Nov 21, 2024  
University of Alberta Calendar 2024-2025 
    
University of Alberta Calendar 2024-2025

University Calendar Quick Start Guide



What is the University Calendar?

The Calendar is one of the principal sources of U of A policy information for students.  Among other information, it reflects admission requirements and deadlines, academic regulations, programs of study, academic standards, degree requirements and general University policies for both undergraduate and graduate students.

By the act of registering for a course or a course of study, each student at the University of Alberta agrees to observe and be bound by the terms of this notice, and the terms, conditions, academic standards, rules, regulations, policies, and codes of behaviour contained or referenced in the Calendar. Therefore, it is the student’s responsibility to be aware of the contents of the Calendar.

Accessing the University Calendar

The quickest way to access the most recent version of the University Calendar is by using the link uab.ca/calendar

Other ways of accessing the Calendar include:

  • Searching for ‘calendar’ in the ualberta.ca main page search bar
  • On most U of A web pages, in the footer at the bottom of the page, under Student Information, there will be a link to the University Calendar
  • Visiting the Office of the Registrar webpage and using the Quick link to the University Calendar, especially if you are looking for an archived version of a Calendar published prior to 2015

Selecting the Right Edition of the Calendar

Use the drop down menu in the top right of each page to select the Calendar Year you are looking for.

Arrow points to Calendar Version Drop Down Menu

Notes:

  • All students should annually refer to the current Calendar for appropriate Faculty academic standing regulations.
  • Continuing students should refer to the Calendar that was in effect at the time they were admitted (or readmitted) for the regulations governing their degree program requirements. 
  • See Changes in Regulations  for more information.

Using the Calendar Search

Arrow points to the Calendar Search in the left hand menu

Search Tips: 

  • Use whole words or phrases.
  • Use wildcard search operators (eg. biomed*) to help you find terms you are unsure of
  • Avoid using boolean search logic (eg. AND, OR) as it is not recognized by the search function.
  • Checking the “Whole Word/Phrase” box will limit the search to the specific words entered into the search. Unchecking this box will return search results containing any of the words entered into the search.
  • Limiting your search to words that are more unique to the specific phrase, policy, course, or program you are looking for will help keep the list of search results short.

Limiting the Location of Your Search Using the ‘Entire Calendar’ Drop Down Menu

  • The Calendar is made up of different types of pages. The default search is the entire Calendar, but if you know the type of page you are looking for, you can limit the search by using the Calendar Search drop down:

The Calendar Search drop down is expanded

  • Clicking on the Advanced Search link will provide you with similar search options.

Understanding Your Search Results

The calendar search function will automatically divide your search results based on the type of page your word/phrase is found on. 

Example of search results

By using unique words/phrases, you can narrow the scope of your search.  Pages with your word in the title will be listed before pages where your word shows up in the content.

You can also change the way the search results are displayed by clicking Alphabetical or Ranked in the top right hand corner.

Browsing Using the Calendar Menu

The Calendar Menu on the left of every page makes it easy to navigate to and browse different pages of the University Calendar.

Short Descriptions for Pages of Interest

Academic Schedule  - important dates throughout the academic year (ex. Reading Week, exams, etc.) including important deadlines for registration, tuition payments, and application for convocation.

Colleges and Faculties  - each faculty has their own Faculty Regulations section that contains all of the regulations that are specific to that faculty. Undergraduate students are encouraged to read both the General University Regulations (above) as well as their faculty’s specific regulations. You can also find all of the undergraduate programs offered by each faculty.

University Regulations  - general regulations that apply to all students.

  • Registration  - policies around course registration, withdrawing, and auditing
  • Tuition and Fees  - how much are tuition and fees; policies around fee payments
  • Academic Regulations  - residence requirements, exams, grading, academic standing

Undergraduate Programs  - a comprehensive listing of all undergraduate programs offered at the University of Alberta

Graduate Regulations  - policies specific to graduate studies, including academic standing, as well as supervision and examinations. This section also has links to all of the graduate programs.

Graduate Programs  - a comprehensive listing of all graduate programs offered at the University of Alberta, organized by department

Course Listings  - information about how to read course descriptions, as well as additional notes on registering for courses. This page also has a filter that allows you to search for courses. The course descriptions in the calendar match those found in Bear Tracks.

Course Listings

The course descriptions found in the University Calendar are the same as the ones found in Bear Tracks. Some users may find it easier to review them here in a different format.

The Course Listings page has a course filter that will help locate specific classes:

the search section from the Course Listings page

  • Prefix - Only use this if you know the prefix of the course you are looking for
  • Code or Number - Must be a complete number. Partial numbers (eg. 1xx, 1*, etc.) are not recognized.
  • Keyword - Will search for classes with Keyword in title first, course descriptions second.

Printing Pages or Saving Pages as PDFs

In the top right corner of every page of the Calendar, there is a small print icon.  Clicking on this icon will provide you with a printer-friendly version of the page you are on.

Arrow points to the print button in the top left corner

In the printer-friendly version, you can click “Print this Page” to bring up your Print menu.  From this menu, you can either send the page to print, or select “Save as PDF” to save a PDF copy of this page to your computer.

Arrow points to the Print this Page link on a print view page

PDF Versions

PDF Versions of the Calendars up to and including the 2019-2020 Calendar can be found on the Office of the Registrar’s University Calendar web page.

Note: the 2019-2020 University Calendar was the last edition published in PDF format.  As of 2020-2021, the University Calendar will only be available in the online format.

To locate PDF versions of previous Calendars:

  • In the ‘Previous Calendars’ menu, click on the specific year you are looking for.
  • Calendars between 1909-1996 are archived by the University Library

Each PDF page will display a list of links to different sections of that calendar in PDF format.

Questions about the Calendar

If you have questions about the information in the University Calendar, there are a number of places you can go to for assistance.

The Student Service Centre can help answer questions about how to use the University Calendar. They can also answer general information about: admissions, registration, fee payments, financial aid, general regulations for undergraduate students, and connecting you with mental health, career advising, and academic support services. Contact them at uab.ca/ask or in person on the main floor of the Administration Building.

Your Faculty can help answer questions about faculty-specific regulations and your program requirements. They can also help you identify which year of the Calendar you should be using. You can find contact information on each of the Colleges and Faculties  pages or by searching for their website using the UAlberta search bar (in the top right corner of most pages).

A course’s teaching department can help answer questions about the details of a course listing. You can find contact information by searching for their website using the UAlberta search bar (in the top right corner of most pages).

The Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies can help answer questions regarding graduate admissions and graduate program regulations. Contact them by email at grad.mail@ualberta.ca, by phone at 780-492-3499, or in person on the 2nd floor of Triffo Hall.