Welcome to UitC
University in the Community takes post-secondary education into the community. We believe that learning is inclusive, lifelong and active. It is the capacity to participate.
Each year, we offer free-of-charge, semester-long courses to adults whose access to higher education has been limited by life circumstances. Students meet once a week at Innis College (U of T, St. George campus).
Who can enroll in University in the Community?
If you have a passion for learning but face barriers to higher education, possess basic English literacy skills and can commit to weekly attendance, please get in touch!
For more information or to register, email us at:
universityinthecommunity@gmail.com
Who We Are
University in the Community is a free, humanities-based program for low-income residents in the city of Toronto.
It is an initiative of the Workers’ Educational Association (a non-profit, non-partisan, charitable organization that has promoted life-long learning since 1918) and is supported by Senior College and Innis College at the University of Toronto. From the Farm Radio Forums and the Saturday night Labour Forums in the 1930’s and 1940’s, to the provision of liberal arts courses to hundreds of ordinary people across Canada from 1918 to today, WEA has been a pioneer in the field of adult learning. The traditions and values of the WEA to support, encourage and include adult learners as fully-engaged participants in their lives, their communities and the wider world lie at the heart of the WEA’s two current initiatives: University in the Community (weekly classes held at Innis College, University of Toronto and at CAMH) and Learning Curves (our newspaper).
Current Programs
Fall 2019 – The Public Good: Who is the Public and What is the Good?
University in the Community
Wednesday evenings at 6:30 – 8:30 pm September 25th to November 27th
Since 2003 University in the Community has offered free non-credit university–level courses in the liberal arts to people who would not ordinarily consider attending university. This program was inspired by the Clemente Course in the Humanities.
Click here for specific course information.
About Us
Since 2003 University in the Community has offered free non-credit university–level courses in the liberal arts to people who would not ordinarily consider attending university. This program was inspired by the Clemente Course in the Humanities.
The two main purposes of University in the Community are to tackle the systemic causes of poverty through the liberating power of a humanities education and to enrich the participants’ lives by:
- learning how philosophers, writers and artists through the ages have tried to answer the “big questions” of life:
- reflecting upon and gaining perspective about their own lives
- reasoning about their problems and negotiating solutions rather than reacting instinctively
- expressing their thoughts and feelings in a respectful environment
- gaining confidence in their ability to participate as informed citizens.
What are the Humanities?
The Humanities try to answer the big questions of life.
- What is the meaning of life?
- How should we live our lives?
- What is a moral life?
- What is the best route to a happy life?
- What do I owe myself?
- What do I owe others?
In studying the humanities, we learn how philosophers, poets, artists and historians through the centuries have tried to answer these questions and we try to discover what we ourselves think the answers are.