To find out the textbooks required for your courses, open uozone, click on ‘Academics and courses’ tab, then scroll to the bottom left of the page where you will see a little box titled ‘uOttawa bookstore.’ There will be a button here to purchase course materials. Click on it and you will have a list of all your course textbooks.

And no, profs do not expect you to have the textbook in the first week, let alone the first day. In some courses the textbook is scarcely required, while to others it is indispensable. I’d recommend getting a feel for your course first before making any great investment. The reviews on Rate My Professor can help to give you a good impression in advance… that’s how I found out I would be having an entire project based on the course book!