New Students
First year course selection
New Student Course Selection
The first thing that you need to do is read the "BA Program" page of the Registration Guide for New Students.
In the Handbook, you will find important information about the courses you must take, including information about BA Distribution requirement courses.
Please note that some GEOG courses are social sciences, and some are natural/mathematical sciences.
Required First Year Courses by Specialization
Below is more detailed course selection information for each specialization. When choosing your courses, you should also consult the Undergraduate Calendar (list of required courses) and Course descriptions for each subject area. The list of all the required courses for areas of concentration, majors and minors are found here.
Note: the semesters that courses are offered in can be subject to change, based on departmental discretion.
New Student Course Selection
Please read the Registration Handbook for New Students first.
Below are listed the required courses for your specific area of study in the BA degree program. Courses taken from these lists will also count towards your arts, social science or mathematical science requirements.
You can click on the specialization area to see additional information on future course requirements and to view course descriptions.
Anthropology (ANTH) and Anthropology: Co-op (ANTH:C)
- ANTH*1150 should be taken in the fall/winter semester.
- ANTH*1120 is also offered in the fall but is an optional course for the ANTH specialization.
- CLAS*1000 should be taken in the fall semester.
- You must also take GREK*1100 or LAT*1100 in the fall semester. If you took Greek or Latin in high school, you should not take these courses. Instead, you would take GREK*1110 or LAT*1110 in the winter semester. If this situation applies to you, please consult with the School of Languages & Literatures (1-519-824-4120 ext. 53884) to determine the appropriate course selection.
- CRWR*1000 should be taken in the fall semester.
- ENGL*1080 is also required in your first year. It is offered both fall and winter semesters and can be taken in either semester.
Criminal Justice and Public Policy (CJPP) and Criminal Justice and Public Policy: Co-op (CJPP:C)
- PHIL*1010 and SOC*1500 are both required in your first year. They are each offered in both fall and winter semesters and can be taken in either semester. It is recommended that you take one in the fall and the other in the winter semester.
Culture and Technology Studies (CTS) and Culture and Technology Studies: Co-op (CTS:C)
- CTS*1000 should be taken in the fall semester.
Economics (ECON) and Economics: Co-op (ECON:C)
- ECON*1050 and ECON*1100 are both required. They are both offered in the fall and winter semesters and can be taken in either order.
- You should also take one of MATH*1030, MATH*1080, or MATH*1200 in the fall semester.
- ENGL*1080 can be taken in the fall or winter semester.
- ENGL*1030 and ENGL*1200 can be taken in the fall but they are optional courses for the ENGL specialization.
Environmental Governance (EGOV) and Environmental Governance: Co-op (EGOV:C)
- ECON*1050, GEOG*1220, GEOG*1350 and INDG*1000 are all required courses for the major. They are offered in both the fall and winter semesters. A recommendation is to take two of these courses in the fall and two in the winter.
Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (FARE) and Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics: Co-op (FARE:C)
- AGR*1110 should be taken in the fall semester (please note that this course is worth 1.0 credits so is the equivalent of taking two courses).
- ECON*1050 should be taken in the fall semester.
- One of MATH*1030, MATH*1080 or MATH 1200 should be taken in the fall semester.
- FREN*1200 should be taken in the fall semester.
- If you have graduated from a secondary school French Immersion program you must begin with one of FREN*2020, FREN*2060 or FREN*2520 in your first semester. Please consult with the School of Languages & Literatures (1-519-824-4120 ext. 53884) to determine the appropriate course selection.
Geography (GEOG) and Geography: Co-op (GEOG:C)
- GEOG*1200 should be taken in the fall semester.
- GEOG*1220 and GEOG*1300 are also required but are offered in both the fall and winter semesters. A recommendation is to take one in the fall semester and the other in the winter semester.
History (HIST) and History: Co-op (HIST:C)
- HIST*1050 can be taken in the fall or winter semester.
- One of HIST*1010, HIST*1150 or HIST*1250 are also required. These courses are offered in both the fall and winter semesters and can be taken in either semester.
International Development Studies (IDS) and International Development Studies: Co-op (IDS:C)
- IDEV*1000 should be taken in the fall semester.
Justice and Legal Studies (JLS) and Justice and Legal Studies: Co-op (JLS:C)
- JLS*1000 should be taken in the fall semester.
- ANTH*1150 and SOC*1100 are offered in both fall and winter semesters. Only one is required and can be taken either in the fall or winter semester.
Mathematical Economics (MAEC) and Mathematical Economics: Co-op (MAEC:C)
- ECON*1050 should be taken in the fall semester.
- MATH*1200 should be taken in the fall semester.
- CIS*1300 or CIS*1500 can be taken in the fall semester of your first or second year.
- MATH*1160 and MATH*1200 should both be taken in the fall semester.
- If you are selecting the Economics area of emphasis, you should also take ECON*1050 or ECON*1100 in the fall semester.
- MUSC*1160 should be taken in the fall semester.
- MUSC*1340 should be taken in the fall semester.
- MUSC*1410 should be taken in the fall semester.
- MUSC*1710 or MUSC*1910 should be taken in the fall semester.
- There are four first year Philosophy courses to choose from - PHIL*1000 (offered fall semester only), PHIL*1010 (offered fall and winter semesters), PHIL*1030 (offered winter semester only) and PHIL*1050 (offered fall and winter semesters).
- Any of these courses can be taken as preparation for upper-level courses.
- You can take more than one of these courses however, only two can be used towards your specialization in PHIL.
Political Science (POLS) and Political Science: Co-op (POLS:C)
- POLS*1150 can be taken in the fall or winter semester.
Psychology (PSYC) and Psychology: Co-op (PSYC:C)
- PSYC*1000 should be taken in the fall semester.
- PSYC*1500 is offered in both the fall and winter semesters. It can be taken in either semester.
- PSYC *1010 should be taken in the winter semester.
Sexualities, Genders and Social Change (SXGN)
- SXGN*1000 should be taken in the fall semester.
- ANTH*1150 and SOC*1100 are both required and offered in the fall and winter semesters. A recommendation is to take one in the fall and the other in the winter semester.
Spanish and Hispanic Studies (SPAH)
- SPAN*1100 should be taken in the fall semester if you have no Spanish language background.
- If you have the language background, you should take either SPAN*1110 or SPAN*2000 in the fall semester. Please consult with the Spanish & Hispanic Studies department (519-824-4120 ext. 53883) to determine the appropriate course selection.
- SART*1050 and SART*1060 are both required but cannot be taken in the same semester. It does not matter which course is completed first but it is important to take one in the fall semester and the other in the winter semester of your first year.
- ARTH*1510 is offered in the fall semester only and ARTH*1520 is offered in the winter semester only. Only one of these courses is required and can be taken either in the fall or winter semester.
- THST*1040 should be taken in the fall semester.
- THST*1200 isn’t required but it can also be taken in the fall semester and can be used as an elective towards a THST specialization.
Undeclared Specialization
During the first semester, a variety of courses should be chosen from the arts and social science areas that are of interest to you (see the Registration Handbook for New Students for the subjects that meet these areas). By taking different courses, you will have the opportunity to explore potential specializations. You are still on track for a B.A. degree by doing this.