4.3. Bachelor of Arts degree program
(Three years — 90 credits)
The three-year Bachelor of Arts, both as a general degree and with concentrations, is widely respected across Canada and the US. While the three-year degree program is not geared to provide students with direct access to graduate level studies (often a "make-up" or additional year is required) it is a highly marketable credential.
Students who hold a previous degree may not enrol in the three-year program. Students who are currently enrolled in the four-year Bachelor of Arts degree and who wish to transfer to the three-year degree program, may find it is not possible to transfer all their completed courses because of degree requirements.
If, after completing any three- or four-year degree, students wish to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree, they will be required to enrol in the B.A. second undergraduate (four-year) degree program. This degree requires a minimum of 60 credits.
Conditional Enrolment
Students will be granted conditional enrolment in the Bachelor of Arts degree program until the following requirements have been met:
- a pass on the Alberta Universities Writing Competence Test. For information about this test contact an Athabasca University Learning Centre.
- exemption from the test is granted to students who satisfy one of the following criteria:
- hold credit in ENGL 255 (ENGL 255 will not satisfy the Humanities area of study. It will, however, count as part of the total number of credits required for the degree); or
- have a grade of 70 percent or better in an Athabasca University English course; or
- recieve transfer credit for an English course in which a grade of "B" or better was achieved.
Bachelor of Arts Degree (Three years — 90 credits)
General Degree Requirements
Total credits in the program
Minimum credits required
- At the senior (300 or 400) level
- Arts (Humanities and Social Science)
- Humanities
- Science
- Social Science
- Through Athabasca University
|
90
54
66
12
6
12
30 |
Maximum credits allowed
- In any one discipline
- Applied Studies
- Science
- At the junior (200) level
- At the preparatory level
- At junior level in one discipline
|
45
15
18
36
6
15 |
Course Notes
The following courses can satisfy either the Social Science area of study or the Science area of study requirements, but not both. To use these courses to satisfy the Science area of study requirements, students must call Admissions and Evaluations Services and request the change.
ENVS 253 Global Environmental Change: The Scientific and Social Issues (3)
PSYC 289 Psychology as a Natural Science (3)
PSYC 355 Cognitive Psychology (3)
PSYC 387 Learning (3)
PSYC 402 Biological Psychology (3)
PSYC 404 Experimental Psychology (3)
Bachelor of Arts Degree with Concentration
(three years — 90 credits)
General Degree Requirements
Total credits in the program
Minimum credits required
- At the senior (300 or 400) level
- In the concentration (including 24 credits at the senior level)
- Arts (Humanities and Social Science)
- Humanities
- Science
- Social Science
- Through Athabasca University
|
90
54
30
66
12
6
12
30 |
Maximum credits allowed
- In any one discipline
- Applied Studies
- Science
- At the junior (200) level
- At the preparatory level
- At junior level in one discipline
|
45
15
18
36
6
15 |
Conditional Enrolment
Students will be granted conditional enrolment in the Bachelor of Arts degree program until the following requirements have been met:
- a pass on the Alberta Universities Writing Competence Test. For information about this test contact an Athabasca University Learning Centre.
- exemption from the test is granted to students who satisfy one of the following criteria:
- hold credit in ENGL 255 (ENGL 255 will not satisfy the Humanities area of study. It will, however, count as part of the total number of credits required for the degree); or
- have a grade of 70 percent or better in an Athabasca University English course; or
- recieve transfer credit for an English course in which a grade of "B" or better was achieved.
Course Notes
The following courses can satisfy either the Social Science area of study or the Science area of study requirements, but not both. To use these courses to satisfy the Science area of study requirements, students must call Admission and Evaluation Services and request the change.
ENVS 253 Global Environmental Change: The Scientific and Social Issues (3)
PSYC 289 Psychology as a Natural Science (3)
PSYC 355 Cognitive Psychology (3)
PSYC 387 Learning (3)
PSYC 402 Biological Psychology (3)
PSYC 404 Experimental Psychology (3)
4.3.1. B.A. Concentration in Anthropology
Requirements in addition to those outlined in the general program for the three-year B.A.
with concentration
- A minimum of 30 credits in concentration courses including a minimum of 24 credits at the senior (300 or 400) level, with:
- a minimum of 18 credits in the following designated Anthropology concentration core courses:
ANTH 275 Faces of Culture: An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3)
ANTH 276 Physical Anthropology and Archaeology (3)
ANTH 334 History of Anthropology (3)
ANTH 354 Language and Culture (3)
ANTH 401 Ethnography: Principles in Practice (3)
ANTH 476 Archaeology: Principles in Practice (3)
- a minimum of 12 credits selected from the following:
4.3.2. B.A. Concentration in English
Requirements in addition to those outlined in the general program for the three-year B.A.
- A minimum of 30 credits in concentration courses including a minimum of 24 credits at the senior (300 or 400) level, with:
- a minimum of 6 credits at the junior (200) level in designated English concentration courses.
For example:
ENGL 211 Prose Forms (3)
ENGL 212 Plays and Poetry (3)
- a minimum of 24 credits in the following designated English concentration
elective courses:
Recommendation
To achieve a balanced concentration in English, students should select courses to cover British, Canadian, and American literature, and the major literary genres and historical periods.
4.3.3. B.A . Concentration in French
Requirements in addition to those outlined in the general program for the three-year B.A.
- A minimum of 30 credits in concentration courses including a minimum of 24 credits at the senior (300 or 400) level, with:
- a minimum of 6 credits at the junior (200) level in designated French concentration courses.
For example:
FREN 200 First Year University French I (3)
FREN 201 First year University French II (3)
- a minimum of 6 credits in FREN 374 Introduction à la littérature canadienne-française.
- a minimum of 18 credits selected from the following:
* FREN 100 and FREN 101 may contribute towards satisfying the general degree requirements, but not be used towards satisfying the requirement of a minimum of 30 credits in the concentration.
4.3.4. B.A. Concentration in History
Requirements in addition to those outlined in the general program for the three-year B.A.
- A minimum of 36 credits in concentration courses including a minimum of 24 credits at the senior (300 or 400) level, with:
- a minimum of 6 credits at the junior (200) level in world or European history. For example:
HIST 215 Europe: Medieval to Modern (3)
HIST 216 Modern Europe, 1740-1940 (3)
- a minimum of 3 credits at the junior (200) level in Canadian history. For example:
HIST 224 History of Canada to 1867 (3)
HIST 225 Canadian History: 1867 to the Present (3)
- a minimum of 27 credits in the following designated History concentration
elective courses:
- all courses with the generic label HIST and
GLST 307 The Pacific Century (3)
GLST 377 Twentieth-Century China (3)
HUMN 201 Western Culture I: Before the Reformation (3)
HUMN 202 Western Culture II: Since the Reformation (3)
HUMN 285 History of Popular Music I: Blues to Big Bands, 1900-1940 (3)
HUMN 286 History of Popular Music II: Be-bop to Beatles, 1940-1970 (3)
HUMN 309 Ancient Greece (3)
HUMN 320 Rome and Early Christianity I (3)
HUMN 321 Rome and Early Christianity II (3)
HUMN 420 Anglo-American Popular Music Traditions (3)
HUMN 421 The Folk Music Revival I: Before 1945 (3)
LBST 331 Women, Workers, and Farmers: Histories of North American Popular Resistance (3)
NTST 368 History of Canada's First Nations to 1830 (3)
NTST 369 History of Canada's First Nations from 1830 (3)
4.3.5. B.A. Concentration in Humanities
Requirements in addition to those outlined in the general program for the three-year B.A.
- A minimum of 36 credits in concentration courses with a minimum of 24 credits at the senior (300 or 400) level, with:
- a minimum of 24 credits in the following designated Humanities concentration core courses. At least 18 of these must be at the senior (300 or 400) level.
- all courses with the generic label HUMN and
ARHI 201 A Survey of Western Art I (3)
ARHI 202 A Survey of Western Art II (3)
ENGL 303 A History of Drama-Part I: Early Stages (3)
ENGL 304 A History of Drama-Part II: Modernist Theatre (3)
ENGL 358 Literature of the Americas (6)
HIST 371 The Medieval World I: The Early Middle Ages (3)
HIST 372 The Medieval World II: The High Middle Ages (3)
HIST 373 The Renaissance (3)
HIST 374 The Northern Renaissance and the Reformation (3)
HIST 404 Historical Foundations of Modern Science (3)
MUSI 268 Classical Music: An Introduction (3)
PHIL 261 From Socrates to Sartre (6)
PHIL 371 Ethics, Science, Technology, and the Environment (3)
RELS 204 Introduction to World Religions (6)
- a minimum of 12 credits in the following designated Humanities concentration
elective courses:
ANTH 318 Ancient Civilizations of the Americas (3)
All courses with the generic label (except all 100-level English courses and ENGL 255 Introductory Composition)
FREN 363 Le roman français du XXe siècle (3)
All courses with the generic label HIST and
MUSI 267 Sound and Sense: Listening to Music (3)
4.3.6. B.A. Concentration in Information Systems
[Amended: Effective September 01, 2001.]
Requirements in addition to those outlined in the general program for the three-year B.A.
- A minimum of 36 credits in concentration courses including a minimum of 24 credits at the senior (300 or 400) level, with:
- a minimum of 21 credits in the following designated Information Systems concentration core courses:
CMIS 301 Microcomputer Applications in Business (Windows) (3)
COMP 200 Introduction to Computing and Information Systems (3)
COMP 268 Introduction to Computer Programming (Java) (3)
COMP 314 Computer Organization or
COMP 315 Advanced Operating Systems (3)
COMP 361 Systems Analysis and Design (3)
COMP 378 Introduction to Database Management (3)
INFS 200 Accessing Information (3)
- A minimum of 15 credits in the following designated Information Systems concentration elective courses:
Three 300/400 level COMP or CMIS courses (with a maximum of 6 credits in CMIS courses) (9)
Two 400-level COMP courses (6)
- A minimum of 54 credits in Arts (Humanities and Social Science). This
requirement replaces the normal requirement of 66 credits in Arts courses
included in the general regulations for the three-year B.A. with concentration.
This change is required to accommodate the large number of credits in the
Science-area courses required by this concentration. For this reason, the
stipulation of a maximum of 18 credits in the Science area of study is also
waived.
Notes Specific to the Information
Systems Concentration
- The aim of the Information Systems concentration is to produce Arts
graduates with the processing, usage, and managing information skills required
by business, education, and government. Students wishing to specialize
exclusively in Information Systems should consider enrolling in the B.Sc. in
Computing and Information Systems offered by the Centre for Computing
Information Systems.
- Courses in the Information Systems major deal with both computer science and business applications.
- Information Systems is a rapidly changing field; consequently, it may not be possible to transfer credit for older courses and/or diplomas towards this degree. Athabasca University will not grant credit for computer science
courses taken more than five years ago.
- Holders of the B.Sc. in Computing and Information Systems from Athabasca University or its equivalent from another university may not enrol in the B.A. (Information Systems).
4.3.7. B.A. Concentration in Labour Studies
Requirements in addition to those outlined in the general program for the three-year B.A.
- A minimum of 33 credits in concentration courses including a minimum of 24 credits at the senior (300 or 400) level, with:
- a minimum of 12 credits in the following designated Labour Studies concentration core courses:
LBST 200 Introduction to Labour Studies or
LBST 202 Labour College of Canada: Introduction to Labour Studies (3)
HIST 336 History of Canadian Labour (6)
SOCI 321 The Sociology of Work and Industry (3)
- a minimum of 21 credits in the following designated Labour Studies concentration elective courses:
ECON 377 Economics of Inequality and Poverty (3)
ENGL 306 The Literature of Work (3)
HIST 329 The Social History of Canada (6)
HIST 470 Pre-Industrial Origins of Labour and Socialist Thought (3)
HIST 471 Labour and Socialist Thought in the Early Industrial Revolution, 1800-1850 (3)
HIST 472 Labour and Socialist Thought in the Later Industrial Revolution, 1850-1917 (3)
HIST 486 The Industrial Revolution (3)
IDRL 201 Labour Unions (3)
IDRL 304 Rights at Work: Grievance Arbitration (3)
IDRL 305 Collective Bargaining (3)
IDRL 307 Public Sector Labour Relations (3)
IDRL 308 Occupational Health and Safety (3)
IDRL 312 Industrial Relations: A Critical Introduction (3)
IDRL 320 Labour Relations and the Law (3)
IDRL 496 Comparative Labour Education (3)
LBST 331 Women, Workers, and Farmers: Histories of North American Popular Resistance (3)
LBST 332 Women and Unions (3)
LBST 411 Special Projects in Labour Studies I (3)
LBST 412 Special Projects in Labour Studies II (3)
LBST 413 What Do Unions Do? (3)
LGST 310 The Impact of the Canadian Charter on Labour Relations (3)
POEC 393 Canada and the Global Political Economy (3)
POEC 483 International Political Economy: Power, Production, and Global Order (3)
POLI 383 Introduction to Canadian Political Economy (3)
SOCI 312 Women and Work in Canada (3)
SOCI 381 The Sociology of Power and Inequality (3)
Union Education Transfer Credit
Athabasca University grants advanced credit in the Labour Studies program for some union education programs. Students with a Labour College of Canada certificate, for example, may be eligible to receive 12 credits. Students who have completed the Canadian Auto Workers Paid Educational Leave course may be eligible to receive three elective credits. Contact Athabasca University for further details. Many unions, and some employers, will reimburse students for the cost of university tuition fees. Discuss this with your union representative or employer.
4.3.8 B.A. Concentration in Political Economy
Requirements within the general program requirements for the three-year B.A.
- A minimum of 15 credits in designated Political Economy concentration
courses. It is strongly recommended that students complete these courses at the
beginning of the program.
Required Core Courses (15 credits)
ECON 247 Microeconomics (3)
ECON 248 Macroeconomics (3)
MATH 215 Introduction to Statistics or
MGSC 301 Statistics for Business and Economics I (3)
POEC 230 Globalization and World Politics (3)
POEC 302 Introduction to Political Economy (3)
- A minimum of 15 credits in one of the two areas of focus. Students must
take at least one course from each of the following areas: Economics, Political
Economy, and Political Science.
Area of Focus I: Global Political Economy
ECON 301 The Changing Global Economy (3)
ECON 376 Economic Development in the Third World (3)
ECON 475 International Trade (3)
ECON 476 International Finance (3)
ENVS 253 Global Environmental Change (3)
GLST 307 The Pacific Century (3)
GLST 308 Americas: An Introduction to Latin America and the Caribbean (3)
GLST 377 Twentieth-Century China (3)
HIST 486 The Industrial Revolution (3)
POLI 330 International and Global Politics (3)
POLI 340 Introduction to Comparative Politics I: Industrial/Post-Industrial (3)
POLI 341 Introduction to Comparative Politics II: Developing/Industrializing (3)
POEC 395 Global Development Strategies (3)
POEC 483 International Political Economy: Power, Production and Global Order (3)
SOCI 435 Theories of Social Change (3)
OR
Area of Focus II: Canadian Political Economy
CMNS 401 Cultural Policy in Canada (3)
ECON 375 Political Economy of Resource Development in Canada (3)
ECON 377 Economics of Inequality and Poverty (3)
ECON 385 Money, Banking and Canadian Financial Institutions (3)
GEOG 310 Canadian Urban Development (3)
HIST 326 Contemporary Canada: Canada after 1945 (3)
IDRL 307 Public Sector Labour Relations (3)
IDRL 320 Labour Relations and the Law (3)
LGST 310 The Impact of the Canadian Charter on Labour Relations (3)
LBST 332 Women and Unions (3)
PADM 372 Canadian Public Finance (3)
POEC 393 Canada and the Global Political Economy (3)
POLI 309 Canadian Government and Politics (3)
POLI 311 Aboriginal Politics and Government (3)
POLI 325 Canadian Environmental Policy and Politics (3)
POLI 383 Introduction to Canadian Political Economy (3)
SOCI 321 The Sociology of Work and Industry (3)
SOCI 445 Selected Topics in Canadian Society (3)
TAXX 301 Introduction to Income Taxation (3)
- A minimum of 12 credits selected from the following designated Political Economy
general elective courses. Electives may also include courses listed under the
are of focus in which the student is not specializing.
ANTH 307 The Inuit Way (3)
ANTH 362 First Nations of Canada (3)
ANTH 375 The Anthropology of Gender (3)
ANTH 394 Urban Anthropology (3)
CMNS 385 Media Constructions of Social Movements and Issues (3)
CMNS 402 International Media Systems I - The Americas (3)
CMNS 423 The Television Age (3)
ECON 321 Economics of Health Care (3)
ECON 347 Intermediate Economics (3)
ENTP 212 Starting a Small Business (3)
ENVS 435 Case Studies in Environmental Protection: Popular Education, Community Sustainability, and Global Connections (3)
GEOG 200 World Regional Geography (3)
GEOG 201 Introductory Human Geography (3)
GEOG 302 The Canadian North (3)
FREN 100 French for Beginners I (3)
FREN 101 French for Beginners II (3)
HADM 336 Community Health Planning (3)
HADM 339 The Organization of the Canadian Health Care System (3)
HIST 336 History of Canadian Labour (3)
HIST 470 Pre-Industrial Origins of Labour and Socialist Thought (3)
HIST 471 Labour and Socialist Thought in the Early Industrial Revolution, 1800-1850 (3)
MATH 244 Business Math (3)
MATH 265 Introduction to Calculus I (3)
NTST 111 Introductory Cree I (3)
NTST 112 Introductory Cree II (3)
PHIL 371 Ethics, Science, Technology, and the Environment (3)
SOCI 312 Women and Work (3)
SOCI 381 The Sociology of Power and Inequality (3)
SOCI 450 Social Theory and the Environment (3)
SPAN 200 First Year Spanish I: Destinos (3)
SPAN 201 First Year Spanish II: Destinos (3)
WMST 400 Feminism in the Western Tradition (3)
WMST 401 Contemporary Feminist Theory (3)
and the remaining 18 elective credits selected from the following disciplines:
History (HIST) (6)
Labour Studies (LBST) and/or Industrial Relations (IDRL) (6)
Women's Studies (WMST) and/or Native Studies (NTST) (6)
- The remaining 30 credits for the concentration in Political Economy are
designated options.
Recommendations
- Students who want to pursue graduate work in Political Economy or international affairs should include among their options, POEC 499 Directed Studies in Political Economy.
- Language proficiency: Students in Canadian Study areas who want to pursue
employment in the federal civil service or foreign affairs should take French
as an elective or option. Students interested in North American integration
should take Spanish. Likewise, students interested in governance capacity-building
for First Nations communities should take First Nations language courses. Students
should be advised that "language proficiency" usually means one of
the following:
- the ability to read French or Spanish at a level consistent with the
usual requirements of a junior French language course. This ability may be
proven by one of the following: either by completing 6 junior credits in French
(for example FREN 200 and FREN 201) or by passing a reading proficiency examination
in French or Spanish;
- speak fluently one of Canada's Native languages (for example, Cree or
Inuktitut); or
- read one of Canada's First Nations languages (for example, Cree or Inuktitut)
at a level consistant with the usual requirements of a second-year university
language course.
- Writing proficiency: Given the importance of good writing skills for
success in academe and the workplace, it is strongly recommended that students
take as an elective or option, ENGL 255 Introductory Composition. Students for
whom English is a second language should also take
ENGL 177 English for Academic Purposes.
4.3.9. B.A. Concentration in Psychology
Requirements in addition to those outlined in the general program for the three-year B.A.
- A minimum of 36 credits in designated Psychology concentration courses including 24 at the senior (300 or 400) level, with:
- a minimum of 12 credits in the following designated Psychology concentration
core courses:
MATH 215 Introduction to Statistics (3)
PSYC 289 Psychology as a Natural Science (3)
PSYC 290 General Psychology (3)
PSYC 404 Experimental Psychology or
SOSC 366 Research Methods in the Social Sciences (3)
- a minimum of 3 credits in each of the five subareas: Applied Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Human Interaction and Adjustment, Learning and Cognition, and Physiological Psychology (see below).
Elective subarea requirements (a minimum of 3 credits in each of the following five subareas):
Applied Psychology
CADE 300 Theories of Career Development (3)
CADE 301 Career Development Resources in the Changing World of Work (3)
CADE 400 Creating a Working Alliance or
PSYC 405 Creating a Working Alliance (3)
CADE 401 Experiential Learning and Reflection Practice 1 (3)
CADE 402 Experiential Learning and Reflection Practice 2 (3)
COMM 329 The Practice of Interpersonal Communications (3)
EDPY 351 Introduction to Exceptional Children (3)
EDPY 479 Introduction to Computer-based Instruction (3)
HLST 320 Teaching and Learning for Health Professionals (3)
ORGB 319 Motivation and Productivity (3)
ORGB 364 Organizational Behaviour (3)
ORGB 386 Introduction to Human Resource Management or
HRMT 386 Introduction to Human Resource Management (3)
PSYC 340 Introduction to Applied Social Psychology (3)
PSYC 342 Psychology of Aesthetics (3)
PSYC 343 Issues and Strategies in Counselling Women (6)
PSYC 388 Introduction to Counselling (3)
PSYC 389 An Introduction to Learning Disabilities (3)
PSYC 400 Teaching and Managing the Child with Learning Difficulties (6)
PSYC 432 Psychology and the Built Environment (3)
PSYC 470 Consultation and Collaboration for Students with Special Needs (3)
PSYC 471 Managing Behaviour Problems in the Classroom (3)
Developmental Psychology
PSYC 228 An Introduction to Child Development* (3)
PSYC 323 Developmental Psychology (3)
PSYC 350 Adolescent Development (3)
PSYC 381 The Psychology of Adult Development (3)
* PSYC 228 does not contribute to the senior-level psychology requirement of 24 credits even though it fulfils a subarea requirement.
Human Interaction and Adjustment
PSYC 356 Introduction to Personality Theories and Issues (3)
PSYC 379 Social Psychology (3)
PSYC 435 Abnormal Psychology (3)
Learning and Cognition
PSYC 355 Cognitive Psychology (3)
PSYC 387 Learning (3)
Physiological Psychology
PSYC 402 Biological Psychology (3)
4.3.10. B.A. Concentration in Sociology
Requirements in addition to those outlined in the general program for the three-year B.A.
- A minimum of 33 credits in concentration courses including a minimum of 24 credits at the senior (300 or 400) level.
Designated Sociology concentration electives are:
SOAN 384 The Family in World Perspective (3)
SOSC 366 Research Methods in the Social Sciences (3)
- All courses with the generic label SOCI
4.3.11. B.A. Concentration in Women's Studies
Requirements in addition to those outlined in the general program for the three-year B.A.
- A minimum of 30 credits in concentration courses including a minimum of 24 credits at the senior (300 or 400) level, with:
- a minimum of 3 credits at the junior (200) level in WMST 267 Perspectives on Women: An Introduction to Women's Studies
- a minimum of 27 credits in the following designated Women's Studies concentration electives:
All courses with the generic label WMST and
ANTH 375 The Anthropology of Gender (3)
ECON 377 Economics of Inequality and Poverty (3)
ENGL 307 Women in Literature (3)
HIST 363 The Women's West: Women and Canadian Frontier Settlement (3)
HIST 364 Women and the Family in Urban Canada, 1880s-1940s (3)
HIST 499 The History of the Family in Western Europe: From the Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution (3)
LBST 332 Women and Unions (3)
NTST 358 Aboriginal Women in Canadian Contemporary Society (3)
POLI 383 Introduction to Canadian Political Economy (3)
PSYC 343 Issues and Strategies in Counselling Women (6)
SOAN 384 The Family in World Perspective (3)
SOCI 312 Women and Work in Canada (3)
SOCI 316 Sociology of the Family (3)
SOCI 321 The Sociology of Work and Industry (3)
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