Undergraduate Calendar 2006-2007

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Degree Requirements Common to All Faculty of Arts Academic Plans

The actual number of units required for the awarding of a degree varies with enrichment and emphasis, and depends on the academic plan(s) and system of study selected by the student. See the detailed description under the individual plans for plan specific requirements.

It is the student's responsibility to ascertain that all requirements for graduation have been met. Any exceptions to graduation requirements requested by a student must be approved in writing by the Examinations and Standings Committee of the Arts Faculty.

BACHELOR OF ARTS

General Major Academic Plan

Three-Year General Major
Four-Year General Major

Students in the Three-Year General plan with a major must successfully complete a minimum of 15 academic course units. Students in a Four-Year General plan with a major must successfully complete a minimum of 20.

All students in General plans with a major must achieve a cumulative overall average of at least 60% and a cumulative average in their major of 65% or better (some departments require a higher major average) and successfully complete:

1. a minimum of 8.0 academic course units or their equivalent beyond the 100-level,
2. the Faculty of Arts Group A and B requirements,
3. specific departmental Major requirements,
4. the Faculty of Arts Residency Requirement (for students with transfer credit) (see Admission - Transfer Credit),
5. satisfaction of the English Language Proficiency Requirement (see below).

General Non-major Academic Plan

Three-Year General Non-major

All students in the Three-Year General Non-major plan must successfully complete a minimum of 15 academic course units.

Students must achieve a cumulative overall average of at least 60% for graduation with an average of 65% or better in Arts Faculty courses and successfully complete:

1. a minimum of 8.0 academic course units beyond the 100-level,
2. the Faculty of Arts Group A and B requirements,
3. specific Non-major requirements,
4. the Faculty of Arts Residency Requirement (for students with transfer credit) (see Admission - Transfer Credit),
5. satisfaction of the English Language Proficiency Requirement (see below).

Note
Returning students who have completed Year One prior to the Spring 1985 term, may elect to meet the Three-Year General Non-major degree requirements in force prior to this date.
Four-Year General Non-major

Students in the Four-Year General Non-major plan must successfully complete a minimum of 20 academic course units.

Students must achieve a cumulative overall average of at least 60% for graduation with an average of 65% or better in Arts Faculty courses and successfully complete:

1. a minimum of 12.5 academic course units beyond the 100-level,
2. the Faculty of Arts Group A and B requirements,
3. specific Non-major requirements,
4. the Faculty of Arts Residency Requirement (for students with transfer credit) (see Admission - Transfer Credit),
5. satisfaction of the English Language Proficiency Requirement (see below).

Honours Academic Plan

Students in an Honours plan must successfully complete a minimum of 20 to 21 academic course units (as specified by the department).

All students in Honours plans must achieve a cumulative overall average of at least 60% and a cumulative average in their major of 75% and successfully complete:

1. a minimum of 8.0 academic course units beyond the 100-level,
2. the Faculty of Arts Group A and B requirements,
3. specific departmental Major requirements,
4. the Faculty of Arts Residency Requirement (for students with transfer credit) (see Admission - Transfer Credit),
5. satisfaction of the English Language Proficiency Requirement (see below).

Group A and B Requirements

All Bachelor of Arts students must meet the Faculty of Arts Group A and B requirements. Group A comprises courses in the humanities, and Group B comprises courses in the social sciences.

Faculty of Arts Group Requirements
Group A (i)	English, History, Philosophy [see Approved Alternatives, Note 3, below]
Group A (ii)	Chinese, Croatian, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian [see Approved Alternatives, Notes 1 and 2, below]
Group A (iii)	Classical Studies, Drama, Fine Arts, Music, Religious Studies, Speech Communication
Group B	Anthropology, Economics, Geography, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology

Only courses taken in the subjects listed above will satisfy the Group A and B requirements.

In order to complete the Group A and B requirements an Arts student must successfully complete:

• a minimum of 3.0 units (six courses) from Group A which must include:
  • a minimum of 1.0 unit (two courses) from Group A(i) (see note 3 below);
  • a minimum of 1.0 unit (two courses) from Group A(ii) (see notes 1 and 2 below);
  • a minimum of 1.0 unit (two courses) from any of the subjects listed in A(i), A(ii) or A(iii).
• a minimum of 2.0 units (four courses) from Group B of which:
  • no more than two courses may be in the same discipline. [A student may take more than two courses in a specific discipline in Group B but only two of them will be applied towards the fulfilment of the Group B requirement.]

Approved Alternatives to the Group A and B Requirements

1. JS/RS 105A, 105B; JS /RS 306A; RS 106A, 106B, 305A, 305B may be used to meet the Group A(ii) requirement.
   
2. Arts students should note that they may elect to meet the Group A(ii) requirement in his/her second or subsequent years by successfully completing two of the following courses: CLAS 201, 202, EASIA 201R, FR 291, 292, GER 271, 272, ITALST 291, 292, RUSS 271, 272, SPAN 218, 221.
   These courses are taught in English and are not open to first year Arts students. These courses are the only approved alternatives to the A(ii) requirements. Other courses taught in English by language departments are not approved alternatives to the A(ii) requirement.
   
3. ARTS 301 may be used as a course in Group A(i).
   
4. Cross-listed courses may be designated to fulfil any one Group A (Ai, Aii, Aiii) or Group B requirement. This regulation applies in the instance of a student registering in one of the pair which does not fit one of the Group A or B requirements when the other course would meet one of those (e.g., SPD 270/RS 270, GERON 352/SOC 352). The regulation also applies to courses cross-listed in two different Arts disciplines, either one of which would fulfil a different Group A and B requirement (e.g., RS 230 /HIST 235–Aiii/Ai, PHIL 256 /PSYCH 256–Ai/B). Refer to Examinations and Standings regarding cross-listed courses.

BACHELOR OF ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

BACHELOR OF COMPUTING AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

BACHELOR OF INDEPENDENT STUDIES

COURSE WEIGHTS IN THE FACULTY OF ARTS

Most courses in the Faculty of Arts cover one academic term and carry the weight of 0.5 units. On occasion a course covering one term may have a unit weight of 1.0 or greater and will meet during that term for more hours per week than does a 0.5 unit course. In some instances a course may have a 0.25 unit weight. Courses with a 0.25 unit weight may be accumulated in pairs to equal 0.5 unit to a maximum of 1.0 unit. Only the first four 0.25 credit courses appearing on the student's record are included in unit and average calculations. Some plans (e.g., Music) may require more than four 0.25 courses for the major or Honours but only four will count toward Faculty of Arts requirements.

Co-op work terms carry a weight of 0.5 units. A co-op work term credit cannot be substituted for academic course credit.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY REQUIREMENT

The University of Waterloo believes that students must have a basic competency in written English in order to prosper in their university studies. All Faculty of Arts students whose initial enrolment in the Faculty of Arts was Fall 1977, or thereafter, must demonstrate this competency in order to qualify for their degree.

Students entering the Faculty of Arts between Fall 1977 and Spring 2004 may fulfil this requirement in one of the following ways:

1. A grade of 80% or higher in OAC English or 4U English taken in the Fall of 1990 or after; OR
2. A grade of 60 or higher on the English Language Proficiency Examination; OR
3. A grade of 65% or higher in ARTS 101; OR
4. Successful completion of the work assigned by the UW Writing Clinic.
   

Students entering the Faculty of Arts in September 2004 or thereafter must:

1. Write the English Language Proficiency Examination by the end of their 1A term
2. Pass the English Language Proficiency Examination requirement by the end of their 2B term. They may fulfil this requirement in one of the following ways:
   • A grade of 65 or higher on the English Language Proficiency Examination; OR
   • A grade of 65% or higher in ARTS 101; OR
   • Successful completion of the work assigned by the UW Writing Clinic.

ELPE is written at the beginning of a student's first year of on-campus study in the Faculty of Arts (i.e., during Orientation Week in the Physical Activities Complex). Sittings of ELPE are also available prior to the start of the Fall, Winter, and Spring examination periods.

For Distance Education students, ELPE is administered by the Distance Education Office during the regularly scheduled examination periods and is invigilated in the usual way. Distance Education students must make arrangements by writing to: Examination Co-ordinator, Distance Education Office, prior to the completion of their fifth course in the Faculty of Arts.

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