BSc General Program

The BSc General program provides students with a diverse education in more than one branch of study. Students must major in a Science subject area of concentration (as defined either by a single course designator or by groupings of course designators – see below). Students may elect to minor in a Science subject area of concentration, in an Arts subject area of concentration (see BA Honors and BA Major/Minor Requirements ), in one of a select number of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences subject areas of concentration (see BSc General—Minor in Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences), or in Business (see BSc General—Minor in Business). In addition to providing a path to the BSc General Degree, this program of study allows for subsequent transfer to Specialization and Honors programs. Students intending to transfer to Honors or Specialization programs should consult the appropriate admission requirements for the program of interest (see Faculty of Science ), select carefully their first-year core courses in accordance with the requirements of the specific Honors or Specialization program, and pay close attention to course load and GPA requirements for transfer. Students in the combined BSc/BEd program should consult Education Chart 2 (see Secondary Education Route ) when choosing courses for their major and minor.

Admission

See BSc General Admission Requirements for admission requirements for the BSc (General) programs.

For information about admission to the Business minor, see BSc General—Minor in Business .

Selection of Courses

Note: For success in your chosen program, ensure you have satisfied the pre/corequisite requirements for all courses. Departments have the right to remove students from courses for failing to present a passing grade (or higher, where stipulated) in the prerequisite course(s) and/or for failing to be enrolled in the corequisite course(s). Please see www.uofa.ualberta.ca/science/programs/undergraduate/admission-to-science for more information.

Course Load Requirements

Students in the General program should normally take ★30 during the Fall/Winter of each year of the program if they wish to complete the program in four years. Although not held to a minimum Fall/Winter course load requirement while registered in the General program, students intending to transfer to an Honors or Specialization program should pay close attention to course load and GPA requirements for transfer to their program of interest.

Academic Standing and Graduation

The following regulations govern General Programs: To obtain a BSc General degree, a minimum 2.0 GPA must be attained on the last ★60 credited to the degree. Moreover, a minimum 2.3 GPA must be attained in all courses in the major. Students must be in Satisfactory Standing in the General program in order to graduate (a minimum 2.0 GPA in the final Fall/Winter). BSc General degrees with Distinction are awarded when students achieve a GPA of 3.5 or higher over the last ★60 if the students have satisfactorily completed at least a normal academic load of a minimum of ★24 during the Fall/Winter periods of the last two years at the University of Alberta.

Residence Requirement

A student transferring to the Faculty of Science with advanced standing must complete at least ★60 applicable to the BSc program while registered at the University of Alberta. Normally, at least ★30 of the last ★60 must be completed while registered in the Faculty of Science.

Time Limits for Program Completion

The Faculty of Science may permit a student to complete the requirements for a General degree over a period longer than four years or meet the requirements in a shorter time by attending Spring/Summer. Students wishing to extend their programs beyond four years must first obtain approval of the Senior Associate Dean of Science or designate.

The following regulations govern the General program:

To obtain a BSc General Degree

To obtain a BSc General Degree, a student must receive credit in ★120. At least ★72 and not more than ★102 must be in courses offered by the Faculty of Science (see details of courses ). At least ★18 and not more than ★48 must be in courses offered by the Faculty of Arts.

The General program includes a core of courses which must include the following:

★6 junior ENGL or ★3 junior ENGL and ★3 junior WRS

★6 from among junior courses offered by the Departments of Computing Science, and Mathematical and Statistical Sciences

★6 from among junior courses in the Departments of Chemistry and Physics

★6 from among junior Science courses titled Biology, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, or Science Psychology

Not more than ★42 may be taken at the junior level.

Each student must complete a Science major

Each student must complete a Science major. See below for specific course requirements in each major subject area of concentration. With the exception of the Physical Science major, which requires ★42, all Science majors require a minimum of ★36 with at least ★12 in 300-level or higher courses taken while registered in the Faculty of Science at the University of Alberta.

Each student must also either:

complete a second Science major. Students who complete a second Science major will not have a minor. The Double Majors will be recorded on the student transcript; or
complete a minor. With exception of the Physical Sciences minor, which requires ★27, all minors must have at least ★24 with at least ★6 in 300-level or higher courses taken while registered in the Faculty of Science at the University of Alberta. The minor may be in Science (see below), in an Arts subject area of concentration (see BA Honors and BA Major/Minor Requirements ), in one of a select number of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences subject areas of concentration (see BSc General—Minor in Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences), or in Business (see BSc General—Minor in Business). For non-Science minors, students are responsible for meeting both the Faculty of Science minor requirements and any outside Faculty or department-specified course requirements. For information about admission to the Business minor, see BSc General—Minor in Business .

A maximum of ★18 may be taken from faculties other than Arts or Science

A maximum of ★18 may be taken from faculties other than Arts or Science. For applicants to the BSc General who have already taken courses from faculties other than Arts or Science, potential transfer credit for such courses will be assessed at the time of admission to the program. Such subjects are not included as part of the major or minor (with the exception of those courses meeting the requirements for a Business minor or one of the allowable minors from Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences), nor toward the minimum requirement of ★18 in Arts, nor toward the minimum requirement of ★72 in Science.