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Minor Options

Students who wish to focus their electives may, with the approval of the Assistant Dean Students in Science Advising, undertake an optional minor specialization concurrently with their first specialization (major, honours, combined major, combined honours, and General Science except as noted below for specific minors). Applications will not be accepted once the student has gained fourth-year standing; some minors have further restrictions (see below). The designation of the minor will be applied to the transcript upon graduation if permission has been granted and the requirements are met. Permission to pursue a minor will be denied if the student is not making good progress in the primary specialization or if the student is already approved to pursue another minor, a double major, or dual degree.

The following minors are available: Minor in Land and Food Systems, Minor in Arts, Minor in Commerce, Minor in Kinesiology, and Minor in Science. Entry into and continuation in a minor option requires that the student remains in Good Standing. Where space in courses required for a minor is limited, students may be required to maintain a sessional average higher than the minimum for Good Standing. Information on minor specializations is also available from the Faculty.

Minor in Land and Food Systems

The Faculty of Land and Food Systems offers several optional minors for B.Sc. students. Upon completion of one of the following minor options, the notation "Minor in [Subject]" will be denoted on the student's transcript.

The Minor (3250): Applied Animal Biology consists of 18 credits selected from APBI 311 (BIOL 364), 312, 314, 315, 316, 319, 327 (BIOL 327), 398, 410, 411, 413, 414, 415, 416, 418, 419, 427 (BIOL 411), 496.

The Minor (3616): Sustainable Agriculture and Environment consists of 18 credits selected from APBI 318, 322, 324 (BIOL 324), 327 (BIOL 327), 328 (BIOL 317), 342 (FRST 310), 351 (BIOL 351/FRST 311), 401, 402, 403, 417, 426 (BIOL 421), 428, 440 (BIOL 440), 444 (FRST 444).

The Minor (3741): Fermentations consists of: (1) 3 credits from FNH 405 (UBC Vancouver), BIOL 380 (UBC Okanagan); (2) 3 credits from BIOC 302 (UBC Vancouver), BIOL 311, BIOC 304 (UBC Okanagan); (3) 6 credits from FNH 330 and FNH 335 (UBC Vancouver); (4) At least 6 credits from the following courses: BIOL 323, CHEM 311, CHBE 381, FNH 300, FNH 301, FNH 302, FNH 313, FNH 430, APBI 442 (UBC Vancouver), BIOC 310, BIOL 382, BIOL 480 (UBC Okanagan).

Students at the UBC Vancouver campus must take the UBC Vancouver courses. Students who completed UBC Okanagan courses prior to transferring to UBC Vancouver may count the UBC Okanagan courses.

Students interested in applying credits earned at the Okanagan campus to Vancouver campus programs should be aware of the Requirements to Receive a Degree or Diploma on the Vancouver campus and the rules on Transfer Credit Transfer Credit.

Upon successful completion of the Minor, the notation “Minor in Fermentations” will be denoted on the student’s transcript.

The Minor (1347): Food and Resource Economics consists of ECON 310, 311 and 12 credits selected from FRE 302, 306, 326, 340, 374, 385, 402, 420, 460, 490 for a total of 18 credits. Students who have completed ECON 101 and 102 prior to entry into the program may use these courses in lieu of ECON 310 and 311, but may require additional upper-level credits to satisfy graduation requirements.

The Minor (3251): Food Science consists of six credits selected from FNH 300, 301, 302, 303, 309, 313, and 403, and 12 additional credits from FNH 300, 301, 302, 303, 309, 313, 402, 403, 405, 413, 419, and 430 for a total of 18 credits.

The Minor (1349): Nutritional Sciences consists of FNH 250, 350, 351, and 12 credits selected from FNH 301, 355, 370, 371, 398, 402, 451, 454, 455, 472, 473, 474, 477, 490 for a total of 21 credits.

The Minor (3611): Sustainable Food Systems consists of LFS 250 and 350; 3 credits from APBI 314, 315, BIOL 343, EDCP 329, FNH 342, 355, 455, LFS 340, SOCI 342, 360, 423, GEOG 410; 3 credits from APBI 360, 402, 428, 444, ENVR 430, 440, FNH 309, GEOG 310, 318; 3 credits from APBI 361, 414, FNH 415, FRE 302, 306, 340, 374, 460, GEOG 311, SCIE 420; 3 credits from APBI 465, LFS 450, 496; 3 additional credits from any 300- or 400-level course listed above for a total of 24 credits.

An application form may be obtained from Science Advising or from the Faculty of Science website.

Space in many science and land and food systems courses is limited. Admission to a land and food systems minor does not guarantee access to courses agreed upon for the minor.

Minor in Arts

An acceptable minor must comprise courses in the Faculty of Arts that are for credit toward a B.A. and consists of 18 upper-level credits in a single subject. An application form may be obtained from Science Advising. Students should design a coherent and academically sound course of studies for their proposed minor, which must be approved by the Assistant Dean Students in Science Advising while the student is registered in second year. All courses must be acceptable for a B.A. major in the proposed subject area or field, but a student is not bound by the other requirements that the Faculty of Arts sets for a major or minor in the field. The following restrictions should be noted.

An Arts minor in mathematics or computer science may not be undertaken by students in the Faculty of Science. Students majoring in one of the earth science specializations (Earth and Ocean Science, Geographical Sciences, Geology, Geophysics, Oceanography) may not undertake a Minor in Geography other than the Minor in Geographic Information Science and Geographical Computation (GIS&GC). Students in the B.Sc. specialization in Behavioural Neuroscience may not undertake an Arts Minor in Psychology; other students intending to complete the Arts Minor in Psychology must follow the requirements for this minor listed on the Behavioural Neuroscience page.

Upon successful completion of the minor program, the notation, "Minor in Arts" will be denoted on the student's transcript. Students wanting a subject-designated minor may also undertake a minor in a specific Arts discipline Minor Program, which requires the completion of at least 30 credits in a single subject field or specialization, of which at least 18 must be numbered 300 or higher.

The Faculty of Arts offers some interdisciplinary 30-credit minors for which no corresponding major exists. Science students may apply to pursue one of those minors only if the courses chosen do not leave the student deficient in Arts credits, in excess of the limit of 24 credits from faculties other than Science or Arts, or in excess of the allowable total attempted credits for the degree.

Minor in Commerce

The minor is intended to be completed over two winter sessions. Enrolment in this program is strictly limited.

At the time of application, students must be eligible to enter second-year in the Faculty of Science the following September and have an average of at least 60% in all previous sessions. Meeting the stated requirements does not guarantee admission into the program. An application form may be obtained from Science Advising or from the Faculty of Science website. The completed form must be returned no later than May 15.

Applicants must have successfully completed one of MATH 100, 102, 104, 120, 180, 184, or Science One and both ECON 310 and 311 (or 101 and 102). The program will consist of COMR 329(3), COMR 457(3), COMR 465(3), COMR 473(3), COMR 493(3), and one of COMR 398(3) or COMR 458(3) for a total of 18 credits.

Note: Students may encounter difficulty fitting the COMR courses into their Science program timetable; careful planning is essential. Upon successful completion of this program, the notation "Minor in Commerce" will be placed on the student's transcript.

Minor in Kinesiology

Enrolment in this specialization is strictly limited. An application form may be obtained from Science Advising and the form must be returned no later than May 15.

At the time of application, students must have completed PHYS 100 or 101, be eligible for third-year standing in the Faculty of Science, have achieved an average of at least 68% in each of the previous two years, and be eligible to enroll in either CAPS 301 or both BIOL 363 and 364. Meeting the stated application requirements does not guarantee admission into the specialization.

The specialization will consist of:
Either CAPS 301 or both BIOL 363 and 364, and 18 credits selected from the following list of courses:
KIN 311 or KIN 330, KIN 313 or KIN 389, KIN 316 or KIN 351, KIN 320 or KIN 303, KIN 321 or KIN 469, KIN 322 or KIN 361, KIN 335 or KIN 375, KIN 411 or KIN 473, KIN 420 or KIN 461, KIN 424 or KIN 471, KIN 432 or KIN 489a, KIN 435 or KIN 475, KIN 438 or KIN 462, KIN 459 or KIN 489x, KIN 464(3).

Students admitted to a minor in kinesiology have the prerequisites waived for all KIN 3** courses listed above. However, students should be aware of the 300-level prerequisites for some 400-level kinesiology courses. Students may encounter difficulty fitting the KIN courses into their science specialization timetable; careful planning is essential. Upon successful completion of this minor program, the notation "Minor in Kinesiology" will be placed on the student's transcript.

Minor in Science

A minor in science may not be undertaken by students in General Science or the Combined Major in Science. Courses taken for the minor must be courses in the Faculty of Science that are acceptable for a B.Sc. major or honours in the proposed subject area or field. The minor consists of at least 18 upper-level credits either in a single subject or courses selected from a specialization (see Astronomy, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Data Science, Environmental Sciences, Geophysics, Oceanography, and Physics Minor listings for exceptions). An application form may be obtained from the Science Advising. Students should design a coherent and academically sound course of studies for their proposed minor, which must be approved by specialization advisors in both the major (or honours) and minor areas and by the Assistant Dean Students in Science Advising while the student is registered in second year. Approval will be withheld if deemed to overlap excessively with the course of study for the major or honours.

Students registered in other degree programs may, with approval of a departmental advisor in Science and a senior advisor in their home faculty, undertake a minor in science specialization in conjunction with their degree program. Students are strongly encouraged to consult with advisors in both faculties before taking the necessary courses.

Upon completion of a minor specialization, the notation, "Minor in [subject]" will be denoted on the student's transcript. Space in many Science courses is limited. Admission to a science minor does not guarantee access to courses agreed upon for the minor.

A student completing a minor in science in conjunction with a major or honours specialization may use courses to fill program requirements in both areas of specialization (see Double Counting). However, to complete a major plus minor in science requires at least 42 upper-level credits of science courses; to complete an honours plus minor in science requires at least 54.

 


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