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:
First-Year Recommendations
In your first year as a Faculty of Arts student:
- We encourage you to select a major and register for the mandatory courses that correspond with that major.
- With only a few mandatory courses, you will need to select electives to surround your mandatory courses. We recommend that students take three to four electives from programs within the Faculty of Arts.
- We recommend taking AF105 Think Arts: Skills for Academic Success, which is designed to support a successful transition to post-secondary studies.
Honours Bachelor of Arts – No Major Declared
This temporary designation allows you to explore disciplines in the Faculty of Arts before declaring a major at the end of your first year:
- Select one to two majors of interest and take the first year required courses of those programs.
- In addition to these courses, we recommend that you take electives from two to three other Faculty of Arts programs, allowing you to easily transition into a major starting in year two.
We highly encourage Honours Arts students to prioritize Faculty of Arts courses from a major program over courses related to an option or minor – those courses cannot lead to a major.
Choose 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
- Studying society: Anthropology, Archaeology and Heritage Studies, North American Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Religion and Culture, Sociology, Women and Gender Studies
- Analyzing language and media: Communication Studies, English and Film Studies, Languages and Literatures, Sociology
- Engaging with law and society: Philosophy, Political Science, Religion and Culture, Sociology, Women and Gender Studies
- Interpreting the past: Archaeology and Heritage Studies, Ancient Studies, History, Medieval and Medievalism Studies
- Expressing arts and culture: Anthropology, Communication Studies, Cultural Studies, English and Film Studies, Cultural Studies, History, Languages and Literatures, North American Studies
Program Requirements by Major
The 100-level courses for each program, both required and elective, are listed below. Some things to note:
- Full-time students may choose to ease the transition into post-secondary studies by taking four courses (2.0 credits) in the fall term, and five courses (2.5 credits) in the winter term. In doing so, students will move into a Year 2 registration standing following successful completion of the fall and winter terms.
- Though easing into a fall term is the recommendation, you can complete a maximum of five courses in each term, should you choose.
- The elective recommendations below are based on taking five courses per term.
Definitions
- BA: Bachelor of Arts (honours)
- BSc: Bachelor of Science (honours)
- Combination-Only BA: A program that must be taken in combination with another BA program
- An asterisk (*) denotes a course worth 1.0 credits
Major Programs Available
- BA
- Combination BA
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- Two of: AR104, AR105, HI131
- 4.0 elective credits
Notes
Archaeology (AR), History (HI).
Major Programs Available
- Combination-only BA
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- One of: AN100, AN120
- One of: AN100, AN120, AR101, CS100, GS101, KS100, RE100, SY101, WS100
Notes
Students may choose to take two first-year Anthropology courses, or a course outside of AN from the provided list.
Major Programs Available
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- AB101, AB102
Notes
If you have prior knowledge of Arabic language, you will need to use the Languages and Literatures Override Form to register.
Major Programs Available
- BA
- Combination BA
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- AR101, AR102
- 4.0 elective credits
Notes
AR101 is a pre-requisite for AR102 - so students cannot take AR101 and AR102 simultaneously in Winter 2023.
AR104 and AR105 may also be of interest to students in the Archaeology and Heritage Studies program, but are not required.
Major Programs Available
- BA
- Combination BA
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- CS100, CS101
- 4.0 elective credits
Notes
A minimum grade of 6.0 (C+) in CS100 and a minimum grade of 6.0 (C+) in CS101 are required for progression into Year 2.
Major Programs Available
- Combination-only BA
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- KS100, KS101
Notes
Cultural Studies is an interdisciplinary program requiring many non-Cultural Studies courses.
Review the academic calendar to appropriately select your first-year electives to meet prerequisites for those senior courses.
Major Programs Available
- BA
- Combination BA
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- Two of: EN107, EN111, EN112
- 4.0 elective credits
Required First-Year Courses
- 1.0 credits of 100-level English (Fall)
- 1.0 credits of 200-level English or 300-level English (Winter)
- 3.0 elective credits
Notes
For assistance registering in your 200-level courses please contact sussex@wlu.ca .
Although it is noted that you can take 1.0 credits of 200 or 300 level EN in the winter term, it is encouraged that you consider taking 200 level courses in year one, noting that there will be opportunities to take 300 level courses in year two. Please connect with sussex@wlu.ca if you have any questions.
Major Programs Available
- BA
- Combination BA
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- FS101 and FS103
- 4.0 elective credits
Major Programs Available
- BA
- Combination BA
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- FR101 and FR102; or
- FR150 and FR151; or
- FR250 and FR251; or
- FR360
- 4.0 or 4.5 elective credits, depending on the number of courses selected above.
Notes
Refer to the French Course Registration guide for appropriate courses based on your French background.
You must submit an override form to register.
Major Programs Available
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- GM110, GM111
Notes
If you have prior knowledge of German language, you will need to use the Languages and Literatures Override Form to register
Major Programs Available
- BA
- Combination BA
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- GS101, GS102
- 4.0 elective credits
Notes
Global Studies students in first year are encouraged to take a language other than English.
Major Programs Available
- BA
- Combination BA
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- Two of: HI108, HI109, HI110, HI112, HI114, HI117, HI123, HI127, HI128, HI131
- 4.0 elective credits
Major Programs Available
- BA
Required First-Year Courses
- GS101, GS102, WS100, INED101, INED103, INED104
- 1.0 non-English Language Credit
- 1.0 credit of elective
Major Programs Available
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- IT101, IT102
- Any of LL200, LL224 and MI202
Notes
If you have prior knowledge of Italian language, you will need to use the Languages and Literatures Override Form to register.
Major Programs Available
- BA
Required First-Year Courses
- Any of LL223 and MI202
- SP101 and SP102; or SP201 or SP250
- FR101 and FR102; or FR150 and FR151; or FR250 and FR251
Notes
Contact the Languages and Literatures department at langandlitadvising@wlu.ca before registering.
Mediterranean Studies (MI), French (FR), Spanish (SP).
Major Programs Available
- BA
- Combination BA
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- ML100 and ML103
Major Programs Available
- Combination BA
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- NO105
Major Programs Available
- BA
- Combination BA
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- PP110, PP111
- 4.0 credits of electives
Required First-Year Courses
- PP110 (F) and PP111 (F)
- One of: PP201 or PP204;
- One of: PP220, PP256, PP259, PP261, PP262, PP263, PP264, or HP201;
- One of: PP203, PP207, PP213, PP215, PP216, PP217, PP218, PP219, PP223, PP224, PP230, PP233, PP247;
- One of PP209, PP214, PP225, PP226, PP229, PP249, PP270;
- 2.0 credits of electives
Notes
You will be pre-registered in PP110 and PP111 (with tutorial T1) in fall term.
You may also take PP201 or PP204 in the fall but are encouraged to wait until winter to take further 200-level courses. For assistance registering in your 200-level courses please contact sussex@wlu.ca.
Major Programs Available
- BA
- Combination BA
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- PO101, PO102
- 4.0 elective credits
Political Science
- PO101 (Fall),
- PO102 (Winter),
- PO210 (Winter),
- PO263 (Fall),
- 3.0 elective credits
Notes
You will be pre-registered in PO263-A in fall term as well as PO102-A and PO210-B in winter term. If these courses are not in your schedule please email sussex@wlu.ca. Contact Dr. Loren King, Sussex program coordinator at lking@wlu.ca if you wish to discuss your elective course registration.
Please note: PO-Sussex students can register in PO101-A or PO101-B in the Fall 2023 semester. If you choose PO101-A, please enrol in either tutorial A11 or tutorial A12. If you choose PO101-B, please enrol in tutorial B8 or B9.
In winter term, PO-Sussex students must register in PO102A and select a Sussex tutorial from: A5,A6,A7, A8 or A9, which you will be pre-registered for.
Major Programs Available
- BA
- Combination BA
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- Two of: RE100, RE103, RE104
- 4.0 elective credits
Major Programs Available
- BA
- Combination BA
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- SY101 and SY103
- 4 elective credits
Major Programs Available
- Combination BA
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- SP101 and SP102; or
- SP201 and SP250
- 4.0 elective credits
Notes
See the academic calendar for courses based on your Spanish background.
If you have prior knowledge of Spanish, you will need to use the Languages and Literatures Override Form to register.
Major Programs Available
- Combination-only BA
- Minor
Required First-Year Courses
- WS100
Notes
Women and Gender Studies is an interdisciplinary program requiring many non-WS courses.
*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:
- BA Psychology, review the Faculty of Science program requirements.
- BA Economics, review the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics program requirements.
- BA Policing, review the Online Campus, Faculty of Human and Social Sciences program requirements.
Required First-Year Courses
- One of: AN100, EM202, ES110, GG102, GS101, KS100, NO105, PP110, SY101, UU101, WS100
Notes
Interdisciplinary (UU).
Required First-Year Courses
- BU111, BU127, EC120 or EC140
Notes
Encouraged to take max one BU/EC course per term.
Non-business students enrolled in this program must complete the required business courses and maintain a GPA of 6.00 in BU111 and BU127 and a minimum 5.00 GPA in one of EC120 or EC140 in order to progress in the Management Option. (Students not enrolled in the Management Option through admissions may apply for the Option in their second year).
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.
GPA Exceptions
In order to progress in most honours Arts programs, you will require an overall grade point average GPA of 4.00+ (C-), with the following exceptions:
- Communication Studies: A minimum grade of 6.00 (C+) in CS100 and a minimum grade of 6.00 (C+) in CS101 are required for progression into Year 2.
- Political Science (Sussex Stream): Progression to Year 2 requires completion of 5.0 credits during Year 1 with a minimum cumulative GPA of 7.00 (B-) in all Political Science courses and a minimum cumulative GPA of 8.00 (B) in all 5.0 credits. All credits taken during Year 1 will be included in the GPA requirements for progression into Year 2.
- Philosophy (Sussex Stream): Progression to Year 2 requires completion of 5.0 credits during Year 1 with a minimum cumulative GPA of 7.00 in all Philosophy courses and a minimum cumulative GPA of 8.00 in all 5.0 credits. All credits taken during Year 1 will be included in the GPA requirements for progression into Year 2.
- Management Option: Students who have entered through direct-entry must have a minimum GPA of 6.00 (C+) in BU111 and BU127 and a minimum 5.00 (C) GPA in one of EC120 or EC140 to remain in this option. Refer to the academic calendar for details on minors, options, progression and graduation requirements.
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.