Current BAS Students

Current Students

The Bachelor of Arts & Sciences (BAS) degree program at the University of Guelph is only as good as the students that are enrolled in it, which makes the BAS program one of the most unique and fantastic programs available on campus. The students, alongside the faculty and staff, have a huge impact on the quality of this constantly developing program. These inquisitive, inspiring and innovative students come from a broad range of backgrounds with many interests and skills. Each year we are lucky enough to continue the tradition of welcoming in a whole new year of ambitious and capable first year students. Throughout their time on campus, BAS students continue to push the boundaries of the program by exploring new combinations with their arts and science minors, creating new and interesting independent research projects and delivering a high level of scholastic achievement in the core Arts & Science courses. In one word, they are fantASCI! See below for upper year course selection.

First Semester Course Selection

1. Most first year students select five courses (2.50 credits) for their first semester. Your course selection will be influenced by the specializations you plan to pursue.  Generally most first semesters in the BAS will look like this:

Example
Mandatory Core Course ASCI*1110
Science Course BIOL*1090
Science Course CHEM*1040
Arts Course THST*1200
Social Science Course SOC*1100

2. All first semester BAS students must select ASCI*1110 Society and Inquiry I. Schedule this lecture first with any corresponding seminars

3. Select two (2) science courses. The 2 courses you will pick in first semester will be determined by what science minor you are considering. You will choose two more science courses in your second semester. Use the following chart to help you choose which science courses to register for:

If you choose this BAS

Science Minor, then..

...the suggested first year sciences include:
Agriculture BIOL*1070, CHEM*1040
Applied Geomatics CIS*1300 or CIS*1500, minimum of [.50] 1000 level GEOG: GEOG*1200GEOG*1220GEOG*1300GEOG*1350
Biochemistry BIOL*1090, CHEM*1040, CHEM*1050, BIOC*2580
Biology BIOL*1070BIOL*1090 - can take BIOL*1080 too but not needed
Biotechnology BIOL*1090, CHEM*1040, CHEM*1050, BIOC*2580
Chemistry CHEM*1040CHEM*1050
(MATH*1200 & MATH*1210 are not required to complete a CHEM minor, but are needed for physical chemistry and chemistry of the elements courses.)

Computing & Information Science

CIS*1300CIS*1910CIS*2500
Ecology BIOL*1070BIOL*1090GEOG*1300 or GEOG*1220STAT*2040
Mathematics
MATH*1080 or MATH*1200MATH*1090 or MATH*1210CIS*1910 or MATH*2000, and MATH*1160
Mathematical Sciences CIS*1300 or CIS*1500MATH*1080 or MATH*1200MATH*1090 or MATH*1210, and MATH*1160
Microbiology BIOL*1090, CHEM*1040, CHEM*1050
Molecular Biology & Genetics BIOL*1090, CHEM*1040, CHEM*1050
Neuroscience BIOL*1090, CHEM*1040, CHEM*1050 and from Social Sciences PSYC*1000PSYC*1010
Nutrition & Nutraceutical Sciences BIOL*1090, CHEM*1040, CHEM*1050STAT*2040
Plant Sciences BIOL*1090, BIOL*1070, CHEM*1040, CHEM*1050
Physics IPS*1510 or two of PHYS*1010PHYS*1070PHYS*1080 or PHYS*1130
Statistics
Zoology BIOL*1070BIOL*1090,
Vet hopefuls additionally need/are helpful for summer senior level ZOO: CHEM*1040CHEM*1050STAT*2040

*For the Chemistry minor, MATH may be required pre-requisites for upper year CHEM courses, check the CHEM academic calendar for courses requiring MATH to help in planning your first year.

Keep in mind that you will complete 2.00 credits in your science foundation (usually four courses). If there is only one or two courses listed in the chart, that means you have some choice in the other science courses you take as part of your core. It is important to think about prerequisites for upper level courses when deciding which science foundation courses you will take. If you have any questions about this, talk to your program counsellor. The following course codes can count towards your science core requirements: BIOC*2580, BIOL*1070, BIOL*1080, BIOL*1090, CHEM*1040, CHEM*1050, CIS*1300, CIS*2500, GEOG*1300, GEOG*2460, IPS*1500, IPS*1510MATH*1080MATH*1090MATH*1200, MATH*1210PHYS*1070, PHYS*1080, PHYS*1300, STAT*2040, STAT*2050.

If you are unsure what science minor you are interested in pursuing, you can talk to your program counsellor about which science courses are most common across the science specializations you may be interested in. BAS students are restricted from taking BIOM*2000, BOT*1200, MBG*1000 and BIOL*1500 because they are science courses intended for arts/social science students with little or no background in the sciences.

To view the requirements for each science specialization, you can find a complete listing of all available science programs in the Bachelor of Science Degree Program section of the Current Course Calendar under section X (10), Degree Programs.

4. Select two (2) arts or social science courses (preferably one Arts and one Social Science):

If you choose this BAS

Arts/Social Science Minor, then..

Suggested Courses Include:
Anthropology ANTH*1150
Art History ARTH*1150, ARTH*1520
Arts Management HUMN*1300 (Offered in Winter semesters only)
Black Canadian Studies BLCK*1000
Business ACCT*1220ECON*1050MCS*1000
Business Economics ACCT*1220ECON*1050ECON*1100, one of (IPS*1500MATH*1080, MATH*1200, or MATH*1030)
Classical Studies CLAS*1000 and either (GREK*1100 & GREK*1110), or (LAT*1100 LAT*1110)
Creative Writing ENGL*1080
Criminal Justice and Public Policy PHIL*1010SOC*1500
Culture and Technology Studies CTS*1000
Economics

ECON*1050, ECON*1100 and one of MATH*1030, MATH*1080, MATH*1200. Math courses have high school prerequisites.

English ENGL*1080
European Studies EURO*1100, and ONE of: (FREN*1200+FREN*1300); (GERM*1100+GERM*1110); (ITAL*1060+ITAL*1070); OR (SPAN*1100+SPAN*1110).
Students who come with a background in one of these language should consult with the course instructor to see which level they should take.
Family and Child Studies NUTR*1010FRHD*1010FRHD*1020
French Studies FREN*1200FREN*1300
Students should consult the following chart to see which first year course they should select.
Geography Two of: GEOG*1200, GEOG*1220, GEOG*1300
German GERM*1100GERM*1110
History HIST*1050. One of: HIST*1010, HIST*1150, HIST*1250
International Development Studies IDEV*1000PSYC*1000
Italian ITAL*1060ITAL*1070HUMN*2020 (NOTE: HUMN*2020 is only offered in winter semesters of even-numbered years.)
Linguistics LING*1000
Marketing ECON*1050MCS*1000, PSYC*1000
Media & Cinema Studies THST*1200
Museum Studies ARTH*1510ARTH*1520
Music See this link: lots of options: Music (MUSC) < University of Guelph (uoguelph.ca)
Philosophy ONE of: (PHIL*1000PHIL*1010PHIL*1030PHIL*1050)
Political Science POLS*1150
Psychology PSYC*1000PSYC*1010
Sexualities, Genders and Social Change SXGN*1000SXGN*1010
Sociology ANTH*1150SOC*1100
Spanish and Hispanic Studies
SPAN*1100SPAN*1110
Note: Students who took 12U Spanish or are native speakers of Spanish may be able to skip to 2000-level courses. Click here for more information.
Studio Art SART*1050SART*1060, ONE OF: ARTH*1510, or ARTH*1520 (in Winter semester)
Theatre Studies THST*1040THST*1190THST*1270

** All first year students should strongly consider taking a UNIV*1200 First Year Seminar course in their first year.  These unique seminars are only available to first year students and are taught by many interesting and engaging staff and faculty from across campus, including the President and other University of Guelph administration.  With restricted enrollment in each seminar (approx. 18 students), these courses give students a chance to engage and participate in a terrific academic experience in a small classroom setting, exploring and studying unique and interdisciplinary topics.  More information on these courses can be found on the First Year Seminars website.

Upper Year Course Selection

Each year you will take ASCI courses, courses that will count towards your two specializations, and you electives. Once you have decided what your specializations are, make sure that you follow the requirements for the academic calendar that you started on. For example, if you started in this program in September of 2022, you would use the 2022-2023 academic calendar to find out which requirements are needed for both of your specializations - you will follow the rules for the minor in that subject area. Be sure to check your Program Evaluation on Webadvisor (or check in with your program counsellor) to make sure that you are on the right track. Don't forget about your core if you didn't complete it in first year and remember to take your elective courses. Keep track of the number of credits you have earned - you need 20.0 credits to graduate.

To view the requirements for each science specialization, you can find a complete listing of all available arts and social science programs in the Bachelor of Arts Degree Program section of the current Undergraduate Calendar under section X (10), Degree Programs.

Descriptions for all University of Guelph courses can be found online in the Current Undergraduate Calendar in section XII (12).