Bachelor of Arts degree

• UCFV has been a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada since October, 1997.

• All 300/400-level courses offered by the Arts division are equivalent to third- or fourth-year university level.

• With the inception of the SFU/UCFV affiliated Bachelor of Arts degree in September, 1992, all 300/400-level courses were developed and offered in partnership with Simon Fraser University until June, 1996, at which time the (then)Ministry of Education, Skills and Training gave UCFV the authority to grant the degree independently.

Entrance requirements

1. Forty-five Arts/Science credits, and a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.25 on all attempted Arts/Science credits. (Pre-college or preparatory courses will not be considered as credit towards the 45 required for admission.)
or
2. a UCFV Liberal Arts diploma or Associate of Arts degree
or
3. a B.C. Associate of Arts degree.

For the purpose of Admissions, credits earned in the following disciplines will be considered as Arts/Science credits:

Arts

• Anthropology, art history, criminal justice, economics, English, film, fine arts, geography, history, international studies, Latin American studies, media and communication studies, modern languages, philosophy, political science, psychology, religious studies, sociology, theatre, and social, cultural, and media studies.

Science

• Biology, chemistry, computing science, kinesiology and physical education, mathematics and statistics, physics.

Business & Information Technology

• Business Administration

Additional UCFV courses outside the Arts faculty are currently under review. Please contact the Bachelor of Arts advisor for further information.

Students with credit in Arts/Science disciplines other than those listed above will be considered for admission to the BA program.

Students who have completed university-level courses at other post-secondary institutions may apply for the BA at UCFV. A maximum of 60 transfer credits may be transferred to UCFV for the program. Applicants with more than 60 credits might consider completing their studies at the original institution.

Students on probation or with an unsatisfactory record at a college or university will not be accepted.

How to apply

1. Submit the application fee along with your UCFV application for admission form to the Admissions and Records (A&R) office. Application forms are available from any A&R or Student Services office. You can also print an application form from our website, or you can apply directly through the internet at www.pas.bc.ca. See the Admission chart in the Admissions & Registration section for a complete list of application dates and general information.

Additional documents required for a complete application:

• official transcripts (or interim transcripts) from all post-secondary institutions you have attended showing grade/course achievement as per entrance requirements. If transcripts are being sent directly from the institution(s) attended, please indicate they are on order. To retain your original application date, order early so transcripts arrive within two weeks of the date your application is mailed or submitted.

2. You will be advised of an admission decision and, if accepted, will be provided with registration information. A deposit is required when you register (see Fees and Other Costs ). This money will be applied to the tuition fees and is not refundable. Final payment of all course fees is due the end of the second week of classes.

3. In cases where course work is in progress, an admission decision may be made conditional upon completion of academic requirements. Proof of completion of entrance requirements is due the end of the first week in August for the September intake.

Declaration of majors, extended minors, minors

Students must be admitted to the BA program prior to declaring their major(s), extended minor(s) or minor(s). Formal declaration is completed by appointment with the Bachelor of Arts advisor. In order to have access to discipline reserved seating, a student must be admitted to the BA program and be formally declared.

Fees and other costs

Fees stated are for 2000/01 and are subject to change for 2001/02.

The fees for a full-time student (five courses or 15 credits) would be about $900 per semester. Books and additional supplies would cost $80 to $100 per course. (see Fees and Other Costs  for more information.)

Courses at other institutions

UCFV students who wish to take academic work at other institutions for credit toward the degree must obtain permission in advance from the Arts advisor. A form for this purpose may be obtained from the Admissions and Records office. When approval has been granted, the Registrar’s office will issue a Letter of Permission to the student.

Except as noted below, total transfer and course challenge credits, including prior learning credit,  may not exceed 60, and not more than 15 transfer credits may count toward upper-level requirements. Within these limits, transfer credit may be applied to the BA with courses passed with a grade of P or higher. Transfer credit is not used in the calculation of the cumulative grade point average.

Graduation

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure all program requirements are met. This should be done by regular consultation with the UCFV Bachelor of Arts advisor.

Degree candidates who qualify to receive a UCFV degree must be approved by the UCFV Arts division and the University College Board.

Students must apply for graduation by completing a request to graduate form available at the Admissions and Records office. We recommend this be done in the first month of the final semester. The final deadline for students who wish to attend the graduation ceremony is April 1, with all program requirements completed by May 31.

Standing required for continuance

All students at UCFV are expected to maintain acceptable standards of scholarship. Specifically, they are expected to maintain a minimum 2.0 cumulative grade point average (CGPA).

Academic warning

A student who has a CGPA lower than 2.0 will be placed on Academic Warning for the next semester. A student on Academic Warning may not register in a course overload.

Students who do not achieve a semester GPA of at least 2.0 while they are on Academic Warning will be required to withdraw from the program.

A student on Academic Warning who achieves a single semester GPA of at least 2.0 will continue on Academic Warning until the CGPA equals or exceeds 2.0.

Course repetition

Students may not register for a course more than twice. No more than five course duplications will be permitted. Where a course has been repeated, only the higher grade is counted in the GPA calculation.

Required to withdraw

Students who have been required to withdraw from the BA program may continue to take courses as a General Studies student; however, they may not register for any upper-level courses.

Appeals for readmission

A student who is required to withdraw from the BA program must submit an appeal for readmission to the Admissions and Standards committee if he/she wishes to resume studies in the degree program.

In general, students who have been required to withdraw will be advised to complete a further nine credits of academic work or to repeat a similar amount of academic work taken previously in order to demonstrate their academic abilities. Appeals must be received at least three months before the start of the semester for which a student has applied. Readmission is not automatic.

Standing on readmission

If readmitted, students will be placed on Academic Warning again, subject to the conditions for Academic Warning as described above.

Bachelor of Arts requirements

There are three sets of requirements to note:

1. Program requirements (below)

2. General requirements (following program requirements)

3. Discipline requirements (see the Arts disciplines section).

Program requirements

To receive a Bachelor of Arts degree students must complete the requirements for a major or two extended minors.

Students admitted to the degree should seek advice from the Bachelor of Arts advisor. A formal declaration of your program choice should be made and approved by the Bachelor of Arts advisor prior to the completion of 60 credits towards the degree.

A minimum of 120 Arts/Science credits of which 65 must be in Arts and the remaining credits must be in Arts/Science subjects or a declared minor/extended minor subject area recognized by the Arts division. A minimum GPA of 2.0 in the BA program, minimum GPA of 2.0 in your major/extended minor(s)/minor(s) and a minimum GPA of 2.0 in all upper-level credits in Arts/Sciences are required. Pre-college or preparatory courses will not satisfy program requirements. For the purposes of meeting program requirements, credits earned in the following disciplines will be considered:

Arts (applicable to BA and Liberal Arts diploma)

• English, film, fine arts, geography, history, anthropology, art history, economics, international studies, Latin American studies, mathematics/ statistics (if you have declared a minor, extended minor, or major in this discipline), media and communication studies, modern languages, philosophy, political science, psychology, religious studies, sociology, theatre.

Science

• Biology, chemistry, computing science, kinesiology and physical education, mathematics and statistics, physics.

Applied Arts

• Declared minor or extended minor in Criminal Justice

Business & Information Technology

• Declared minor in Business Administration

Additional UCFV courses outside the Arts faculty are currently under review. Please see the Arts advisor for further information.

Majors

UCFV offers majors in

• English
• Geography
• History
• Mathematics
• Psychology
• Sociology/Anthropology.

Students choosing a major have the opportunity to concentrate their studies in one subject area, preparing them for related careers or for further study following graduation.

In addition, students may choose to complete a minor or extended minor in conjunction with their major. Please note that a sociology/anthropology major cannot be combined with either a sociology minor or an anthropology minor.

Additional requirements for Arts majors

Of the 120 BA credits:

• 65 must be in Arts subjects
• 45 must be at the 300- or 400-level (upper-level)
• at least 60 credits must be completed at UCFV, of which 30 must be upper level
• at least 15 upper-level credits that count towards your major must be completed at UCFV
• at least 30 credits must be completed at the upper-level in the chosen major — see individual subject areas for specific major requirements.
• the lower-level (100- and 200-level) requirements for at least one Arts major must be satisfied — see the Arts discipline requirements section.
• the Arts division general requirements must be satisfied. See General Requirements following.

Extended minors

Students wishing to concentrate on two subject areas can earn a Bachelor of Arts degree by completing two extended minors. UCFV offers extended minors in:

• *Biology (applicable only to BA degree)
• Criminal Justice
• English
• Geography
• History
• Latin American studies
• Mathematics
• Mathematics/statistics
• Psychology
• Theatre
• Visual Arts.

Any two of these areas can be combined except mathematics with mathematics/statistics.

An extended minor consists of the 100- and 200-level credits required for a major as well as the 300- and 400-level credits equivalent to a minor in the same discipline.

*Please refer to Biology in the Arts disciplines section for extended minor requirements.

Additional requirements for Arts extended minors

Of the 120 BA credits:

• 65 must be in Arts subjects
• 45 must be at the 300- or 400-level (upper level)
• at least 60 credits must be completed at UCFV, of which 30 must be upper-level
• at least seven upper-level credits counting towards each extended minor must be completed at UCFV
• at least 15 credits must be completed at the upper level in each of two extended minor disciplines — see individual subject areas for specific extended minor requirements
• the lower-level (100- and 200-level) requirements for at least two Arts extended minors must be satisfied — see the Arts discipline requirements.
• the Bachelor of Arts general requirements must be satisfied. See General Requirements.

Minors

UCFV offers minors in:

• Anthropology
• Applied Ethical and Political Philosophy
• Business Administration*
• Criminal Justice
• English
• Geography
• History
• Latin American Studies
• Mathematics
• Mathematics/Statistics
• Media and Communication Studies
• Sociology
• Theatre
• Visual Arts.

*Please refer to Business Administration in the Faculty of Community Access, Business, & Information Technology for Minor requirements.

You may choose to complete a minor in conjunction with your major or double extended minors. At least 15 credits of upper-level credits must be taken within a single discipline unless otherwise specified in this calendar. At least seven upper-level credits counting towards the minor must be taken at UCFV. Please note that there are disciplines within the Arts faculty which have minors but do not have majors.

Bachelor of Arts general requirements

Breadth requirement

Students enrolled in a major must complete at least 30 credits in five or more subject areas outside the Arts major. No more than 12 credits from any one subject area can be used to fulfil this breadth requirement.

Students enrolled in two extended minors must complete at least 30 credits in five or more subject areas of which one can be one of their extended minors. No more than 12 credits from any one subject area can be used to fulfil this breadth requirement.

Note: These breadth requirements will be met in part by fulfilling the following requirements:

Literacy requirement

Three credits from:

• English 105
• English 210 or Communications 155.

Reasoning requirement

• Philosophy 100

Lab Science requirement

Four credits from:

• Biology, 100-level or higher
• Chemistry, 100-level or higher
• Geography 101 or 102
• Kinesiology/Physical Education 163 or 170
• Physics, 100-level or higher.

Humanities requirement

Six credits from:

• Art History
• English 120 or higher
• Film
• Fine Arts
• French
• German
• History
• Interdisciplinary courses*
• Japanese
• Mathematics
• Philosophy 100 or higher
• Religious Studies
• Russian
• Spanish
• Theatre.

Social Science requirement

Six credits from:

• Anthropology
• Criminal Justice**
• Economics
• Geography 111 or higher
• Interdisciplinary courses*
• Latin American Studies
• Media and Communications Studies
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Social, Cultural, & Media Studies
• Sociology.

*Interdisciplinary courses are determined by the Bachelor of Arts advisor

**Please contact the Bachelor of Arts advisor for details regarding acceptable criminal justice courses.

Special note: Prospective elementary and secondary school teachers must, in following the above guidelines, take into account the B.C. College of Teachers and Faculty of Education admission requirements. Consult an educational advisor in Student Services for assistance.

Discipline requirements

See the individual discipline requirements.

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