<Joseph E. Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies

Atkinson Degree Structure

Degree Requirements

Students interested in any degree programs should contact the school/department offering the program or the Office of Student and Academic Services, 123 Atkinson Building, 416-736-5222.

General Education:

The following general education requirements are required in all Atkinson degree programs (with the exception the BSW post-degree programs), and consist of 24 credits at the 1000 level to be taken within the first 42 credits taken at Atkinson as follows:

• six credits from humanities at the 1000 level;
• six credits from modes of reasoning or mathematics at the 1000 level (refer to note 2);
• six credits from natural science at the 1000 level (refer to note 3);
• six credits from social science at the 1000 level (refer to notes).

Note 1: No more than 30 general education credits will count towards a degree.

Note 2: Some degrees and majors require AK/MATH 1710 6.00 (refer to program requirements). Of the 1000-level mathematics courses, only AK/MATH 1700 6.00, AK/MATH 1710 6.00 and AK/MATH 1720 6.00 fulfill the general education requirements for mathematics.

Note 3: Natural science general education courses are offered through the Faculty of Science and Engineering as 1000-level SC/NATS courses. Students who have successfully completed humanities, social science and mathematics/modes of reasoning may take a 2000- or 3000-level science and technology studies (STS) course to fulfill the natural science general education requirement.

Note 4: 1000-level general education courses do not fulfill major or elective requirements. Major/elective courses do not fulfill general education requirements.

Note 5: Students entering the BHRM or BHRM Honours program with 42 credits or more may replace the social science 1000-level (six credits) general education course with an upper-level social science course (six credits).

Note 6: For BSW (Honours) direct entry, BHRM and BHRM Honours degrees, 24 general education credits noted above or 24 credits in accordance with the Faculty of Arts general education requirements as follows: nine-credit foundations at the 1000-level social science or humanities, six credits at the 1000-level natural science and nine-credit foundations at the 2000 level social science or humanities. (Students who take a nine-credit foundations humanities at the 1000 level must then take a nine-credit foundations social science at the 2000 level or vice versa). Note: For BHRM, AK/MATH 1710 6.00 is required for those students who have not completed a grade 12U (new high school curriculum) or an OAC (old high school curriculum) mathematics course or equivalent.

Exception: Students who have successfully completed a Faculty of Arts nine-credit foundations course at the 1000 level will be recognized as having satisfied six credits of course work in the corresponding Atkinson general education area of study and three credits of course work in an elective or equivalent area of their degree program.

Majors:

Atkinson requires all students pursuing a degree to declare a major within their first 24 credits. A major is defined as a concentration of courses in a primary discipline or field of study. Upon declaring a major students will receive formal recognition on their York transcript indicating the primary discipline or field of study in their degree. The number of credits required for a major will vary with the degree program. In accordance with the program of study offerings, a major will be declared as one of the following:

120 credit Honours degree:

Specialized Honours major - A minimum of 54 credits in a single discipline or field of study.

Honours major - A minimum of 42 credits in a single discipline or field of study.

Honours double major - A minimum of 42 credits in each of two disciplines or fields of study. (Currently this option is available within the following BA degrees: Canadian studies; culture and expression; English; history; humanities; information technology; religious studies and women's studies).

Honours major/minor - A minimum of 42 credits in one discipline or field of study and a minimum of 30 credits in a minor is a secondary discipline or field of study. (Currently this option is available within the following BA degrees: Canadian studies; culture and expression; English; history; humanities; information technology; religious studies and women's studies).

90 credit Bachelor degree:

Major - A minimum of 30 credits in one discipline or field of study.

Required Courses Outside the Major:

Most degree programs require students to complete a minimum of 18 credits outside the major. Students may not use general education courses to fulfill this requirement.

Upper-Level Courses:

All Atkinson degrees require a specific number of credits to be completed at the 3000 and 4000 level. The number of credits will vary with the degree.

Residency and in-Faculty Requirement:

All York students are required to meet a residency requirement. At least 30 credits not used towards another academic program are to be taken at York University. Half the major, double major and major/minor must be taken through Atkinson.

Honours Double Major or Major/Minor BA Program

Students in the Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies may combine any BA Honours major program in the Atkinson Faculty that offers a double major or major/minor option with certain approved Honours Major and Honours Minor programs offered by the Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Faculty of Fine Arts, Faculty of Health or Faculty of Science and Engineering as listed below, subject to the following regulations:

• Students must maintain Honours standing of a cumulative grade point average of 5.0 (C+) or above for all courses taken at York. Students whose cumulative grade point average is below 5.0, may proceed in Honours on warning as long as they meet the specific minimum cumulative grade point average for their year level.
• Atkinson students registered in any Atkinson Faculty BA Honours major program must complete at least half (50 per cent) of the requirements for the major in the Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies.
• Atkinson students combining their Atkinson Honours major with a second Honours major or an Honours minor program offered by another Faculty must also complete the in-Faculty requirements for that second major or minor.
• In some instances, in order to complete the requirements of some Honours Double major or Honours minor programs, it may be necessary for a student to complete more than 120 credits.

The below list contains the programs in other Faculties which Atkinson students may combine with any Atkinson BA Honours major program that offers a double major or major/minor option. For further details, consult the Office of Student and Academic Services, 123 Atkinson.

Faculty of Arts*

An Honours BA major in:

anthropology
children's studies
classical studies
classics
cognitive science
creative writing
criminology
East Asian studies
French studies
geography
German studies
health and society
Hellenic studies
international development studies
Italian
labour studies
law and society
linguistics
professional writing
Russian
Russian studies
science and technology studies
Spanish
urban studies

*This list does not include those programs only available in the Faculty of Arts as linked Honours (double major) programs.

Faculty of Environmental Studies

An Honours BA major in:

environmental studies

Faculty of Fine Arts

An Honours BA major in:

dance
film
music
theatre
visual arts

Faculty of Health

An Honours BA major in:

kinesiology and health science
psychology

Faculty of Science and Engineering**

An Honours BA major in:

earth and atmospheric science
physics and astronomy
science and technology studies

**The following Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies BA Honours major program may not be pursued jointly as a double major with the Faculty of Science and Engineering: Information Technology.

Note 1: Any student wishing to enrol in a second major or minor program within the Faculty of Fine Arts BA degree program may require an evaluation by that Faculty. Students are advised that the BFA is only available to students registered in the Faculty of Fine Arts.

Note 2: Students in an Honours Double Major program in the Faculties of Arts, Environmental Studies, Fine Arts, Health or Science and Engineering may be eligible to combine their major with an Honours Double Major program offered through the Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies, students should contact their home Faculty.

Note 3: Students in an Honours Major/Minor program in the Faculties of Arts, Environmental Studies, Fine Arts, Health or Science and Engineering may be eligible to combine their major with an Honours Major/Minor program offered through the Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies, students should contact their home Faculty.