Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Science

Degree students may begin their studies in the B.A. or in the B.Sc. degree as Undeclared Students. This means that they have not yet chosen a program within the degree. Undeclared students normally must apply to enter a program before beginning their second year of study. The Student Academic Success Centre offers support to Undeclared students in making this decision.

Academic Standing for Undeclared Students

For purposes of Academic Performance Evaluation, Undeclared students are assessed using only the Overall CGPA.

Course Selection for Undeclared Students

To give themselves the greatest range of choices when selecting a program, Undeclared students should conform to the following guidelines in selecting their courses.

Bachelor of Arts

Undeclared B.A. students should register in:

1. A B.A. First-year seminar (FYSM);
2. Courses in at least three different disciplines leading to programs within the B.A.

Bachelor of Science

Undeclared B.Sc. students should register in: 

Course Categories

Approved Courses Outside the Faculties of Science and Engineering and Design

Approved courses outside the faculties of Science and Engineering and Design are specified in the Academic Regulations for the Bachelor of Science Degree section of this Calendar.

Regulations (B.A.)

The regulations presented below apply to all Bachelor of Arts programs. In addition to the requirements presented here, students must satisfy the University regulations common to all undergraduate students including the process of Academic Performance Evaluation (consult the Academic Regulations of the University section of this Calendar).

First-Year Seminars

B.A. degree students are strongly encouraged to include a First-Year Seminar (FYSM) during their first 4.0 credits of registration. Students are limited to 1.0 credit in FYSM and can only register in a FYSM while they have first-year standing in their B.A. program. Students who have completed the Enriched Support Program (ESP) or who are required to take a minimum of one English as a Second Language (ESLA) credit are not permitted to register in a FYSM.

Breadth Requirement

Among the credits presented at graduation, students in both the B.A. General and the B.A. Honours degrees and B.Co.M.S. are required to include 3.0 breadth credits, including 1.0 credit from each of three of the four Breadth Areas identified below. Credits that fulfil requirements in the Major, Minor, Concentration or Specialization may be used to fulfil the Breadth Requirement.

Students admitted with a completed university degree are exempt from breadth requirements.

Students in the following interdisciplinary programs are exempt from the B.A. breadth requirement.

• African Studies
• Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Environmental Studies
• Human Rights
• Human Rights and Social Justice

Breadth Area 1: Culture and Communication

American Sign Language, Art History, Art and Culture, Communication and Media Studies, Comparative Literary Studies, Digital Humanities, English, Film Studies, French, Journalism, Music, and Languages (Arabic, English as a Second Language, German, Greek, Hebrew, Indigenous Languages, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish)

Subject codes: ARAB, ARTH, ASLA, CHIN, CLST, COMS, DIGH, ENGL, ESLA, FILM, FINS, FREN, GERM, GREK, HEBR, ITAL, JAPA, JOUR, LANG, LATN, MUSI, PORT, RUSS, SPAN

Breadth Area 2: Humanities

African Studies, Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies, Canadian Studies, Child Studies, Classical Civilization, Directed Interdisciplinary Studies, Disability Studies, European and Russian Studies, History, Human Rights, Humanities, Indigenous Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Linguistics, Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Philosophy, Religion, Sexuality Studies, South Asian Studies, and Women's and Gender Studies.

Subject codes: AFRI, ALDS, CDNS, CHST, CLCV, DBST, DIST, EURR, HIST, HUMR, HUMS, INDG, LACS, LING, MEMS, PHIL, RELI, SAST, SXST, WGST

Breadth Area 3: Science, Engineering, and Design

Architecture, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Science, Food Science and Nutrition, Health Sciences, Industrial Design, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Statistics, Physics, and Technology, Society, Environment.

Subject codes: AERO, ARCC, ARCH, ARCN, ARCS, ARCU, BIOC, BIOL, CHEM, CIVE, CMPS, COMP, ECOR, ELEC, ENSC, ENVE, ERTH, FOOD, HLTH, IDES, ISCI, ISCS, ISYS, MAAE, MATH, MECH, NEUR, NSCI, PHYS, SREE, STAT, SYSC, TSES

Breadth Area 4: Social Sciences

Anthropology, Business, Cognitive Science, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Economics, Environmental Studies, Geography, Geomatics, Global and International Studies, Global Politics, Interdisciplinary Public Affairs, International Affairs, Law, Migration and Diaspora Studies, Political Management, Political Science, Psychology, Public Administration, Public Affairs and Policy Management, Social Work, Sociology/Anthropology, Sociology

Subject codes: ANTH, BUSI, CGSC, CRCJ, ECON, ENST, GEOG, GEOM, GINS, GPOL, INAF, IPAF, LAWS, MGDS, PADM, PAPM, POLM, PSCI, PSYC, SOCI, SOWK

Declared and Undeclared Students

Students who are registered in a program within the degree are called Declared students. Most students designate a program of study when they first apply for admission and so begin their studies as Declared students. Students may also choose to begin their studies within the B.A. degree without being registered in a program. These students are referred to as Undeclared. The recommended course pattern for Undeclared students is outlined under Undeclared in the Programs section of this Calendar. Undeclared students must apply to enter a program before beginning their second year of study. The Student Academic Success Centre offers support to Undeclared students in making this decision.

Change of Program Within the B.A. Degree

Students may transfer to a program within the B.A. degree, if upon entry to the new program they would be in Good Standing . Other applications for change of program will be considered on their merits; students may be admitted to the new program in Good Standing or on Academic Warning. Students may apply to declare or change their program within the B.A. Degree at the Registrar's Office according to the published deadlines. Acceptance into a program or into a program element or option is subject to any enrollment limitations, specific program, program element or option requirements, as published in the relevant Calendar entry.

Minors, Concentrations and Specializations

Students may apply to the Registrar's Office to be admitted to a minor, concentration or specialization during their first or subsequent years of study. Acceptance into a minor, concentration or specialization is subject to any specific requirements of the intended Minor, Concentration or Specialization as published in the relevant Calendar entry. Acceptance into a Concentration or Specialization requires that the student be in Good Standing.

Mention : Français

Students registered in certain B.A. programs may earn the notation Mention : Français by completing part of their requirements in French and by demonstrating a knowledge of the history and culture of French Canada. The general requirements are listed below. For more specific details consult the departmental program entries.

Students in a B.A. Honours program must present:

1. 1.0 credit in French language;
2. 1.0 credit devoted to the history and culture of French Canada;
3. 1.0 credit at the 2000- or 3000-level and 1.0 credit at the 4000-level in the Honours discipline taken in French.

Students in a B.A. General program must present:

1. 1.0 credit in advanced French;
2. 1.0 credit devoted to the history and culture of French Canada;
3. 1.0 credit at the 2000- or 3000-level in the Major discipline taken in French.

Students in Combined Honours programs must fulfil the Mention : Français requirement in both disciplines.

Courses taught in French (Item 3, above) may be taken at Carleton, at the University of Ottawa on the Exchange Agreement, or at a francophone university on a Letter of Permission. Students planning to take courses on exchange or on a Letter of Permission should take careful note of the residence requirement for a minimum number of Carleton courses in their programs. Consult the Academic Regulations of the University section of this Calendar for information regarding study on Exchange or Letter of Permission.

Regulations (B.Sc.)

The regulations presented in this section apply to all Bachelor of Science programs. In addition to the requirements presented here, students must satisfy the University regulations common to all undergraduate students including the process of Academic Performance Evaluation (see the Academic Regulations of the University section of this Calendar).

Breadth Requirement for the B.Sc.

Experimental Science Requirement

Students in B.Sc. Honours, Major,  or General degree programs must present at graduation at least two full credits of experimental science chosen from two different departments or institutes from the list below:

Course Categories for B.Sc. Programs

Admissions Information

Admission Requirements are for the 2017-2018 year only, and are based on the Ontario High School System. Holding the minimum admission requirements only establishes eligibility for consideration. The cut-off averages for admission may be considerably higher than the minimum. See also the General Admission and Procedures section of this Calendar. An overall average of at least 70% is normally required to be considered for admission. Some programs may also require specific course prerequisites and prerequisite averages and/or supplementary admission portfolios. Higher averages are required for admission to programs for which the demand for places by qualified applicants exceeds the number of places available. The overall average required for admission is determined each year on a program by program basis. Consult admissions.carleton.ca for further details.

Admission Requirements

Degrees

• Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)(Honours)
• Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)(General)

First Year

For B.A. (General) and B.A. (Honours)
The Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent including a minimum of six 4U or M courses. The six 4U or M courses must include a 4U course in English (or anglais ). For applicants whose first language is not English, the requirement of English can also be met under the conditions outlined in the section “English Language Requirements” in the Admissions Requirements and Procedures section of this Calendar.

The cut-off average for admission will be set annually and will normally be above the minimum requirement. Applicants falling slightly below the cut-off average will be considered on an individual basis to determine whether there are special circumstances that would permit their admission. Students who feel that their high school grade average does not reflect their potential may apply to the Enriched Support Program (see the Enriched Support Program section of this Calendar).

Advanced Standing

B.A. (General and Honours) Program

Applications for admission to the second or subsequent years will be assessed on their merits. Advanced standing will be granted only for those courses that are determined to be appropriate.

Admissions Information

Admission Requirements are for the 2017-2018 year only, and are based on the Ontario High School System. Holding the minimum admission requirements only establishes eligibility for consideration. The cut-off averages for admission may be considerably higher than the minimum. See also the General Admission and Procedures section of this Calendar. An overall average of at least 70% is normally required to be considered for admission. Some programs may also require specific course prerequisites and prerequisite averages and/or supplementary admission portfolios. Higher averages are required for admission to programs for which the demand for places by qualified applicants exceeds the number of places available. The overall average required for admission is determined each year on a program by program basis. Consult admissions.carleton.ca for further details.

Degrees

• B.Sc. (Honours)
• B.Sc. (General)
• B.Sc. (Major)

Admission Requirements

Honours Program

First Year

The Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent including a minimum of six 4U or M courses. For most programs including Bioinformatics, Biology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Chemistry, combined Honours in Biology and Physics, Chemistry and Physics, Computational Biochemistry, Food Science and Nutrition, Neuroscience, Neuroscience and Mental Health, Nanoscience and Psychology, the six 4U or M courses must include Advanced Functions and two of Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Space Sciences or Physics. (Calculus and Vectors is strongly recommended).

Specific Honours Admission Requirements

For the Honours programs in Environmental Science, Geography, Geomatics and Earth Sciences, Calculus and Vectors may be substituted for Advanced Functions.

For the Honours programs in Physics and Applied Physics and for double Honours in Mathematics and Physics, Calculus and Vectors is required in addition to Advanced Functions and one of 4U Physics Chemistry, Biology, or Earth and Space Sciences. For all programs in Physics, 4U Physics is strongly recommended.

For the Combined Honours program in Chemistry and Computer Science, 4U Chemistry and Calculus and Vectors are strongly recommended.

For Honours in Psychology, a 4U course in English is recommended.

For Honours in Environmental Science, a 4U course in Biology and Chemistry is recommended.

Advanced Standing

For entry to an Honours program after the completion of 5.0 included credits, a student must have a major CGPA of 5.50 or higher, an overall CGPA of 4.50 or higher and the recommendation of the Honours department or committee. A student beginning the final 10.0 credits towards an Honours degree must present a major CGPA of 6.00 or higher, an overall CGPA of 5.00 or higher and the recommendation of the Honours department or committee. A student beginning the final 5.0 credits towards an Honours degree must present a major CGPA of 6.50 or higher and an overall CGPA of 5.00 or higher, as calculated for graduation. Advanced standing will be granted for studies undertaken elsewhere when these are recognized as the equivalent of subjects offered at Carleton University.

Major Program

General Program

First Year

The Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent including a minimum of six 4U or M courses. The six 4U or M courses must include Advanced Functions and two of Calculus and Vectors, Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Space Science or Physics (Calculus and Vectors is strongly recommended). For the B.Sc. Major in Physics. 4U Physics is strongly recommended. Equivalent courses may be substituted between the old and new Ontario mathematics curriculum.

Advanced Standing

For entry to a General or Major program after the completion of 5.0 included credits, a student must have a major and core CGPA of 3.50 or higher and an overall CGPA of 3.50 or higher. A student beginning the final 5.0 credits towards a General or Major degree must present a major and core CGPA of 4.00 or higher and an overall CGPA of 4.00 or higher, as calculated for graduation. Advanced standing will be granted for studies undertaken elsewhere when these are recognized as the equivalent of subjects offered at Carleton University.

Co-op Option

Direct Admission to the First Year of the Co-op Option

Applicants must:

1. meet the required overall admission cut-off average and prerequisite course average. These averages may be higher than the stated minimum requirements;
2. be registered as a full-time student in the Bachelor of Science Honours program;
3. be eligible to work in Canada (for off-campus work placements).

Note that meeting the above requirements only establishes eligibility for admission to the program. The prevailing job market may limit enrolment in the co-op option.

Note: continuation requirements for students previously admitted to the co-op option and admission requirements for the co-op option after beginning the program are described in the Co-operative Education Regulations section of this Calendar.