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First-Year Program Requirements: Faculty of Arts

The following information is part of Step 1: Program Requirements of the Course Registration Guide for first-year Faculty of Arts students. To view the remaining steps, consult the Course Registration Guide.

On this page: 

Course Load

To earn an Honours Degree, you will need to complete 20.0 credits:

  • 0.5 credit: Normally conducted over one term
  • 1.0 credit: Normally conducted over two terms

If you are studying part-time, you can take up to 1.5 credits per term. Full-time status is given to students who take 2.0 or 2.5 credits per term.

If you select 2.5 credits in the fall term and 2.5 credits in the winter term, you can complete an Honours Degree in four years.

In the Faculty of Arts, all first-year courses are 0.5 credits and conducted over one term. The main terms are fall and winter. Students also have the option to complete some of their courses during the spring/summer term.*

Although a full-time term normally is 2.5 credits (5 courses), full-time students can consider easing their transition into post-secondary studies by taking four courses (2.0 credits) in their fall term, and five courses (2.5 credits) in their winter term.

*Co-op students are expected to complete some of their academic terms during the spring/summer sessions starting in Year 2.

Program Requirements by Major

The 100-level courses for each program, both required and elective, are listed below. Though easing into a fall term with 4 courses is always possible, the elective recommendations below are based on taking five courses per term.

Definitions

  • BA Honours: Bachelor of Arts (honours) in one major
  • Combination BA Honours: Bachelor of Arts (honours) in two majors
  • Combination-only BA Honours: Program that is not available as a single major but is available as a Bachelor of Arts (honours) in two majors

Note:

Not all Bachelor of Arts programs are housed within the Faculty of Arts. If you are interested in any of the following programs, review their respective requirements as these programs are not housed within the Faculty of Arts:

Choosing Options and Minors

Students interested in specializing in more than one discipline have the opportunity to complete an Option (typically 8 courses) or a Minor (typically 6 courses).

See the Options and Minors page for information on the many Options and Minors offered in the Faculty of Arts as well as the Management Option (offered by the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics) and the Teaching Option (offered by the Faculty of Education).

Next Step: Choose Your Electives

Now that you've determined your program requirements, it's time to move to Step 2: Choose Your Electives to plan and select your electives. 

One of the best ways to choose elective courses is to explore different themed topics that interest you.

Below we have listed several themes you may choose to explore, and the programs from which you should select elective courses to focus on these areas:

  • Exploring global issues: Anthropology, Archaeology and Heritage Studies, History, Global Studies, North American Studies, Political Science
  • Understanding peoples and societies: Anthropology, Archaeology and Heritage Studies, North American Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Religion and Culture, Sociology, Women and Gender Studies
  • Learning about governments and law: North American Studies, Philosophy, Political Science
  • Engaging with the past: Ancient Studies, Archaeology and Heritage Studies, History, Medieval and Medievalism Studies
  • Exploring cultures: Anthropology, Communication Studies, Cultural Studies, English, Film Studies, History, Languages and Literatures, North American Studies, Religion and Culture
  • Analyzing media and literature: Communication Studies, Cultural Studies, English, Film Studies, Languages and Literatures
  • Learning languages: Arabic, French, German, Italian, Languages and Literatures, Spanish

Other First-Year Considerations

In your first year as a Faculty of Arts student:

  • We encourage you to first select a major and register for the mandatory courses that correspond with that major. 
  • With only a few mandatory courses in each program, you will need to select electives to surround your mandatory courses. We recommend that students take at least four electives from programs within the Faculty of Arts.
  • We recommend taking either AF105S: Skills for Academic Success and/or AF105W: Writing for University in your first year. These courses have been designed to support a successful transition to post-secondary studies. 
  • Additional information for students registered in the direct co-op pathway or interested in applying to co-op at the end of their first year
  • Additional information for students registered in a direct 4+1 pathway (BA+MBA, BA+MA, BA+MAP)
    • BA + MA, BA+MAP, and BA + MBA students should refer to the program requirements for their major listed below. There are no additional requirements for these programs in year 1.