Program Requirements
Note: University regulations apply to all students at Laurier. If there is any discrepancy between the program or progression requirements outlined on this page and those in the university's academic calendars, the academic calendars are the official sources of information. The information below is from the latest calendar, and you may be following progression requirements from an earlier calendar. Students are responsible for checking the appropriate calendar. Contact your program coordinator should you notice any discrepancies.
The Indigenous Studies combined honours, option and minor are only available at the Brantford campus.
Note: For any academic concerns or help understanding program requirements, contact Academic Advising.
Honours BA Indigenous Studies in Combination with another Honours BA Program
The Combined Honours BA Indigenous Studies (ID) program consists of 20.0 credits, including no more than 7.0 at the 100 level. The program must include a minimum of 8.0 credits in approved courses, including the 4.0 required credits and at least 6.0 senior credits.
All students in the program must complete successfully the Foundations Curriculum: BF190, BF199, BF290, BF299.
Required Courses (4.0 credits)
- ID120/CT120
- ID201
- ID205/CT205
- ID207
- ID227
- ID301
- ID303
- ID400
Electives (4.0 credits)
- AR217: Archaeological Laboratory Methods
- AR219*: Introduction to Field Archaeology
- EN280: Indigenous Writers in English
- ID100: Indigenous Peoples and Media
- ID202: The Métis in Canada – Syncretic Worldviews
- ID208/YC208: Indigenous Play and Games
- ID220: Cultural Teachings Through Language – Basic Mohawk or ID230 - Cultural Teachings Through Language – Basic Anishnaabe
- ID320: Cultural Teaching through Language – Intermediate Mohawk or ID330 - Cultural Teaching through Language – Intermediate Anishnaabe
- ID302/YC302: Indigenous Children and Families
- ID308: Indigenous Forms of Justice
- ID350: Special Topics
- ID360: Indigenous-Settler Relations
- ID375: Indigenous Community Organizing
- ID401/YC401: Indigenous Allyship and Kinship
- ID402: Directed Studies – Readings in Indigenous Studies
- ID405: Indigenous Issues and Anthropology
- ID410: Medicine Garden
- NO230: Decolonizing North America
* = 1.0-credit course.
Indigenous Studies Option (Admission Suspended as of 2016/17)
Note: The Indigenous Studies option is no longer available for students who started at Laurier as of 2016/17. Students who entered Laurier in 2015/16 or earlier will still be able to complete the option. The Indigenous Studies combined honours BA and the Indigenous Studies minor continue to be available to all.
The option consists of a minimum of 4.0 credits. Students must complete all required courses (1.0 credit) and a minimum of 3.0 additional credits. A GPA of 6.00 in the courses included in the Indigenous Studies Option is required to graduate.
Required Courses (1.0 credit)
- CT120/ID120: Introduction to Indigenous Studies
- CT205/ID205: Indigenous People and Anthropology
Additional Courses
A minimum of 3.0 additional credits chosen from the following:
- CC204: Aboriginal Peoples and the Law
- EN280: Indigenous Writers in English
- ID201, ID207, ID227, ID301, ID303, ID308, ID350, ID360, ID375, ID400
Notes
- No more than 1.0 irregular credit may be counted toward a general degree (only students admitted prior to Sept 1, 2007), and no more than 3.0 irregular credits may be counted towards an honours degree.
- The Faculty of Liberal Arts offers a BA without a designation. No further designation (major, option or minor) is awarded with this degree.
Indigenous Studies Minor
Students completing the Indigenous Studies minor must complete 3.0 credits, including CT120/ID120, and at least 2.0 senior ID credits.
Notes
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BSW students may also count SK422 as a 0.5 senior credit towards the ID minor.
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No more than 3.0 Irregular credits may be counted toward an honours degree.
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Refer also to the Regulations Governing Minors.
How Foundations Works with the Indigenous Studies Program
If you are pursuing a combined major in Indigenous Studies, Foundations courses are part of your program requirements. You cannot graduate without finishing the four Foundations courses.
The following three courses will probably help you the most with courses in your combined major, and we strongly recommend that you complete them in your first or second year. Senior-level Indigenous Studies courses may hold you accountable for the material covered in these courses.
- BF190: Modernity and the Contemporary World: This course and its successor, BF199, will help you contextualize the discussions that you will encounter in Indigenous Studies, and will give you the intellectual background to form stronger arguments. Try to take this in your first year.
- BF299: Academic Literacy: Humanities: This course will help you read more carefully, analyze texts more precisely, conduct research effectively, discern and form better arguments, and write clearer, sharper, better organized essays. Try to take this in your first year.
- BF199: Critiques of Modernity: This course, the successor to BF190, will provide essential context for the discussions that you will encounter in your Indigenous Studies classes, as we work together to emphasize Indigenous perspectives and challenge western theorists. Take this no later than in your second year.
The following course, to be taken in your second year or earlier, will make you a better scholar, and can help you better engage any course you take.
- BF290: Academic Literacy: Social Sciences: This skills-based course will allow you to practice your presentation skills, and it will teach you about the importance of research ethics and how to formulate an effective research question. Try to take this in your second year.