or other health concerns. Vaccinations are not funded by the University.
IICM courses, applications and deadlines and will be posted in late summer.
Please contact the Office of Experiential Learning and Outreach Support (experiential.artsci@utoronto.ca) if you have any questions.
IICMs in the News
As part of IICM's St. Michael's College seminar course Christianity, Truth and Reconciliation, students had the opportunitiy to visit a former residential school in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Throughout the trip, these students received archival training from staff, met with residential school survivors and engaged in a variety of activities that celebrate Indigenous culture and communities. Students described this experience as "one of the most reflective and insightful learning experiences ever."
Read more about their experience: 'A rare and deeply impactful experience': Students learn about residential schools and their legacy
In the Diversity of Amphibians and Reptiles IICM course, Professor Luke Mahler took 14 U of T students to Yasuni National Park in northern Ecuador to spot and study inhabitants of the rainforest. For these students, seeing the bright blue eyes of a rarely seen banded tree anole lizard staring down at them was unforgettable. They also met members of the Huaorani tribe (an especially reclusive community), saw a dwarf caiman (like an alligator) swimming in the Tiputini River and explored the ecosystem of the Andean cloud forest — something few people in the world get to do.
Read more about their experience: Exploring rainforest trails and career paths in Ecuador
Students in the Indigenous Holistic Health IICM taught by Melanie Jeffrey learned from Indigenous Elders and Traditional Knowledge Keepers. They explored the topics of plants as medicine, the connection of ceremony to mental health and the role of traditional practices and physical activity in wellness. The group went on a field trip to a cultural teaching and learning facility run by Six Nations of the Grand, called Chiefswoods Park, where the students deepend their understanding of Indigenous history, plant ecology, medicinal plants and agriculture. And the students learned to play historic traditional games including stickball.
Read more about their experience: Indigenous holistic health course a “transformative experience” for both students and instructor
