Arts
ufv.ca/artsA UFV Bachelor of Arts (BA) prepares students for engaged democratic citizenship and success in the workplaces of today and tomorrow. Students gain analytical, intellectual, and practical skills through applied learning and a program of study that focuses on critical and creative thinking; written, oral, and visual communication; and quantitative, data, scientific, digital, and technological literacies. Students can select from a wide range of majors, extended minors, and minors that equip them to create a more just and inclusive society. Graduates leave ready for personal and social responsibility, ethical reasoning and action, leadership, and with career portfolios that support their post-university goals.
Upon successful completion of the BA, students will be able to:
Note: Students may also present English 12, English Literature 12, English 12 First Peoples, AP English, or IB English A (standard level or higher level), or out-of-province equivalent.
Students will be considered on the basis of courses equivalent to Approved B.C. Grade 12 courses. See the Admissions section of the calendar for more information on equivalents to B.C. secondary school graduation.
Students must have B.C. secondary school graduation equivalency, meet the prerequisites for ENGL 105 or CMNS 125, and have completed an equivalent average of B (equated to the UFV grading system) in two academic Grade 12 courses.
Students who have completed the International Baccalaureate diploma program, the B.C. Graduation diploma (B.C. Adult Dogwood), or the General Educational Development (GED) certificate may be considered to have the equivalent of B.C. secondary school graduation for admission purposes.
Students who have attended or are currently attending a post-secondary institution, have fewer than 30 credits applicable for BA entrance at the time they apply for admission, and have a minimum GPA of 2.00 on all post-secondary courses attempted, may be considered for admission based on secondary school requirements.
Students who do not meet these requirements might consider Qualifying Studies and/or a meeting with an Academic Advisor.
Applications are accepted for entrance to the Fall, Winter, and Summer semesters. For application deadlines, see Specific intake application process.
Applicants who meet the entrance requirements will be admitted in order of their application date. This date is set when an application, all required documentation, and the application fee have been submitted.
See the Fees and Other Costs section. Books and additional supplies cost approximately $100 per course.
The Bachelor of Arts degree program can be completed in four years of full-time study, with students taking 10 courses per calendar year.
The BA is divided into four learning areas:
Students design their degree by selecting courses from within these four learning areas to meet the following requirements:
Students must complete courses in each of the following core competency areas:
Note: A single course can be used to meet only one core competency requirement.
One of the following courses, completed within the first 30 credits:
Course | Title | Credits |
CMNS 125 | Communicating Professionally to Academic and Workplace Audiences | 3 |
ENGL 105 | Academic Writing | 3 |
ENGL 091 | Provincial-Level English, with an A or better | 3 |
ENGL 099 | Pre-University Composition, with an A or better | 1.5 |
or | English Studies 12 or English First Peoples 12 with an A or better |
Note: Students who have taken CMNS 120 prior to Fall 2021 can use that course to satisfy this requirement.
One of the following courses, completed within the first 60 credits:
Course | Title | Credits |
AH 100 | History of Art and Culture in a Global Context | 3 |
AH 101 | Art and Culture in the West to 1400 | 3 |
AH 102 | Art and Culture in the West from 1400 to the Present | 3 |
AH 204 | Indigenous Art of the Northwest Coast | 3 |
CMNS 235 | Public Speaking | 3 |
CMNS 251 | Professional Report Writing | 3 |
ENGL 210 | The Art of the Essay | 3 |
GD 101 | Fundamentals of Design | 3 |
GD 102 | History of Graphic Design | 3 |
SOC 254 | Writing for Social Sciences | 3 |
THEA 111 | Acting Skills for Work and Life | 3 |
THEA 112 | Acting I: Essentials of Acting | 3 |
VA 113 | Introduction to Drawing | 3 |
VA 115 | Introductory Studio I: Material Practices | 3 |
VA 116 | Intro to Studio II: Space, Form, and Time | 3 |
or | Any 100-level or higher FREN, GERM, HALQ, JAPN, MAND, PUNJ, RUSS, or SPAN course | 2-6 |
Required course, completed within the first 30 credits:
Course | Title | Credits |
PHIL 100 | Reasoning: An Introduction to Critical Thinking | 3 |
One of the following courses, completed within the first 60 credits:
Course | Title | Credits |
ECON 100 | Principles of Microeconomics | 3 |
ECON 101 | Principles of Macroeconomics | 3 |
GEOG 252 | Explanation in Geography: Quantitative Methods | 4 |
GEOG 253 | Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | 4 |
MATH 105 | Math for the Elementary School Teacher | 4 |
MATH 110 | Pre-Calculus Math | 4 |
MATH 111 | Calculus I | 4 |
MATH 123 | Everyday Math and Stats | 3 |
MATH 140 | Algebra and Functions for Business | 3 |
MATH 141 | Calculus for Business | 3 |
PSYC 110 | Applied Statistical Analysis in Psychology | 3 |
STAT 104 | Introductory Statistics | 4 |
STAT 106 | Statistics I | 4 |
One of the following courses, completed within the first 60 credits:
Course | Title | Credits |
AGRI 123 | Horticulture Skills I | 3 |
AGRI 124 | Introduction to Horticulture | 3 |
AGRI 129 | Horticulture Skills II | 3 |
AGRI 163 | Pest Biology and Identification | 3 |
ASTR 101 | Solar System and History of Astronomy | 3 |
ASTR 103 | Astronomy: The Solar System | 4 |
ASTR 104 | Stars, Galaxies, and the Cosmos | 4 |
BIO | Any 100-level or higher BIO course | 3-8 |
CHEM | Any 100-level or higher CHEM course | 3-6 |
GEOG 103 | The Physical Environment | 4 |
GEOG 105 | Natural Hazards and Hollywood | 3 |
GEOG 111 | Environmental Issues and Strategies | 3 |
GEOG 116 | Earth Rocks | 4 |
HSC 111 | Human Anatomy and Physiology I | 4 |
IPK 477/ BIO 477 | Traditional Ecological Knowledges | 4 |
KIN 163 | Introduction to Exercise Physiology | 4 |
KIN 170 | Basic Human Anatomy | 4 |
NURS 105 | Professional Nursing: Communication II | 3 |
PHYS | Any 100-level or higher PHYS course | 3-5 |
PSYC 202 | Research Methods in Psychology | 4 |
One course selected from either the civic engagement or intercultural engagement list:
Civic engagement
Course | Title | Credits |
AIS 280 | Introduction to Work Integrated Learning (formerly ARTS 280) | 3 |
AIS 380 | Practicum/Internship I (formerly ARTS 380) | 3 |
AIS 480 | Practicum/Internship II (formerly ARTS 480) (with approval) | 3 |
GDS 100/ GEOG 109 | A World of Development | 3 |
GDS 260 | Gender and Global Development | 3 |
GDS 310/ GEOG 396/ SOC 396 | Canada Internship | 6 |
GEOG 312 | Nature, Power, and Place | 4 |
GEOG 412 | Environmental Geography Practicum | 4 |
GEOG 460 | Practicum in Planning | 4 |
GEOG 464/ GD 464 | Community Planning and Development: Local Applied Studio | 4 |
IPK 402 | Indigenous Studies Field Work Practicum | 3 |
VA 390 | Community Arts Practice | 3 |
or | An approved, relevant internship or practicum not listed above |
Intercultural engagement
Course | Title | Credits |
AIS 280 | Introduction to Work Integrated Learning (formerly ARTS 280) | 3 |
AIS 380 | Practicum/Internship I (formerly ARTS 380) | 3 |
AIS 480 | Practicum/Internship II (formerly ARTS 480) (with approval) | 3 |
ANTH 111 | First Nations of British Columbia – Traditional Cultures | 3 |
CMNS 180 | Introduction to Intercultural Communication | 3 |
ENGL 228 | Indigenous Literature | 3 |
FILM 211 | Film in a Global Age | 3 |
FILM 312 | India on Film | 3 |
FILM 313 | Indigenous Film | 3 |
FREN 103 | French Study Tour | 3 |
GDS 250/ SOC 250 | Sociology of Development – The Global South | 3 |
GDS 311/ GEOG 398/ SOC 398 | International Internship | 6 |
GEOG 346 | Geography of Religion and Peacebuilding | 4 |
GEOG 466/ GD 466 | Community Planning and Development: International Studio | 5 |
HIST 103 | Stó:lō History | 3 |
HIST 396O | The History of Residential Schools | 4 |
IPK 386 | Braiding Indigenous Knowledges, Practices, and Worldviews | 3 |
IPK 401 | Indigenous Worldviews and Spirituality | 3 |
IPK 402 | Indigenous Studies Field Work Practicum | 3 |
JAPN 103 | Japanese Study Tour: Language and Culture | 3 |
LAS 200/ SOC 200 | Social Issues in Latin America | 3 |
PACS 200 | Conflict Analysis and Peacebuilding in the Fraser Valley | 3 |
SOCA 301 | Race, Place, and Space: Creative Tools for Navigating Turbulent Times | 3 |
or | An approved, relevant internship, practicum, or study abroad not listed above |
Two courses:
Course | Title | Credits |
AIS 299 | Professional Practices I (formerly ARTS 299) | 3 |
One of: | 3-4 | |
AIS 380 | Practicum/Internship I (formerly ARTS 380) | |
AIS 399 | Professional Practices II (formerly PORT 399) | |
AIS 480 | Practicum/Internship II (formerly ARTS 480) (with approval) | |
CMNS 412 | Communications Practicum | |
HIST 401 | Practicum in History | |
PSYC 490 | Honours Seminar |
All BA students will demonstrate competency in a language other than English, equivalent to B.C. secondary school Grade 11. Students meet competency by one of the following:
Students who have gained second language competency through other means may contact Modern Languages to inquire about an assessment.
Note: Students may not use the same course to meet additional requirements such as the second language competency or the personal and social responsibility competencies. Students are welcome to take additional second language courses to meet those requirements.
To plan and/or declare a major, extended minors, or minors, students should book an appointment with an Academic Advisor at ufv.ca/advising.
Discipline | Honours | Major | Extended minor | Minor |
Adult Education | ✔ | |||
Anthropology | ✔ |
✔ | ✔ | |
Applied Ethical and Political Philosophy |
✔ | |||
Applied Statistics | ✔ | |||
Art History | ✔ | ✔ | ||
Biology | ✔ | |||
Business | ✔ | |||
Communications | ✔ | ✔ | ||
Computer Information Systems | ✔ | ✔ | ||
Creative Writing | ✔ |
✔ |
✔ | ✔ |
Criminal Justice | ✔ | ✔ | ||
Economics | ✔ | ✔ | ||
English | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Environmental Studies | ✔ | |||
French | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Geography | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Global Development Studies | ✔ | ✔ | ||
Graphic and Digital Design | ✔ | ✔ | ||
History | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Indigenous Studies | ✔ | ✔ | ||
Kinesiology | ✔ | |||
Latin American Studies | ✔ | ✔ | ||
Mathematics | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Mathematics (Statistics option) | ✔ | |||
Media and Communication Studies | ✔ | ✔ | ||
Peace and Conflict Studies | ✔ | ✔ | ||
Philosophy | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Political Science | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Psychology | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Sociology | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Sociology/Anthropology | ✔ | |||
Spanish Language and Culture | ✔ | |||
Theatre | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Visual Arts | ✔ | ✔ |
To plan and/or explore elective course options please book an appointment with an Academic Advisor at ufv.ca/advising. For complete details on course offerings see the course descriptions section.
The Co-operative Education option provides students with the opportunity to acquire paid, career-related work experience in conjunction with their studies in the Bachelor of Arts degree program. See the Co-operative Education section for more details.
UFV students who wish to take course at another institution for credit toward the Bachelor of Arts must obtain permission in advance from an Academic Advisor. A Letter of Permission request is available at ufv.ca/registrar/forms or can be obtained from the Office of the Registrar. Students must be in good standing (CGPA > 2.00) to receive a Letter of Permission. When approval has been granted, the Office of the Registrar will issue a Letter of Permission to the student. Residency and transfer credit policies apply.
Course Repeat policy (86): Students may not register for a course more than twice without the permission of the department head/director for the discipline or their designate. All attempts will be recorded on the transcript, but only the highest grade will be included in the GPA. Transfer courses are considered in the number of attempts. A “W” or “AU” course is not counted as a duplication. Multiple repeats of the same course count as a single duplication.
Undergraduate Continuance policy (92): Students must have a CGPA of at least 2.00 to remain in good academic standing. Failure to meet or maintain a 2.00 will result in restrictions on registration and may lead to academic suspension.
Subsequent and Concurrent Bachelor Degree policy (98): Students who have already completed a degree at the bachelor’s level may be granted an additional bachelor’s degree provided that the two degrees are different, and that the student has met the program requirements. Students will complete at least one third of the total credits required for the additional degree, including at least 30 additional upper-level credits, beyond the credits taken in the first or concurrent degree. All 30 upper-level credits must be obtained through completion of UFV courses.
Transfer Credit policy (107) and Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) policy (94): Students who successfully complete academic course work at another post-secondary institution can transfer this credit to UFV to satisfy BA degree requirements. They can also earn academic credit through an assessment of prior learning.
To meet the residency requirement of the BA, the following restrictions apply:
Students are responsible for ensuring they are eligible to graduate, and should regularly consult with an Academic Advisor. To be eligible to graduate, students must have:
Students must apply for graduation in the first month of their final semester. Visit the Graduation webpage for more information. The final deadline for students who wish to attend the June Convocation ceremony is April 1 of each year, with all program requirements completed by April 30.
For complete details on courses see the course descriptions section.