KMDI - Knowledge Media Design Institute
Knowledge media are building blocks of a knowledge society
FAQs for Prospective Students
- Is applying to the Collaborative Program different from applying to a home department?
- How do I get in touch with the home departments?
- Can I use the same statement of research interest and portfolio that I submitted to my home department when applying to the Collaborative Program?
- What should I put in my portfolio?
- What if the writing I want to submit in my portfolio is in a language other than English?
- Should I get new letters of reference for my KMD Collaborative Program application or use the ones I submitted to my home department?
- Should I send a new copy of my transcripts to the Collaborative Program?
- Does it matter when I apply as long as I do so before the deadline?
- How do I know if my application arrived safely and that it is complete?
- Who will be reviewing my application?
- How do I get help with my application?
- If my PhD dissertation must be a KMD topic, does that mean that it must be approved by the Program Committee?
- How long does the Collaborative Program take to complete?
- How does collaboration with KMDI affect the final degree students graduate with?
- What benefits does collaboration with KMDI specifically offer students besides additional elective courses?
- How does the collaborative program enhance the graduate education?
- What happens if I don't complete the Collaborative Program?
- Can I get funding through the Collaborative Program?
- Can I find housing through the Collaborative Program?
Q. Is applying to the Collaborative Program different from applying to a home department?
Yes. These are distinct processes. Application information is not shared between the two. Some departmental applications invite students to indicate which collaborative programs they are interested in. Indicating your interest there, however, does not guarantee that we will become aware of you. You must apply to us directly. Although departments maintain high admissions standards, no department alone can properly evaluate interdisciplinary research proposals, nor the set of conditions that a student should meet before embarking upon such a program of study. Be aware, also, that admission into a home department and admission into the Collaborative Program are entirely independent events. One does not guarantee the other. Consult the individual units for their application and admission procedures.
Q. How do I get in touch with the home departments?
Contact information for our collaborating units is as follows:
| Contacting the Participating Units | ||||
| UNIT | TEL (416) | FAX (416) | WEB SITE (opens in new window) |
|
| ALD | 978-5038 | 927-2094 | enquiry.ald@utoronto.ca | www.ald.utoronto.ca |
| CS | 978-6025 | 978-1931 | grad-inq@cs.utoronto.ca | www.cs.utoronto.ca |
| CTL | 923-6641 #2747 | 926-4744 | tlouisy@oise.utoronto.ca | www.oise.utoronto.ca/depts/ctl/ |
| FIS | 978-3234 | 978-5762 | inquire@fis.utoronto.ca | www.fis.utoronto.ca |
| IMS | 978-8886 | 971-2253 | j.chapman.smith@utoronto.ca | www.library.utoronto.ca/ims |
| MIE | 978-3040 | 978-7753 | gradoffice@mie.utoronto.ca | www.mie.utoronto.ca |
| SOC | 978-3414 | 978-3963 | wright@chass.utoronto.ca | www.utoronto.ca/sociology |
| VIS | 946-8150 | 978-1491 | lisa.steele@utoronto.ca | http://www.art.utoronto.ca/ |
Q. Can I use the same statement of research interest and portfolio that I submitted to my home department when applying to the Collaborative Program?
Students applying to the Collaborative Program should provide new material. In practice, however, there will be redundancy. A statement of research interest will describe the same objectives, whether submitted to a home department or to the Collaborative Program. In cases in which samples of work are required by a home department, there is also likely to be redundancy. Any material in one application can be used in the other as the candidate sees fit (even to the point of simply photocopying it). However, the stronger applications will be those that take the opportunity to highlight the Knowledge Media Design aspects of the research interests and to tailor their content to an interdisciplinary audience.
Q. What should I put in my portfolio?
The purpose of the portfolio is to allow students the opportunity to present the work, whether academic, professional or amateur, of which they are most proud and which they feel most clearly demonstrates their aptitude in the field.
Q. What if the writing I want to submit in my portfolio is in a language other than English?
Prospective students may have produced writing, academic essays, projects, and so forth in languages other than English. Such work may be submitted in an applicant's portfolio. The applicant would not be expected to produce a translation of the entire original work, but should provide an English language abstract or summary of the submission. Strong English language communication skills, however, are required of Program students, and any abstract or summary should be prepared by the applicant him- or her-self.
Q. Should I get new letters of reference for my KMD CP application or use the ones I submitted to my home department?
Students applying to the KMD Collaborative Program will already have submitted confidential letters of reference to their home department. The KMD CP can work with these home departments to get copies of original letters. The content of these letters, however, should have some direct relevance to study in the Collaborative Program. If you feel your departmental letters do not adequately demonstrate your field-related skill or background, you might wish to supplement the sample by sending one or more distinct letters to the Collaborative Program.
Q. Should I send a new copy of my transcripts to the Collaborative Program?
In the interest of convenience, applicants are not expected to produce original transcript records for the Collaborative Program if such records are already on file at the home department. Unofficial copies, such as those released to students, are welcome, but in all cases the Collaborative Program will work with the home department to ensure that we have access to the original transcripts.
Q. Does it matter when I apply as long as I do so before the deadline?
In the interest of convenience, applicants are not expected to produce original transcript records for the Collaborative Program if such records are already on file at the home department. Unofficial copies, such as those released to students, are welcome, but in all cases the Collaborative Program will work with the home department to ensure that we have access to the original transcripts.
Q. How do I know if my application arrived safely and that it is complete?
Applicants will be notified by email once their complete application is in the possession of the Collaborative Program. Upon receiving an application package, the Program administration will arrange for the transfer of transcripts and letters from the home department. If other materials are absent from the application, or if for any reason the applicant's file can not be completed, the applicant will be notified by email.
Q. Who will be reviewing my application?
All applications are jointly screened by the Program Committee, which is comprised of the Program Director and a representative from each of the eight collaborating units. See the Program Committee page for current membership.
Q. How do I get help with my application?
Help is available by contacting the Collaborative Program administration at program@kmdi.utoronto.ca. The administration will answer all questions concerning the application process. However, in order to maintain academic integrity, the administration will not be able to "coach" individual candidates, by offering proof-reading or commentary on content.
Q. If my PhD dissertation must be a KMD topic, does that mean that it must be approved by the Program Committee?
The KMD Collaborative Program Committee will review the initial statement of research interest (submitted with the application) but not the actual dissertation proposal. The student's thesis committee must have a co-supervisor from a KMD CP collaborating unit other than the home unit, but this member need not to be a Program Committee member. When the dissertation proposal has been accepted by the department, the thesis committee will confirm for the Collaborative Program that the topic is relevant to the KMD field. Given the multi-disciplinary nature of the thesis committee, it is unlikely that any problem will arise. If a dispute over the topic cannot be resolved, and the student wishes to continue in the direction chosen, he or she is free to withdraw from the Collaborative Program.
Q. How long does the Program take to complete?
The Collaborative Program is designed to be completed in conjunction with the graduate degree program, Masters level or PhD, at the home department. The length of time is the same as a degree program without the KMD specialization.
Q. How does collaboration with KMDI affect the actual final degree students graduate with?
The home unit degree is the primary degree and must be completed before the student is eligible to have a completion of a collaborative program specialization conferred. SGS, which considers collaborative program study to be a mark of distinction, keeps permanent records of the student's accomplishment, including a notation of specialization on the final graduate transcripts. The actual diploma issued by the home unit does not mention of the collaborative program. The collaborative program issues its own certificate, signed by the Program Director and the Dean of SGS at U of T.
Q. How does the collaborative program enhance the graduate education?
SGS considers collaborative programs to provide multidisciplinary enrichment of traditional departmental degree programs, an educational experience that is more dynamic, comprehensive and versatile. Athough there is no specific career in KMD for which program students are trained, the KMDI learning objectives have wide relevance for traditional departmental education. Study in the collaborative program better prepares U of T graduates for the pervasive new realities of work in the public and private sectors, broadening their marketability and positioning them to contribute to further innovation in knowledge media development and use.
Q. What benefits does collaboration with KMDI specifically offer students besides additional elective courses?
Students are treated as members of KMDI's growing research community, being given free access to the technological and personnel resources of the Institute. They are provided training and tech support for a range of new technologies, implemented directly in their course projects and as platforms for their larger research programs. KMDI's position as centre of a collaboration of graduate units provides further leverage. Units participating in the collaboration agree to support KMD CP students, including those who belong to outside units. Collaborative Program students consequently enjoy an access to cross-departmental resources that would be difficult if not impossible to reproduce otherwise. The institute itself is a recognized leader in the international KMD community, its graduate students connecting with a network of researchers, scholars and practitioners in both the academe and the private sector.
Q. What happens if I don't complete the Collaborative Program?
Students are free to withdraw from the KMD Collaborative Program at any time. Those students who do not complete the Collaborative Program, for whatever reason, simply revert to their primary degree program and follow that course as a straight departmental student.
Q. Can I get funding through the Collaborative Program?
Because the Knowledge Media Design Institute is not a department, it is unable to offer student services. Funding opportunities are limited to the KMDI Graduate Fellowship Grant, for which only KMDI Fellows are eligible. Students interested in obtaining funding should inquire through their home departments or go to the School of Graduate Studies financial support page.
Q. Can I find housing through the Collaborative Program?
Because the Knowledge Media Design Institute is not a department, it is unable to offer student services. Students interested in finding housing should inquire through their home departments or go to the School of Graduate Studies housing page.
Copyright © 2006 KMDI, a research institute in the School of Graduate
Studies, University of Toronto.
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