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Degree Requirements for students who entered the program in 2020/2021 or earlier

A minimum of 120 credits in university courses must be completed. For use as electives, at most, 12 of the 120 credits may be from non-Arts and non-Science baccalaureate courses. Note: all baccalaureate courses delivered by the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies are deemed for this purpose to be Arts courses and need not be counted as outside electives. Students must also complete at least 48 credits at the 300/400 level, of which at least 30 credits must be completed at UBC.

A minimum graduating grade average (GGA) of 60% is required to be eligible for graduation with the B.A. degree.

First and Second Years Credit Requirements

To complete the first and second years of the B.A. program, a student must complete 60 credits in Arts or Science courses. These credits must be selected from the following:

English

Students must complete 6 credits of first-year English selected from: ENGL 109, or two of ENGL 112, 113, 114, 150, 151, 153, 154, 155, or 156. Students who fail to meet the English requirement before completing 60 Arts-eligible credits will not be permitted to register in courses other than first-year English, until this requirement is satisfied.

Science

Students must complete at least 6 first-year Science credits in Laboratory Science, Mathematics, Computer Science, Statistics, or approved Geography1 courses from the following list:

  • ASTR 110, 111, 120, 121;
  • BIOL 116, 117, 122, 125, 131, 133;
  • CHEM 111, 113, 121, 123;
  • COSC 101, 111, 121, 122, 123;
  • EESC 111, 121;
  • GEOG 108, 109;
  • MATH 100, 101, 111, 116, 142;
  • PHYS 102, 111, 112, 121, 122, 140;
  • STAT 121, 124

1GEOG 128 and 129 do not provide Science credit.

Language other than English Requirement

This requirement may be satisfied by any of the following options:

  • successful completion of an approved Grade 12 course in a language other than English before studies begin at the UBC Okanagan campus. Note: once the student has begun studies at the UBC Okanagan campus, this requirement can no longer be satisfied with senior secondary courses;
  • successful completion of one of the following or its equivalent. Note: these courses have prerequisites;

Subject Course
French FREN 104
German GERM 210
Japanese JPST 201
Spanish SPAN 202, SPAN 204, or SPAN 252
  • demonstrated competency through examination in any language other than English. Demonstrated competency is defined as the ability to pass a final oral and written examination typical of a fourth-term university course where the first term is beginner-level. Students must make their own arrangements for such an examination by a qualified instructor (e.g., a university professor who teaches the language at an accredited university). The suitability of such an instructor must be approved by the program advisor for Modern Languages before the examination is taken. Students are responsible for any fees incurred;
  • students whose first language is not English may satisfy the requirement upon presentation of official transcripts indicating completion of secondary school in their first language;
  • classical language option: students who successfully complete GREK 111 and 121, plus LATN 300, will be deemed to have satisfied the language requirement;
  • American Sign Language: all four levels of the American Sign Language Basic Certificate offered through an accredited institution will be deemed to have satisfied the language requirement. Note: these courses cannot be used as credit toward the B.A. program.
  • Okanagan language option: students who successfully complete both Nsyilxcn I and II (NSYL 110 and NSYL 111) (Okanagan Language), offered through the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology at the En'owkin Centre or the UBC Okanagan campus, will be deemed to have satisfied the language requirement.

Distribution Requirements

Students must complete at least 18 credits from List A: Social Sciences, and 18 credits from List B: Humanities. The completed courses must include at least two disciplines from each list. Note: credits earned to satisfy the English requirement will not count toward the Distribution Requirement.

List A: Social Sciences
Anthropology
Economics
Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies1
Geography2
Indigenous Studies
Political Science
Psychology
Sociology
List B: Humanities
Art History and Visual Culture
Chinese
Creative and Critical Studies
Creative Writing
Cultural Studies
Digital Humanities
English3
Film
French
Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies4
German
Greek
Hebrew
History
Indigenous Studies
Japanese Studies
Korean
Latin
Music
Philosophy
Spanish
Theatre
Visual Arts
World Literatures

1GWST 100, 110, 216, 223, 323, 333, 334.

2Except GEOG 108, 109, 200, 205, 207, 222, 271, 301, 304, 307, 310, 314, 317, 341, 356, 367, 377, 414, 422, 436, 437, 466. GEOG 491, 498 may be eligible dependent on the topic. Confirm approval with a program advisor.

3Except for ENGL 112, 301.

4GWST 100, 110, 215, 223, 235, 333, 335, 336, 435.

Progression Requirements

First Year 0–23 credits
Second Year 24–47 credits
Third Year 48–77 credits
Fourth Year 78 or more credits

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