<York Calendars<Undergraduate Calendar 2001-2002<Faculty of Arts<Degree Requirements

Degree requirements in the Faculty of Arts refer to the following categories of courses.

General Education Courses

The Faculty believes that students will benefit from taking courses which provide a broad interdisciplinary perspective, in addition to courses which focus on a specific subject. The required interdisciplinary courses, called General Education courses, are offered by three academic units, the Divisions of Humanities, Natural Science and Social Science.

The Faculty of Arts Foundations courses are part of the General Education requirement and are affiliated with the appropriate Faculty of Arts Colleges. These courses emphasize critical skills, especially writing, and provide a supportive learning environment. The connection to one of the Faculty of Arts Colleges-Calumet, Founders, McLaughlin, Stong or Vanier-enables students to participate more fully in college life and cocurricular events.

Major and Minor Courses

In addition to taking courses which contribute to their broad knowledge, students are required to specialize in a specific subject or combination of subjects. The area of primary concentration is known as the "major"; an area of secondary concentration (if any) is known as the "minor."

Students may choose to major/minor in a specific subject when they enter the University; or they may wait until they have completed up to 24 credits. At this point, students must choose a major/minor, but subsequent changes are possible. In selecting courses, students who are undecided should try to take introductory courses in a number of potential major subjects. This will allow them to proceed in their subject(s) of choice without a delay which might otherwise occur.

Elective Courses

Electives are courses which are intended to broaden the educational experience of students beyond their area of specialization. They include most courses which a student does not use to fulfill either General Education requirements or major/minor requirements.

Courses not considered to be electives are:

• Major/minor courses taken above the required number;
• Non-major/minor courses taken within the major/minor subject (e.g. AS/FR 1020 6.0 is a non-major French course);
• Courses outside the major/minor taken to fulfill major/minor requirements (e.g. AS/COSC 1520 3.0 and AS/COSC 1530 3.0 are Mathematics for Commerce requirements);
• Courses which are cross-listed or designated as equivalents or exclusions to courses offered by the major/minor program (e.g. AS/MATH 1530 3.0 is cross-listed to AS/ECON 1530 3.0).

Upper-level Courses

The Faculty also considers it good educational practice to ensure that students take a number of courses at the 3000 level and/or 4000 level. (A course's level is indicated by the first digit of its number.)

In-Faculty Courses

In-Faculty courses are courses offered by the Faculty of Arts as indicated by the Faculty prefix "AS."