Sankofa Pathways to University

The program was developed by the University of Waterloo’s Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (EDI-R) and is housed under Waterloo’s Arts First Program that focuses on building, “…students’ foundational competencies in communication and analysis during their first year of university.” It was developed to give Black youth an opportunity to try their hand at a university level course in a supportive environment, examining issues and histories relevant to them.

Yes. The program fee is covered by the University of Waterloo making it free of cost to successful candidates.

The course begins Monday, June 26 and ends Friday, July 28.

Classes run from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. every weekday excluding holidays (Canada Day is observed by the University of Waterloo on Monday, July 3).

Two sections of the course are being offered. One is fully online (synchronous). The other is blended – a mix of online classes and on-campus classes at the University of Waterloo’s main campus.

Yes. Each of the two sections has a limit of 25 students. 

1. Applicants must be between the ages of 17 to 25.
2. Applicants must be Canadian Citizens or Permanent Resident (PR) holders living within the Waterloo or Toronto regions.
3. Applicants should identify as a member of the African diaspora (e.g., Black Canadian, Black Caribbean, Black African, African American, Afro-Indigenous, etc.).
4. At the time of application, applicants should have successfully completed their mandatory English requirements for their grade level with a minimum grade of 70% for students enrolled in academic English courses (ENGD/U), and a minimum grade of 75% for students enrolled in college or applied English courses (ENGC/P).
5. This program is targeted at youth who want to consider university as a pathway but are unsure of their ability to succeed.

The course begins with a four-day orientation that examines your educational experiences thus far, focusing on anti-Black racism in education, mindset, stereotype threat, belonging, and strategies for success. The orientation ends with a trip to campus to obtain your student identification card, a tour, and lunch/meet-and-greet with program instructors and staff. The orientation complements course content outlined below.

This summer’s course is “Taking B[L]ack History” (under ARTS 130). Among other things, the course will examine identity, power and position, colonization and its historic and contemporary effects, the histories of slavery in the Americas and its effects and iterations through time, migration and immigration, Blackness and Black power, whiteness and white supremacy, activism, Pan Africanism, Afrofuturism, and more.

Many first-year students arrive at university with academic challenges they did not expect to face. Writing academic papers is a big one. Instructors and teaching assistants are there to help and Waterloo also has peer tutoring through the Writing & Communication Centre.  We will also do short skill-building exercises in class around notetaking, research skills, library skills and tools that making referencing seamless. The whole program will also focus on perhaps the most important skill set of all – critical thinking. 

Each section will be led by an instructor and a teaching assistant (a University of Waterloo student in their fourth year of a bachelor’s program or in a Master’s program). We will also have a variety of guest speakers with a range of experiences and areas of expertise with whom you will be invited to engage.  

The course being offered this summer – “Taking B[L]ack History” – is a 0.5-unit-weight course (the equivalent of a normal term course at Waterloo, offered over seven weeks instead of the normal 12 weeks). If successful, you will have the opportunity to earn this 0.5 unit which can be applied towards a degree program at Waterloo or is transferable to other post-secondary institutions. That means that if you decide to go on to post-secondary study at a college or university, you can count this course toward your future degree or diploma.

The course also offers students an opportunity to experience university in a safe, supportive environment. It is our hope that you will experience a level of engagement and excitement about learning that will fuel your thinking about life pathways you may consider as a young adult.  

If admitted to the program, you will be enrolled as a University of Waterloo student. You will be given a student identification number, a student email account, and have access to services offered by the University to support your success. You will also have access to resources, such as the University’s online digital library, Zoom, Office 365, and other tools that are often used in post-secondary studies.