4.3. Bachelor of Arts Degree Program
(Three years — 90 credits)
Introduction
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.
Students are strongly encouraged to register in ENGL 255 early in their program. However, the Alberta Universities Writing Competence Test may be used to indicate competence in English writing skills.
English Writing Skills Requirement
Students must meet the following writing skills requirement in order to graduate.
- pass the Alberta Universities Writing Competence Test.
- 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 B- (70 percent) or better in an Athabasca University English course above the 100 (preparatory) level; 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)
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
30Maximum credits allowed
- In any one discipline
- Applied Studies and/or Science
- At the junior (200) level
- At the preparatory (100) level
- At junior level in one discipline
- Through Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) credits
45
24
36
6
15
6**30 PLAR credits are allowed in the Labour Studies concentration.
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)Requirements in addition to those outlined above in the general degree requirements for the three-year B.A.
In the concentration (including 24 credits at the senior level) (30)
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 senior (300 or 400) level credits.
- 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 434 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 designated Anthropology concentration elective courses:
- all other courses labelled ANTH and
SOAN 384 The Family in World Perspective (3)
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:
- Six junior (200) level credits.
- 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:
- Six junior (200) level credits in the following designated French concentration courses. For example:
FREN 200 First Year University French I (3)
FREN 201 First year University French II (3)- Six credits in FREN 374 Introduction à la littérature canadienne-française (6).
- 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:
- 6 junior (200) level credits in world or European history. For example:
HIST 215 Europe: Medieval to Modern (3)
HIST 224 History of Canada to 1867 (3)
- 3 junior (200) level credits in Canadian history. For example:
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/MUSI 285 History of Popular Music I: Blues to Big Bands, 1900-1940 (3)
HUMN/MUSI 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/MUSI 421 The Folk Music Revival I: Before 1945 (3)
INST 368 History of Canada's First Nations to 1830 (3)
INST 369 History of Canada's First Nations from 1830 (3)
LBST/HIST 331 Women, Workers, and Farmers: Histories of North American Popular Resistance (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 (a minimum of 18, 300- or 400-level credits).
- 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)
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 ENGL (except all 100-level English courses and ENGL 255 Introductory Composition) and
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
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 18 credits in the following designated Information Systems concentration core courses:
CMIS 245 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)
- A minimum of 18 credits in the following designated Information Systems concentration elective courses:
Three senior (300-400) level COMP or
CMIS courses (with a maximum of 6 credits in CMIS courses) (9)
Three 400-level COMP courses (9)
- 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.
The maximum Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition credits for the Labour Studies concentration is 30.
- A minimum of 33 credits in concentration courses including a minimum of 24 senior (300 or 400) level credits.
- 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:
All courses labelled LBST and IDRL*
ECON 377 Economics of Inequality and Poverty (3)
EDUC 310 Training in Canada (in development)
ENGL 306 The Literature of Work (3)
HIST 329 The Social History of Canada (6)
HIST/LBST 470 Pre-Industrial Origins of Labour and Socialist Thought (3)
HIST/LBST 471 Labour and Socialist Thought in the Early Industrial Revolution, 1800-1850 (3)
HIST/LBST 472 Labour and Socialist Thought in the Later Industrial Revolution, 1850-1917 (3)
HIST 486 The Industrial Revolution (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 345 Women and Work in Canada (3)
SOCI 381 The Sociology of Power and Inequality (3)
*All courses labelled IDRL can be taken as either Applied Studies or Social Science courses, but not both. To use these courses to satisfy the Social Science area of study requirement, students must contact Admissions and Evaluations Services and request the change upon completion of the course.
Union Education Transfer Credit and Prior Learning
Athabasca University grants advanced credit in the Labour Studies program for some union education programs. A student with a Labour College of Canada certificate, for example, may be eligible to receive nine credits. A student who has completed the Canadian Auto Workers Paid Educational Leave course may be eligible to receive three credits. And students who have completed the Canadian Union of Postal Workers' Union Education Program may be eligible to receive six credits. Credit is also granted for other union education programs and for other forms of prior learning.Contact Athabasca University for details. Many unions, and some employers, will reimburse you 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/SOCI 332 Women and Unions (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)
- Select a minimum of 12 credits from the following designated political economy general elective courses (or from Area of Focus I or II provided the courses selected have not been used previously to fulfill the Area of Focus requirement).
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)
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/LBST 336 History of Canadian Labour (3)
HIST 470 Pre-Industrial Origins of Labour and Socialist Thought (3)
HIST/LBST 471 Labour and Socialist Thought in the Early Industrial Revolution, 1800-1850 (3)
INST 111 Introductory Cree I (3)
INST 112 Introductory Cree II (3)
MATH 244 Business Math (3)
MATH 265 Introduction to Calculus I (3)
PHIL 371 Ethics, Science, Technology, and the Environment (3)
SOCI 345 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 select the remaining 18 elective credits from the following disciplines:
History (HIST) (6)
Labour Studies (LBST) and/or Industrial Relations (IDRL) (6)
Women's Studies (WMST) and/or Indigenous Studies (INST) (6)
- The remaining 30 credits for the concentration in Political Economy are options.
Recommendations
- It is strongly recommended that students who want to pursue graduate work in Political Economy or international affairs include among their options, POEC 499 Directed Studies in Political Economy.
- Language proficiency: It is strongly recommended that students in Canadian Study areas who want to pursue employment in the federal civil service or foreign affairs, 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 are 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 PsychologyRequirements in addition to those outlined in the general program for the three-year B.A.
Regulations amended Sept. 1, 2002.
- A minimum of 39 credits in designated Psychology concentration courses including 24 senior (300 or 400) level credits.
- A minimum of 15 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 375 History of Psychology (3)
PSYC 404 Experimental Psychology or
SOSC 366 Research Methods in the Social Sciences (3)
- A minimum of three credits in each of the following five subareas: Applied Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Human Interaction and Adjustment, Learning and Cognition, and Physiological Psychology.
Applied Psychology
PSYC 205 Prior Learning Assessment and Portfolio Development (3)
PSYC 300 Theories of Career Development (3)
PSYC 301 Career Development Resources in the Changing World of Work (3)
PSYC 405 Creating a Working Alliance (3)
PSYC 441 Experiential Learning and Reflection Practice 1 (3)
PSYC 442 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)
HRMT/ORGB 386 Introduction to Human Resource Management (3)
ORGB 319 Motivation and Productivity (3)
ORGB 364 Organizational Behaviour (3)
PSYC 340 Introduction to Applied Social Psychology (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 395 Psychology and Law (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 406 Introduction to Theories of Counselling and Psychotherapy (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.
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 senior (300 or 400) level credits.
- Three junior (200) level credits in WMST 266 Thinking From Women's Lives: 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)
INST 358 Aboriginal Women in Canadian Contemporary Society (3)
LBST/SOCI 332 Women and Unions (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 316 Sociology of the Family (3)
SOCI 321 The Sociology of Work and Industry (3)
SOCI 345 Women and Work in Canada (3)
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