Arts Degree Requirements

All Bachelor of Arts academic plans should be drawn up in consultation with the appropriate academic advisor.

The University offers a General Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree upon successful completion of either a Three-Year General or Four-Year General academic plan in the following disciplines:

Anthropology	Music
Classical Studies	Peace and Conflict Studies
Drama	Philosophy
Economics	Political Science
English	Psychology
Fine Arts	Religious Studies
French	Russian and East European Studies
Geography and Environmental Management (Three-Year General only)	Sexuality, Marriage, and Family Studies
German	Social Development Studies
History	Sociology
Italian Studies (Three-Year General only)	Spanish
Legal Studies (Four-Year General only)	Speech Communication
Liberal Studies	Women's Studies
Medieval Studies

Note: Liberal Studies is not a Major plan; therefore, students enrolled in Liberal Studies cannot pursue a minor.

An Honours Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree is offered by the University in the following disciplines:

Anthropology	Music
Classical Studies	Peace and Conflict Studies
Drama	Philosophy
Economics	Political Science
English	Psychology
Fine Arts	Religious Studies
French	Russian and East European Studies
Geography and Environmental Management	Sexuality, Marriage, and Family Studies
German	Social Development Studies
History	Sociology
Legal Studies	Spanish
Medieval Studies	Speech Communication

Note: See the Arts and Business Co-op and Regular section and the appropriate Arts discipline sections which follow for details.

3. Joint Honours

In addition to existing explicit Joint Honours plans, many Honours plans may be combined within and between Faculties. However, before embarking on a Joint Honours plan, students are required to consult with the Undergraduate Advisors of both programs. Students must meet the requirements of both plans as stated in the Calendar and should be aware that combining some Honours plans may require more than the normal number of academic terms to complete.

Some Joint Honours plans require the student to complete 21 (rather than 20) academic course units. In cases where a Joint Honours plan requiring 21 units is combined with one requiring 20 units, the student is required to complete 21 units.

• Joint Honours BA (within the Faculty of Arts)
  Joint Honours academic plans are available in most disciplines within the Faculty of Arts which offer an Honours plan. Any two Joint Honours plans may be combined for a Joint Honours degree. The Undergraduate Advisors of both disciplines should be consulted for any Joint Honours plan. Descriptions of the single Honours plans and each discipline's requirements for Joint Honours plans can be found in the sections under the specific plans.

  Co-op students (either Arts and Business, or Departmental Co-op) who are interested in declaring Joint Honours Major academic plans must understand that the co-operative dimension adds considerably to the complexities of Joint Honours. A Joint Honours plan undertaken in the co-operative mode may require more than the normal number of academic terms to complete.

  Notes:
1. Enrolment by a co-op student in a Joint Honours academic plan does not provide grounds for changes to the academic/work term sequence.
2. In the case of a Joint Honours academic plan combining a discipline which offers Departmental Co-op with one which does not offer Departmental Co-op, the Departmental Co-op major is always listed first.
   
• Joint Honours (Arts discipline with Honours discipline in another Faculty)
  • Arts/Applied Health Sciences or Environmental Studies
    • Arts students who wish to pursue Joint Honours with a discipline in one of Applied Health Sciences or Environmental Studies should consult the appropriate Faculty's section of the University of Waterloo Calendar. Also refer to the Arts Academic Plans section of the Calendar for the Joint Honours requirements of the particular Arts discipline.
    • Students enrolled in the Faculties of Applied Health Sciences or Environmental Studies who are contemplating Joint Honours with a discipline in Arts, should refer to the Arts discipline pages for information on the Joint Honours requirements of the particular discipline and the appropriate Faculty's section of the Undergraduate Calendar.
  • Arts/Science
    • Arts students who wish to pursue Joint Honours with Science should refer to "Joint Honours Arts Major and Science" in the Faculty of Science section of the Calendar. Also refer to the Arts Academic Plans section of the Calendar for the Joint Honours requirements of the particular Arts discipline.
    • Honours Science students may declare Joint Honours with any Honours discipline offered by the Faculty of Arts. Refer to the Arts Academic Plans section for the Joint Honours requirements of the particular Arts discipline and "Joint Honours Science and Arts Major" in the Faculty of Science section of the Calendar.
    Note: Enrolment in Joint Honours Science and Arts or Joint Honours Arts and Science initially requires approval by the Associate Dean of Science (Undergraduate Studies), and the Undergraduate Officer of each of the individual Joint Honours disciplines. The overall averages of the Faculties and of the individual disciplines must be met at the time of declaration of Joint Honours and must be maintained.
  • Arts/Mathematics
    • Arts students who wish to pursue a Joint Honours major with Mathematics should refer to "Combination Honours Academic Plans Leading to a Degree in Another Faculty" in the Faculty of Mathematics section of the Calendar. Also refer to the Arts Academic Plans section of the Calendar for the Joint Honours requirements of the particular Arts discipline.
    • Honours Mathematics students may declare a Combination Honours with any Honours discipline offered by the Faculty of Arts. Refer to the Arts Academic Plans section for the Joint Honours requirements of the particular Arts discipline and to the "Combination Honours Academic Plans with Other Faculties Leading to the BMATH or BCS Degree" in the Faculty of Mathematics section of the Calendar.
  • Arts/Engineering
    • Arts students may not pursue a Joint Honours with the Faculty of Engineering.
    • Students enrolled in the Faculty of Engineering should refer to the Engineering section of the Calendar for possible Joint Honours combinations with Arts.

Note: It may take more than eight terms to complete a Joint Honours/Combination Honours degree particularly if the student is enrolled in majors from two faculties and/or the co-operative system of study.

4. Minors

A minor requires the successful completion of five units in the minor discipline with an overall cumulative average of 65% in those courses. Students should consult with the appropriate undergraduate advisors for details of more specific requirements.

A minor in most Arts disciplines and in many disciplines in other faculties may be pursued by Arts students enrolled in Honours or Four-Year General BA Major plans or the BIS plan.

Note: Arts students enrolled in Three- and Four-Year General Liberal Studies plans or Three-Year General Major plans may not pursue a minor.

Honours students enrolled in other faculties may also pursue minors offered by the Faculty of Arts.

Minors are available in Greek, Italian, Jewish Studies, Latin, Mennonite Studies, and Spirituality and Personal Development, although there are no Majors in those disciplines.

5. Options

An option provides a secondary area of concentration similar to a minor. Options, however, may consist of less than five units worth of courses (though some options do require five units). Options, moreover, are open to all degree students in Arts, including those who cannot pursue a minor (i.e., students in a Three-Year General Major plan or students in Three-Year or Four-Year Liberal Studies). The majority of options are offered in interdisciplinary plans; see the individual plan sections for details.