Programs of Study

Return to: Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences  

Degrees Offered

The Faculty offers programs leading to ten BSc degrees with a common structure and one BA (see General Information  for a complete program listing). Curricular elements are drawn from the natural and social sciences and consist primarily of courses offered by the Faculty. Foundation courses, which provide basic background principles, are also offered by the Faculty of Arts , Faculty of Business  and Faculty of Science .

1. Program Core: The Program Core consists of the central program elements in each degree.
2. Requirements of the Major: The major focuses specialization within each degree program. Most programs offer majors, and a chosen major must be declared (see Note)
3. Requirements of Minors: Minors provide structured customization of the degree. Not all programs and majors include minors. Whether minors are optional or required, students who will complete a minor must declare it (see Note).
4. Approved Program Electives (APEs): APEs build on the requirements of the major and allow some customization of the learning experience. These groupings further develop depth of knowledge in key aspects of the major. Most APEs are taken at the senior level; normally only ★6 APEs are allowed at the 100- and 200-level. APEs should be selected from lists developed annually by the Faculty (see Note).
5. Free Electives: Free Electives allow students to broaden their background and knowledge base. These courses may build on their discipline or be of personal interest but unrelated to their program.
6. Capstone Courses: Capstone Courses synthesize knowledge and skills learned throughout the four years of the program. These courses are integrative and experiential, and are taken in the final year. The Faculty reviews potential Capstone Courses annually to ensure that specific criteria are met.
7. Course Sequencing: Students should complete all junior requirements before taking senior courses. 100-level courses from Program Cores should be taken in first year. Prerequisites must be followed and considered when planning course sequencing. Prerequisites and corequisites for each course are found in the Courses Listings section of the Calendar.

Note: Forms to declare majors and minors, and lists of APE courses are posted at www.ales.ualberta.ca

Internship and Cooperative Education Programs

Students in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences have the opportunity to complete a paid work experience component as part of their program. Two options, detailed in Internship Program and Cooperative Education Program are available.

Internship Program

The Internship Program (IP) is coordinated by the Career Centre under the supervision of the Faculty of ALES and is open to students registered in one of the Faculty programs.

The IP provides experiential learning to augment academic study with a four-, eight-, 12- or 16-month period of paid, discipline-related work experience with a cooperating employer. Students need to have completed 36 credits, including a minimum of 12 ALES credits. Upon completing the work experience period students return for at least one academic term. To accommodate the work experience period, students normally require between four and five years to complete the full degree requirements.

Students can apply for acceptance into the IP in their second year of study if they are in good academic standing, are legally permitted to work in Canada, and are registered in one of the academic programs offered by the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences. International students must have a working visa when applying to the program. Application forms, admission process and requirements are available on the Career Centre website. Applicants must meet a spoken English requirement (see Spoken English Requirement ).

Students are encouraged to apply to the program as early as possible. Students registered in the IP receive assistance in finding suitable work placements. Students can approach employers to hire them as interns as well as compete on posted internship placements. Students can start internship terms in January, May or September. The ultimate responsibility for securing work rests with the student and there is no guarantee that all qualified students will be placed.

While engaged in work experience, IP students are enrolled in WKEXP courses, and are considered full-time students at the University of Alberta. To successfully complete the IP, students must complete a minimum of four months of the following WKEXP courses: WKEXP 981 , WKEXP 982 , WKEXP 983 . All WKEXP courses are ★0 and are graded on a credit/no credit basis. Grades are determined by the student’s job performance, as evaluated by the employer, and by the student’s final report, as evaluated by the Career Centre and the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences.

Further information about the IP can be obtained by contacting the Employer Relations Advisor at the Career Centre.

Students should be aware that under Alberta’s Protection for Persons in Care Act, they may be required to satisfy a criminal records check before being allowed to serve a period of internship work. See Requirement for Police Information Checks  for further details.

Cooperative Education Program

1. General Information: The Cooperative Education Program is coordinated by the Faculty of Business and is open to students registered in Agricultural/Food Business Management or Forest Business Management programs. Details are described in BCom (Cooperative Education Program) .
   All students who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents are eligible to compete for places in the co-op program following successful completion of the second year of studies in Agricultural/Food Business Management or Forest Business Management. Students are admitted to the program based on a combination of grades, letter of intent, letters of reference, and a personal interview. The application deadline is June 30.
2. Course Sequence: The required courses for Cooperative Education students are the same as provided in the BSc Agricultural/Food Business Management Program or BSc Forest Business Management Program. In addition, Year 3 includes Introduction to Cooperative Education (non-credit seminar) and WKEXP 911 . Year 4 (and 5) include WKEXP 912  and WKEXP 913 . Note that the final term in the Cooperative Education Program must be a school term.

Preprofessional Programs

Students admitted to a Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences program who plan to apply to a professional program should consult the relevant Calendar sections to ensure that they are satisfying preprofessional requirements and program requirements.

Pre-Veterinary Medicine

1. General Information: Pre-Veterinary Medicine at the University of Alberta is intended to allow the student to meet the entry requirements of either the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine or the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan while working towards a degree offered by the Faculty. Only Alberta residents are eligible to apply to the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, while the Western College of Veterinary Medicine typically admits only students from western Canada with quotas for each province. Students with the highest academic standing during their pre-veterinary years will generally receive preference. Application may be made to veterinary programs once necessary requirements are met, after two or more years of study. For detailed information on residence policy and admissions procedures, contact the Admissions Office of the veterinary schools.
   Applicants should be aware of the total time required to obtain a veterinary degree and license to practice in Alberta - a minimum of two years of pre-veterinary studies (normally three to four years pre-veterinary), then four years of veterinary studies at an accredited institution, at which point the DVM degree is awarded.
   Students planning to enter Pre-Veterinary Medicine should note the entrance requirements in Pre-Veterinary Medicine . Inquiries about Pre-Veterinary Medicine should be addressed to Student Services (2-06 Agriculture-Forestry Centre), Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta. E-mail questions@ales.ualberta.ca.
2. Courses: A minimum of two full years of university training are required for admission to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine or to the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
   Pre-veterinary courses can be taken in either the BSc Agriculture Program (Animal Science major) or the BSc Animal Health Program (any major). All courses required for application to veterinary programs can be completed over two to four years while meeting the requirements of either of these programs. A course selection guide sheet showing the courses normally required for application to the western Canadian veterinary programs will be issued to students selecting Pre-Veterinary Medicine. Knowledgeable Faculty Advisors are available to provide further information to Pre-Veterinary Medicine students in Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences programs.
3. Completion of Programs in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences: Students will complete the requirements of Pre-Veterinary Medicine while registered in the Faculty and working towards one of the degrees the Faculty offers. Undergraduate students seeking advice on academic matters should refer to Student Advisory Services .

Other Preprofessional Programs

Those wishing to apply to professional programs, such as Business, Dietetics, Education, Law, Medicine, Pharmacy or others, must normally complete one or more preprofessional years before applying for admission to the program. The required courses or their equivalents may be taken by students who are registered in various programs in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, with careful selection of free electives and approved program electives

BSc After an Undergraduate Degree not from the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Alberta

An applicant holding an undergraduate degree may qualify for an ALES BSc Degree by meeting the following requirements:

1. An applicant who holds an undergraduate degree (either from the University of Alberta or another university) and who wishes to pursue a degree in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences must satisfy all admission requirements (see Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences ), as well as program, academic standing and graduation requirements of the particular degree program (see Academic Standing  and Programs of Study). The total number of units of course weight required to satisfy the program requirements will vary depending on the degree held and the degree sought; however, a minimum of ★54 will always be required. In some cases, more than ★54 will be required depending on the applicability of courses completed as part of the first degree. The specific course requirements are determined by transfer credit assessment at the time of admission.
2. Any deficiency in a matriculation requirement or a high school prerequisite to a program requirement must be cleared before admission to the degree program.
3. A minimum of ★54 must be completed while registered at the University of Alberta, ★30 of which must be completed while registered in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences.
4. The degree program selected may be the same as the first degree program if another major is selected.
5. Combined degree programs are not available to students who already have one of the two degrees.

BSc After an Undergraduate Degree from the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Alberta

General Information

An applicant holding an undergraduate degree may qualify for an ALES BSc Degree by meeting the following requirements:

1. An applicant who holds a degree from the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences and who wishes to pursue another degree in the Faculty must satisfy all admission requirements (see Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences ), as well as program, academic standing and graduation requirements of the particular degree program (see Academic Standing  and Programs of Study). The total number of units of course weight required to satisfy the program requirements will vary depending on the degree held and the degree sought; however, a minimum of ★30 will always be required. In some cases, more than ★30 will be required depending on the applicability of courses completed as part of the first degree. The specific course requirements are determined by transfer credit assessment at the time of admission.
2. Any deficiency in a matriculation requirement or a high school prerequisite to a program requirement must be cleared before admission to the degree program.
3. A minimum of ★30 must be completed while registered in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences.
4. The degree program selected may be the same as the first degree program if another major is selected.
5. Combined degree programs are not available to students who already have one of the two degrees.

Graduate Studies

Programs leading to advanced degrees at the Master’s and Doctorate levels are offered by most Faculty departments. Course programs and thesis projects are arranged in consultation with Faculty members or with the Department’s graduate coordinator.

See this Calendar’s Graduate Programs General Information  for general information about graduate studies. Specific information about requirements and opportunities in a particular field of study may be obtained from the appropriate Department in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences. These Departments include:

Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science
Human Ecology
Renewable Resources
Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology

Northern ENCS Program

The Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences offers, in partnership with Yukon College, a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental and Conservation Sciences (BSc ENCS), delivered in the Yukon.

Students learn skills to develop solutions to issues such as global climate change, decreasing nonrenewable energy resources, land use, changes in water quantity and quality, and wildlife conservation. The curriculum includes significant northern and native studies content, reflecting northern environmental, economic, and social contexts.

Students may complete up to 60 credits of appropriate coursework at Yukon College, University of Alberta or an equivalent institution before being admitted to the Northern ENCS program.

Students must complete a minimum of 60 credits of University of Alberta coursework while registered in the ENCS Program. Courses delivered in partnership with Yukon College will generally represent years 3 and 4 of the ENCS program.

Students may choose to spend some or all of years 3 and 4 taking courses at the University of Alberta campus in Edmonton. Students from Edmonton may also complete part of their program in Whitehorse.