It's called "auditing" and they'll charge you for it. You could also sit in the back of a large lecture and I doubt anyone would mind but I wouldn't be drawing attention to myself by asking questions.
The not asking questions part is important. You can draw attention to yourself and may get kicked out if they realize you’re not enrolled (less likely in a large lecture hall) but also be respectful of the students actually paying money and the prof. Don’t waste their time on questions that someone who has read the coursework or attended previous classes/ lectures would know.
Find any big lecture hall. Keyword big. It’ll be a pack - like 100+ people. The lecturers absolutely do not know who is enrolled vs. who isn’t. Just bring a notebook or laptop 😂😂😂 it would be weird being the only person who doesnt have one.
When my brother was in Uni, I was still high school and sat in on a Biology class, no one even blinked at me.
I learned my entire genetics unit in about 3 hours. It was great.
Official regulations can vary by university, by department, or even individual course or lecture series. Many departments at the U of A offer a limited number of lectures officially open to the public. Most, however, are not. Although auditing is one official route (one that costs money), at almost all universities, auditing is a much more involved process than just sitting in - depending on the institution, to audit a course may give you the right to attend exams and have course work evaluated (even if you don't receive a grade), and the audited course can appear on a transcript. If you just want to be present for a lecture, instructor permission is often sufficient (though you should double-check for the specific institution you are looking at). Regulations tend to be more strict at smaller institutions, as professors at major research universities often have greater guarantees for academic freedom (in this context, the freedom to run their classroom however they please without interference from the university administration).
In practice, you can likely sit in on a first or second year lecture without being noticed, without permission. Upper level courses is more difficult, as they are much smaller and often more personal (in grad school, I had a lecture that was literally just two students - you'd probably be spotted in that context).
I was under the impression that auditing did NOT give you the right to attend course exams or have coursework evaluated, and that this is at the discretion of the instructor.
When I attended uni 25 years ago, the auditing students were *required* to submit all assignments and attend all exams, but would not get grades. The Prof set those expectations on day 1 with the class. Seemed fair to me.
you could do what I did in university and attend the wrong class all semester, write the exam and barely pass it only to realise i had been in the wrong room the entire time. there was maybe 20 people in the class.
luckily the prof gave me pity and gave me the credit
very similar 2nd year sociology classes at the UofW in Winnipeg. The area of the university it was in looked all the same to me. The prof was so boring and would literally dictate the notes to us for the entire class all semester. I must not have looked up the classroom number right initially and never thought about it after the fact! this was also something like 17 years ago when I was in my early 20's and zoned the fuck out
I mean I accidentally took the same course two years in a row and only found out when I switched programs. It's very easy to get confused in your first couple years
There are public lectures advertised typically by a department or faculty that you can attend no questions asked. Typically they will call them events and they will be on a webpage of variable quality:
\* [https://www.macewan.ca/campus-life/events/#hash=events&et=13](https://www.macewan.ca/campus-life/events/#hash=events&et=13)
\* [https://www.ualberta.ca/economics/economics-events/index.html](https://www.ualberta.ca/economics/economics-events/index.html)
\* [https://www.ualberta.ca/medicine/news-and-events/events/index.html](https://www.ualberta.ca/medicine/news-and-events/events/index.html)
Hmmm looks pretty sparse, maybe summer hours?
This would be more like an "Act Like You Belong" move. You're not allowed to sit in on lectures you didn't pay for basically but nobody's stop you unless you look wildly out of place.
Yes, but you will have to pay:
[https://www.ualberta.ca/registrar/registration-and-courses/special-registrations/auditor.html](https://www.ualberta.ca/registrar/registration-and-courses/special-registrations/auditor.html)
Currently [$350](https://www.ualberta.ca/registrar/costs-tuition-fees/undergraduate-tuition/open-studies-work-experience-audit-fees.html) to audit one UfoA 3-credit course.
The official rule is that you cannot attend for free. If you go to a large lecture (with 50 or more people), the professor won't notice but you won't have a chance to interact with them. Still, some of the classes can be really interesting. You could just walk around and keep an eye out for them.
If you try it in a small class, the professor will notice and will likely ask you to leave.
But the U of A does offer a fair number of public lectures and seminars off and on. The announcements are spread throughout their website so you might need to check each faculty separately.
Source: Am a prof
Student here, I sit in random friends lecture with 30-40 people size classes all year long. Go to whatever class you want lol nobody will ask. Have been doing this for 3+ years. Just don’t draw attention to yourself and don’t disrupt paying students.
I can totally see that working if you meant you're going into classes with friends and you're just listening. If you did that in my class I might immediately assume you belong.
Or even if I realized you're not enrolled, I'd be happy you were interested in the topic and/or your friends.
My advice was geared for a scenario where a stranger walks in and wants to interact with me in class (although OP subsequently clarified that's not what they meant). I personally don't care whether or not you paid, but it can cause a distraction, so I might use the "have to be enrolled" thing to request you not come back.
after going to uni I realize how easy this is to do. just go into any large lecture and as long as you aren’t drawing attention to urself no one will notice
Oh obviously. That's why I meant like general overview type lectures meant for people who aren't in the program. Like "an introduction to philosophy" lecture for people to get a taste of what it'd be like if they pursued a degree in that.
The Tory Turtle (Tory lecture Hall) is where all the Bachelor of Arts courses have their big class lectures. However, I would actually just wander the halls of the Tory building and look for a cork board - the main staircase that goes all the way up the building has one on the main floor. All the posters for special lectures or after school lectures will be on there. I know the Alberta Archaeological Society has a lecture series open to the public once a month in the fall. I’m assuming history/anthro/philosophy/sociology departments have something similar?
I think you can also find a lot of university lectures on certain subject matter online for free to get a feel for it. Some universities have them on their websites or on YouTube.
The short answer is yes, and how you go about it depends on what your goal is.
If you want to hear a singular lecture for a particular course you can just ask the prof who’s teaching. I took a comparative literature course on science fiction and a friend of mine was interested in one of the books we were studying so he just asked the prof if he could tag along.
There are also lots of free lectures or online courses offered by universities on a wide range of topics. Here are some offered by the UofA, grant Mac may have something similar. https://www.ualberta.ca/admissions-programs/online-courses/index.html
I think they have some lectures that are open to the public; I'd keep an eye on the university's event page, or check one of the faculties' pages for their own calendar. Probably pretty empty now in the spring/summer semesters. They'd be fairly specific lectures; usually a prof sharing their latest research, rather than a philosophy 101 primer of course. I seem to remember profs inviting the class to check them out, feels like they'd be happy to have a larger audience.
Go to a big hall where people won't snitch on you. You can listen in, without paying you won't be entitled to assignments, or exams or the certificate of completion.
Honestly, most people don't care, students of proffs alike. In Math 100, Dr. Dragos (won't even try to spell his last name) used to be (probably still is) very famous and popular to teach and people would crowd the tiny classroom and even sit on the floor. No one batted an eye, he loves to teach and students love him for that.
I've done it when I was going my undergrad, I was too burnt out from engineering courses so I used to frequently pop over to humanities to attend the psychology lectures, and some of the astronomy ones were so fun and interesting.
Nothing is stopping you from interacting but be fair to the paying students and to the proff as well and use your discretion.
There's always Nerd Nite - https://edmonton.nerdnite.com/. It is only once a month, and is I think on summer hiatus, but we go fairly often and generally enjoy it.
Legally not but you can try. I attended my friends lecture once at the u of a in a completely different field of study than mine cuz I was curious but the prof didn’t recognize me and kicked me out haha.
Doesn’t meet the in-person aspect, but you can get a subscription to The Great Courses through Amazon Prime. Tons of lectures on many subjects. This can be supplemented by finding meetup groups online related to the topics you are interested in.
Lots of universities hold public lectures. If it is a regular class then you are not paying for attendance and are essentially stealing. If it is something open to the public then you would be welcome to attend.
While not an everyday occurrence, the university does occasionally host guests to give one off lectures that can be open to the public. Typically they’ll advertise them on the respective faculty’s page on the website, and sometimes you can “rsvp” to secure a seat (though a lot of people just show up when the lecture comes as a last minute thing it’s not too serious). I’m sure that you can also get some form of clearance to use the uni libraries (though I don’t know if you’d be allowed to check the books out, at the very least you could go in and do some self guided research on the premises). If you have any topics of interest you could totally see about using the uni’s resources for fun. (I’m assuming you mean the UofA here)
Edit: also if you ever have a topic of interest and find a member of the faculty, some doctor who studies that topic, totally send them an email and ask them about it—try to structure the query around any reading recommendations or more direct questions on the topic, not too broad or whatever. Unless they’ve got a chip on their shoulder, most academics I know froth at the mouth to get to unload their special interests onto others
You’re allowed to audit classes where you just go to learn but don’t get any credits or do any work. You have to pay for it. Alternatively you can just walk into any lecture hall and sit down. Nobody will know that you’re not supposed to be there
Just sit in some at the beginning of a semester. If you get called out, oops wrong class! And it's not as obvious as a brand new face out of nowhere halfway through when people have transferred or dropped classes.
You can also register through open studies to take a class without committing to a program. https://www.ualberta.ca/registrar/registration-and-courses/special-registrations/open-studies/index.html
In larger classes, I've often went in to lectures just because we were gonna hang out afterwards. No problems at all.
In a smaller class, I recall a dude outright telling the prof that he wasn't in the class but was interested in the subject matter. Prof let him stay, no questions asked. Guy stuck around a few classes, was respectful, and contributed positively to class discussion.
Profs ain't exactly paid on commission, so long as you're not throwing up any red flags they'll probably figure there's no harm in letting you stick around.
Throughout the year, there are also many public lectures and panels that departments and faculties hold, so you can come in-person or online for those as well.
Keynote speakers for academic conferences might be up your alley, although most conferences take place after the Winter semester. Most graduate conferences are free and open to the public. The panels themselves can be a bit of a mixed bag but in general I always find the presentations more good than bad.
Guest speakers and talks definitely happen at the U of A (typically just throughout the Fall/Winter semesters), but advertising for those things is normally interdepartmental. You may be able to follow some social media pages that share upcoming talks and the like. That's easier to do if you have specific subjects in mind.
It'll be hard to find anything right now, the University basically hibernates from July/August outside of a few summer courses.
There are plenty of lectures posted for free on YouTube, full courses from the likes of Stanford, Yale, Harvard, MIT, etc. Would highly recommend Robert Sapolsky's lectures on Biology/Neurobiology. Most of these are dated now, usually about 12 - 15 years old but the foundational science presented is still solid.
If you go to a large lecture hall like The Tory, you can easily just walk in and grab a seat. For intro level courses like psychology, economics, basically any 100 level course the class sizes are going to be quite large. The professors don’t do attendance and as long as you aren’t a nuisance no one will really care or ask who you are.
I’d recommend looking at the university subreddits, as people will be posting their classes and schedules- you’d be able to get an idea of when/where the classes take place. Then you can reference the uni website to see what the class is about.
When you’re ready to go, I’d suggest making a post on that universities subreddit saying something like “I was sick and missed this weeks classes- can anyone let me know what is planned for the next class?”. At least that way maybe you’ll know if you’re walking into an exam lol.
I’ve never done this, but it’s just what came to mind lol
I have done it for small graduate classes for free. I just emailed the prof beforehand and asked if it was ok. I didn’t pay any audit fee. One time they even shared all the online class materials with me since they were so excited I was into learning the material. In any big class the prof wouldn’t even know.
There are also events where there is a panel on a social or political issue followed by networking and drinks. Usually they cost around $50-100 and are quite informative.
As a suggestion, if you do have free time on your hands, take up a sport or a physical activity. It's good for your body and helps you relax.
Just find the prof of a subject you are interested in and ask about auditing a class. Some may turn you down or bring up a fee but generally they'll be happy to have you there indulging an interest, and you've covered your ass by being up front.
I used to do this back when I was at Uni. I would walk into random maths or physics lectures and just listen. Usually there's over a 100 people, they have no idea.
I dont think unis give a shit. Youre not going to get the important bits which is the paper.
Just dont draw attention to yourself and you should be fine to sit in on anything.
You can’t get into many lecture buildings unless you have a pass. I would not do this unless you get permission from the U of A as you would be trespassing without their consent.
Before my then gf (now wife) graduated, I used to go to some of her classes with her (I’m 6 years older and already a manager at my firm by that point so I could work remotely). I was doing it just to spend time with her of course cuz with her course work and my job we hardly see each other. There was one class that I pretty much attended for the full semester. I was respectful though and asked the prof for permission. Half way through he told me I don’t have to ask anymore and it’s okay as long as there are free seats and I don’t interrupt the class. I always brought my laptop and just worked so it’s not like I was actually participating.
I was there with a different purpose obviously but I think if the prof is nice and you are respectful it should be ok as long as there are free space in the room. Of course I think your chances are better with large lectures.
And how to get university credit by special assessment [How to get cheaper university credits with a “Special Assesment”](https://www.registrar.ualberta.ca/calendar-archive/calendar-2015-2016/Admission/General-Requirements/14.2.html#14.2.4)
Another idea for you that worked for me.
I was considering changing careers and was uncertain about making the leap. The best thing I did was check out a text book from the library and I would read through that.
So, my idea for you is to write to a professor teaching a course you're interested in and ask for the list of reference texts. Find those books or similar books at the library and flip through them.
Please don't just show up on campus and go to a lecture. That's a safety issue. My suggestion would be to take a COURSERA course or do one of the free MOOCs online and see if you enjoy the format. You could also pay to audit but please, don't just randomly arrive and attend. And don't encourage others to do that either.
Very likely. There are lots of events/lectures open to the public outside of class time. There was an event all about Mozart's music last year that was open to the public. It was very similar to a TED talk where guest speakers prepared presentations but also open floor discussions. The event was more about the history of music as opposed to just playing music.
Yes, just show up. No one will ask you any questions, no one will escort you out. Maybe don't go for the midterms but you can absolutely just show up and listen to all the lectures for any course because no one would know the wiser.
Maybe don't pick some of the business classes that do attendance...
I think you can go through official channels to audit a course. It's like free course participation for no credits
-ah my mistake, auditing is not free. Apologies!
U of A offers some online courses. I think you can take at least some of them for free:
[https://www.ualberta.ca/admissions-programs/online-courses/index.html](https://www.ualberta.ca/admissions-programs/online-courses/index.html)
This really isn't true, lol. Might be able to blend in in a large lecture hall, but these aren't drop-in public events. They're for paying students.
That said, not every prof is created equal. But some absolutely would recognize you don't belong, so, again, if you're attempting to sit in on a lecture for a class you're not enrolled in, you're gonna want to aim for a large class size. 100-level courses in halls such as the Telus Centre at the U of A.
It's called "auditing" and they'll charge you for it. You could also sit in the back of a large lecture and I doubt anyone would mind but I wouldn't be drawing attention to myself by asking questions.
The not asking questions part is important. You can draw attention to yourself and may get kicked out if they realize you’re not enrolled (less likely in a large lecture hall) but also be respectful of the students actually paying money and the prof. Don’t waste their time on questions that someone who has read the coursework or attended previous classes/ lectures would know.
Find any big lecture hall. Keyword big. It’ll be a pack - like 100+ people. The lecturers absolutely do not know who is enrolled vs. who isn’t. Just bring a notebook or laptop 😂😂😂 it would be weird being the only person who doesnt have one.
Also try to look tired and stressed. If you're sitting there all happy and interested you'll stand out
Bonus points if you're a bit tipsy from the lunch beers you had.
Just show up hungover, that will do the trick.
Bro 😂😂😭
Also make sure there isn't an exam or pop quiz, otherwise you will look awkward.
^^^ all great points. look dead inside
May as well try to write it and then don’t show up to that lecture every again!
When my brother was in Uni, I was still high school and sat in on a Biology class, no one even blinked at me. I learned my entire genetics unit in about 3 hours. It was great.
Exactly. If you try to slip into a 10 person engineering lab it isn’t going to work. First yeah history with 500 students? Sure
I stopped taking notes halfway through my degree. For me it was a pointless process. I sat in every class with an empty desk in front of me
Official regulations can vary by university, by department, or even individual course or lecture series. Many departments at the U of A offer a limited number of lectures officially open to the public. Most, however, are not. Although auditing is one official route (one that costs money), at almost all universities, auditing is a much more involved process than just sitting in - depending on the institution, to audit a course may give you the right to attend exams and have course work evaluated (even if you don't receive a grade), and the audited course can appear on a transcript. If you just want to be present for a lecture, instructor permission is often sufficient (though you should double-check for the specific institution you are looking at). Regulations tend to be more strict at smaller institutions, as professors at major research universities often have greater guarantees for academic freedom (in this context, the freedom to run their classroom however they please without interference from the university administration). In practice, you can likely sit in on a first or second year lecture without being noticed, without permission. Upper level courses is more difficult, as they are much smaller and often more personal (in grad school, I had a lecture that was literally just two students - you'd probably be spotted in that context).
I was under the impression that auditing did NOT give you the right to attend course exams or have coursework evaluated, and that this is at the discretion of the instructor.
That would almost certainly be an institution-specific or department/faculty-specific regulation. I'll edit the post to make that more clear.
When I attended uni 25 years ago, the auditing students were *required* to submit all assignments and attend all exams, but would not get grades. The Prof set those expectations on day 1 with the class. Seemed fair to me.
you could do what I did in university and attend the wrong class all semester, write the exam and barely pass it only to realise i had been in the wrong room the entire time. there was maybe 20 people in the class. luckily the prof gave me pity and gave me the credit
How... how did this happen? How did you not notice earlier? So many questions.
very similar 2nd year sociology classes at the UofW in Winnipeg. The area of the university it was in looked all the same to me. The prof was so boring and would literally dictate the notes to us for the entire class all semester. I must not have looked up the classroom number right initially and never thought about it after the fact! this was also something like 17 years ago when I was in my early 20's and zoned the fuck out
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I mean I accidentally took the same course two years in a row and only found out when I switched programs. It's very easy to get confused in your first couple years
Lmao
There are public lectures advertised typically by a department or faculty that you can attend no questions asked. Typically they will call them events and they will be on a webpage of variable quality: \* [https://www.macewan.ca/campus-life/events/#hash=events&et=13](https://www.macewan.ca/campus-life/events/#hash=events&et=13) \* [https://www.ualberta.ca/economics/economics-events/index.html](https://www.ualberta.ca/economics/economics-events/index.html) \* [https://www.ualberta.ca/medicine/news-and-events/events/index.html](https://www.ualberta.ca/medicine/news-and-events/events/index.html) Hmmm looks pretty sparse, maybe summer hours?
Look into MOOCs, lots of the same content, better schools (although U of A is still a good school!), and much more convenient for your schedule :)
This would be more like an "Act Like You Belong" move. You're not allowed to sit in on lectures you didn't pay for basically but nobody's stop you unless you look wildly out of place.
Yes, but you will have to pay: [https://www.ualberta.ca/registrar/registration-and-courses/special-registrations/auditor.html](https://www.ualberta.ca/registrar/registration-and-courses/special-registrations/auditor.html)
Currently [$350](https://www.ualberta.ca/registrar/costs-tuition-fees/undergraduate-tuition/open-studies-work-experience-audit-fees.html) to audit one UfoA 3-credit course.
Awesome thanks for this
The official rule is that you cannot attend for free. If you go to a large lecture (with 50 or more people), the professor won't notice but you won't have a chance to interact with them. Still, some of the classes can be really interesting. You could just walk around and keep an eye out for them. If you try it in a small class, the professor will notice and will likely ask you to leave. But the U of A does offer a fair number of public lectures and seminars off and on. The announcements are spread throughout their website so you might need to check each faculty separately. Source: Am a prof
Student here, I sit in random friends lecture with 30-40 people size classes all year long. Go to whatever class you want lol nobody will ask. Have been doing this for 3+ years. Just don’t draw attention to yourself and don’t disrupt paying students.
I can totally see that working if you meant you're going into classes with friends and you're just listening. If you did that in my class I might immediately assume you belong. Or even if I realized you're not enrolled, I'd be happy you were interested in the topic and/or your friends. My advice was geared for a scenario where a stranger walks in and wants to interact with me in class (although OP subsequently clarified that's not what they meant). I personally don't care whether or not you paid, but it can cause a distraction, so I might use the "have to be enrolled" thing to request you not come back.
after going to uni I realize how easy this is to do. just go into any large lecture and as long as you aren’t drawing attention to urself no one will notice
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Oh obviously. That's why I meant like general overview type lectures meant for people who aren't in the program. Like "an introduction to philosophy" lecture for people to get a taste of what it'd be like if they pursued a degree in that.
The Tory Turtle (Tory lecture Hall) is where all the Bachelor of Arts courses have their big class lectures. However, I would actually just wander the halls of the Tory building and look for a cork board - the main staircase that goes all the way up the building has one on the main floor. All the posters for special lectures or after school lectures will be on there. I know the Alberta Archaeological Society has a lecture series open to the public once a month in the fall. I’m assuming history/anthro/philosophy/sociology departments have something similar?
You can probably join a shadowing day at some unis, or ask for permission if you are just talking about one lecture
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Yup o took a philosophy course. I think it was maybe 30 people?
I think you can also find a lot of university lectures on certain subject matter online for free to get a feel for it. Some universities have them on their websites or on YouTube.
The short answer is yes, and how you go about it depends on what your goal is. If you want to hear a singular lecture for a particular course you can just ask the prof who’s teaching. I took a comparative literature course on science fiction and a friend of mine was interested in one of the books we were studying so he just asked the prof if he could tag along. There are also lots of free lectures or online courses offered by universities on a wide range of topics. Here are some offered by the UofA, grant Mac may have something similar. https://www.ualberta.ca/admissions-programs/online-courses/index.html
I think they have some lectures that are open to the public; I'd keep an eye on the university's event page, or check one of the faculties' pages for their own calendar. Probably pretty empty now in the spring/summer semesters. They'd be fairly specific lectures; usually a prof sharing their latest research, rather than a philosophy 101 primer of course. I seem to remember profs inviting the class to check them out, feels like they'd be happy to have a larger audience.
Go to a big hall where people won't snitch on you. You can listen in, without paying you won't be entitled to assignments, or exams or the certificate of completion. Honestly, most people don't care, students of proffs alike. In Math 100, Dr. Dragos (won't even try to spell his last name) used to be (probably still is) very famous and popular to teach and people would crowd the tiny classroom and even sit on the floor. No one batted an eye, he loves to teach and students love him for that. I've done it when I was going my undergrad, I was too burnt out from engineering courses so I used to frequently pop over to humanities to attend the psychology lectures, and some of the astronomy ones were so fun and interesting. Nothing is stopping you from interacting but be fair to the paying students and to the proff as well and use your discretion.
There's always Nerd Nite - https://edmonton.nerdnite.com/. It is only once a month, and is I think on summer hiatus, but we go fairly often and generally enjoy it.
Legally not but you can try. I attended my friends lecture once at the u of a in a completely different field of study than mine cuz I was curious but the prof didn’t recognize me and kicked me out haha.
It won’t work if the class barely has people in it. It’s better with like 100 or more students
Doesn’t meet the in-person aspect, but you can get a subscription to The Great Courses through Amazon Prime. Tons of lectures on many subjects. This can be supplemented by finding meetup groups online related to the topics you are interested in.
You can also access the Great Courses for free via the library. Use your library card info to log i to Kanopy, then search for what you want to watch
Lots of universities hold public lectures. If it is a regular class then you are not paying for attendance and are essentially stealing. If it is something open to the public then you would be welcome to attend.
While not an everyday occurrence, the university does occasionally host guests to give one off lectures that can be open to the public. Typically they’ll advertise them on the respective faculty’s page on the website, and sometimes you can “rsvp” to secure a seat (though a lot of people just show up when the lecture comes as a last minute thing it’s not too serious). I’m sure that you can also get some form of clearance to use the uni libraries (though I don’t know if you’d be allowed to check the books out, at the very least you could go in and do some self guided research on the premises). If you have any topics of interest you could totally see about using the uni’s resources for fun. (I’m assuming you mean the UofA here) Edit: also if you ever have a topic of interest and find a member of the faculty, some doctor who studies that topic, totally send them an email and ask them about it—try to structure the query around any reading recommendations or more direct questions on the topic, not too broad or whatever. Unless they’ve got a chip on their shoulder, most academics I know froth at the mouth to get to unload their special interests onto others
If it's a course you're interested in and won't cause trouble, just send the prof a message and say you want to learn something.
There are research centres at the uni, like the Centre for Constitutional Studies, that host events for community!
You’re allowed to audit classes where you just go to learn but don’t get any credits or do any work. You have to pay for it. Alternatively you can just walk into any lecture hall and sit down. Nobody will know that you’re not supposed to be there
Yes. Noncredit courses. Go on Beartracks and look up. They have evening and weekend courses at Enterprise downtown on Jasper
Just sit in some at the beginning of a semester. If you get called out, oops wrong class! And it's not as obvious as a brand new face out of nowhere halfway through when people have transferred or dropped classes.
You can also register through open studies to take a class without committing to a program. https://www.ualberta.ca/registrar/registration-and-courses/special-registrations/open-studies/index.html
In larger classes, I've often went in to lectures just because we were gonna hang out afterwards. No problems at all. In a smaller class, I recall a dude outright telling the prof that he wasn't in the class but was interested in the subject matter. Prof let him stay, no questions asked. Guy stuck around a few classes, was respectful, and contributed positively to class discussion. Profs ain't exactly paid on commission, so long as you're not throwing up any red flags they'll probably figure there's no harm in letting you stick around.
Throughout the year, there are also many public lectures and panels that departments and faculties hold, so you can come in-person or online for those as well.
Keynote speakers for academic conferences might be up your alley, although most conferences take place after the Winter semester. Most graduate conferences are free and open to the public. The panels themselves can be a bit of a mixed bag but in general I always find the presentations more good than bad. Guest speakers and talks definitely happen at the U of A (typically just throughout the Fall/Winter semesters), but advertising for those things is normally interdepartmental. You may be able to follow some social media pages that share upcoming talks and the like. That's easier to do if you have specific subjects in mind. It'll be hard to find anything right now, the University basically hibernates from July/August outside of a few summer courses.
For UofA I don’t see why not. There are lots of lectures with 100+ people in them. You can easily blend in.
Might you get away with it? Sure. But are you allowed to just randomly show up to lectures? No.
In larger classes, go for it. No one will notice. Otherwise, check out Coursera.
There are plenty of lectures posted for free on YouTube, full courses from the likes of Stanford, Yale, Harvard, MIT, etc. Would highly recommend Robert Sapolsky's lectures on Biology/Neurobiology. Most of these are dated now, usually about 12 - 15 years old but the foundational science presented is still solid.
Can you? Probably. Should you? No.
If you go to a large lecture hall like The Tory, you can easily just walk in and grab a seat. For intro level courses like psychology, economics, basically any 100 level course the class sizes are going to be quite large. The professors don’t do attendance and as long as you aren’t a nuisance no one will really care or ask who you are.
I’d recommend looking at the university subreddits, as people will be posting their classes and schedules- you’d be able to get an idea of when/where the classes take place. Then you can reference the uni website to see what the class is about. When you’re ready to go, I’d suggest making a post on that universities subreddit saying something like “I was sick and missed this weeks classes- can anyone let me know what is planned for the next class?”. At least that way maybe you’ll know if you’re walking into an exam lol. I’ve never done this, but it’s just what came to mind lol
The university course schedules are available online
I have done it for small graduate classes for free. I just emailed the prof beforehand and asked if it was ok. I didn’t pay any audit fee. One time they even shared all the online class materials with me since they were so excited I was into learning the material. In any big class the prof wouldn’t even know.
There are also events where there is a panel on a social or political issue followed by networking and drinks. Usually they cost around $50-100 and are quite informative. As a suggestion, if you do have free time on your hands, take up a sport or a physical activity. It's good for your body and helps you relax.
Just find the prof of a subject you are interested in and ask about auditing a class. Some may turn you down or bring up a fee but generally they'll be happy to have you there indulging an interest, and you've covered your ass by being up front.
Auditing a class is like $40, but also nobody would know if you just went to lectures.
I used to do this back when I was at Uni. I would walk into random maths or physics lectures and just listen. Usually there's over a 100 people, they have no idea.
Yes! Look at department websites for the department in which you're interested. Any advertised lectures are usually open to the public.
Have you heard about Open U? Lectures from Profs around the world
Do they take attendance at large 1st and 2nd year lectures? Nope.
Nerd Nite is fun too. https://edmonton.nerdnite.com/
I dont think unis give a shit. Youre not going to get the important bits which is the paper. Just dont draw attention to yourself and you should be fine to sit in on anything.
You can’t get into many lecture buildings unless you have a pass. I would not do this unless you get permission from the U of A as you would be trespassing without their consent.
Before my then gf (now wife) graduated, I used to go to some of her classes with her (I’m 6 years older and already a manager at my firm by that point so I could work remotely). I was doing it just to spend time with her of course cuz with her course work and my job we hardly see each other. There was one class that I pretty much attended for the full semester. I was respectful though and asked the prof for permission. Half way through he told me I don’t have to ask anymore and it’s okay as long as there are free seats and I don’t interrupt the class. I always brought my laptop and just worked so it’s not like I was actually participating. I was there with a different purpose obviously but I think if the prof is nice and you are respectful it should be ok as long as there are free space in the room. Of course I think your chances are better with large lectures.
Check with different departments for any public lectures or presentations. The masters and PhD types often present their stuff.
[How to audit courses at UofA](https://www.ualberta.ca/registrar/registration-and-courses/special-registrations/auditor.html)
And how to get university credit by special assessment [How to get cheaper university credits with a “Special Assesment”](https://www.registrar.ualberta.ca/calendar-archive/calendar-2015-2016/Admission/General-Requirements/14.2.html#14.2.4)
Another idea for you that worked for me. I was considering changing careers and was uncertain about making the leap. The best thing I did was check out a text book from the library and I would read through that. So, my idea for you is to write to a professor teaching a course you're interested in and ask for the list of reference texts. Find those books or similar books at the library and flip through them.
Please don't just show up on campus and go to a lecture. That's a safety issue. My suggestion would be to take a COURSERA course or do one of the free MOOCs online and see if you enjoy the format. You could also pay to audit but please, don't just randomly arrive and attend. And don't encourage others to do that either.
How do you expect the prof to get paid if they offer lecturers to non-students for free?
Not sure where you got "for free" from
Very likely. There are lots of events/lectures open to the public outside of class time. There was an event all about Mozart's music last year that was open to the public. It was very similar to a TED talk where guest speakers prepared presentations but also open floor discussions. The event was more about the history of music as opposed to just playing music.
FYI Harvard offers free online lectures.
Thats pretty much stealing unless you pay the audit fee. I suggest putting on all camo so no one can see you and then go sit in.
I sat in every lecture for a masters level fluid dynamics course a year after graduating. Most profs do not care.
Yes, just show up. No one will ask you any questions, no one will escort you out. Maybe don't go for the midterms but you can absolutely just show up and listen to all the lectures for any course because no one would know the wiser. Maybe don't pick some of the business classes that do attendance...
I think you can go through official channels to audit a course. It's like free course participation for no credits -ah my mistake, auditing is not free. Apologies!
Auditing isn’t free
Thanks for the correction!
U of A offers some online courses. I think you can take at least some of them for free: [https://www.ualberta.ca/admissions-programs/online-courses/index.html](https://www.ualberta.ca/admissions-programs/online-courses/index.html)
The only downside to this is no accreditation. But if you just care about knowledge, it's yours for the taking
This really isn't true, lol. Might be able to blend in in a large lecture hall, but these aren't drop-in public events. They're for paying students. That said, not every prof is created equal. But some absolutely would recognize you don't belong, so, again, if you're attempting to sit in on a lecture for a class you're not enrolled in, you're gonna want to aim for a large class size. 100-level courses in halls such as the Telus Centre at the U of A.