Do you know the differences between all the degree lingo at the U of A?
Changing majors vs transferring programs — and other differences.
Throughout your time at the U of A, you’ve likely heard a ton of different terms to describe what it is you are studying. You’ve probably used them interchangeably. Words like degree, program, specialization, major, minor, experiential learning opportunity, honors program, research opportunity, certificates, etc. On the surface it seems like a lot of these words all mean the same thing, but “technically speaking” they don’t — and knowing the differences will help ensure you don’t waste time or money as you get your Arts degree.
So… What are you taking?
First and foremost, you need to know which degree program you are enrolled in. This is the official name that, once you graduate, will be on your parchment.
You’re here to get a degree, seems obvious enough. But did you know that the Faculty of Arts offers 10 different degrees? They are as follows:
Flexible (lots of choice and options)
- Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Between Flexible and Structured (some choice but also specialization)
2. Bachelor of Arts Honors (BA Honors)
3. Bachelor of Arts Criminology (BA Criminology)
4. Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies (BA Environmental Sciences)
Structured (very specialized)
5. Bachelor of Design (BDES)
6. Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art & Design (BFA Art & Design)
7. Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama (Acting, or Drama Production) (BFA Acting or BFA Drama Production)
8. Bachelor of Music (BMus)
9. Bachelor of Arts (Drama)/Bachelor of Education (Secondary) Combined [BA(Drama)/BEd(Secondary) Combined]
10. Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Education (Elementary or Secondary) Combined (BMus/BEd Combined)
Knowing how to get from here to there.
Each degree program has it’s own entrance requirements (eg. entrance average, specific prerequisites, etc.), different general requirements once you are in that degree program, and different opportunities and choices to personalize that degree.
Most Arts students are in the BA program. It’s the most flexible degree we offer. You can have as many majors and minors as you can squeeze in, and declaring or changing your major(s)/minor(s)/certificate(s) is a relatively easy — and FREE— process. All you need to do is fill out one of the Google forms on the Arts website. Either the Declaration or Change of Major/Minor form or the Declaration or Change of Certificate(s) form. BA Honors students declare their major(s) using the Declaration of BA Honors Major(s) form. Within 10 business days you’ll see the changes reflected in Bear Tracks under “Academics” and “My Schedule”. Do NOT fill out and pay for a whole brand new application form!
If you’re in one of the specialized BA’s, like BA in Environmental Studies, BA Criminology, or BA Honors, there is still some flexibility in the courses you are allowed to take but there are also more specific requirements.
Then there are the highly structured degrees, like our Fine Arts and Combined Degrees. These degrees are extremely focused on a particular subject area and have very specific course requirements, and schedules for you to follow about what order to take these courses in.
Changing degrees is different than changing majors.
To change degrees you need to submit a new application, and meet the entrance requirements. You will be treated as a transfer student. This is the same process whether you want to switch into a new Arts degree or if you want to switch into a degree that is offered by another faculty (e.g. switching into a BSc degree in Science or a BComm degree in Business). And, if you get admitted, you have to accept your admission/transfer offer in Bear Tracks to switch programs. Just because you’re offered a spot in a new degree program doesn’t mean you have to take it — and until you accept your offer, the default is that you stay in your current program. Your offer secures your seat in the program and you have the choice to fill that seat until your offer expires.
Generally speaking, the application deadline to apply to start or transfer into a degree program is March 1 every year. Sometimes these application deadlines get extended, or are later for certain programs, but planning to apply by March 1 is a good deadline to have in mind. You’ll always technically start your new degree program in September.
On the other hand, if you’re declaring or changing your major(s)/minor(s)/certificate(s), there is no deadline, this can be done at any time, and changes are effective within 10 business days.
For example, if I’m a Sociology major in the general BA, but I want to go into BA Honors (still with a major in Sociology) I would need to apply to transfer programs; I would have to fill out a full application and pay the application fee to transfer from the BA into BA Honors. Same goes for switching from the BA (Sociology major) into BA Criminology, or into BFA Art & Design, or any degree that is not the BA. As a current U of A student, when you apply to transfer into a different degree program, your university credits are used to assess your competitive GPA. However, you also need to meet all the academic entrance requirements — so you’ll want to make sure you’ve got the prerequisite courses taken care of, and supply any other required additional documents or materials (like portfolios and audition materials) too. For more information on entrance requirements, visit uab.ca/programs. For more information on how to switch degree paths visit uab.ca/apply.
Let’s say you’re in the BA as a Sociology major, and decide you’d rather major in Philosophy. Since your staying in the same degree program (the BA), as mentioned above, all you have to do is fill out a Google form.*
*Now here’s the fine print: as a BA student you have to do two things: 1) meet the general BA requirements (same for every BA student regardless of major), and 2) declare a major (and then meet the requirements for that specific major).
Majors and minors.
Your major is the main focus area of your degree. In the BA degree program, a major requires 10–16 courses or *30–*48 credits to complete (and each major has it’s own specific requirements). Your minor is a secondary area of focus, and in the BA program requires between 4–14 courses or *12–*42 credits (again, each minor has it’s own specific requirements). If you find you’re getting up to 8 or 9 courses in your minor, it’s worthwhile to consider making it a major. In both the BA and BA Honors degree programs at minimum, you need to declare one major — you can start as a “undeclared” major, but you can’t finish as one. However, the flexibility offered in both of these degrees allows you have more than one major and/or minor, if you so choose. The Faculty of Arts has over 35 different majors to choose from!
What changes when you declare or change majors and/or minors?
You can change your major(s) and/or minor(s) in the BA program as many times as you would like. Just keep in mind that you are responsible for tracking the requirements after each change. You need to meet the requirements of your new plan in order to convocate.
Another thing to keep in mind is what courses you’ll have access to. Some courses are restricted to individuals in that major or minor. Majors and minors are housed in departments in the Faculty of Arts, so as you declare or change them, you’ll have different department advisors and receive different email communications from your department(s). Also, some departments have different awards for students enrolled in specific courses, minors, or majors.
Degree Guides.
New this year we have an amazing resource — degree guides. This tool was designed to help you explore all the different options and extracurriculars you can pursue within your specific major and help you maximize what you can get out of your degree. This tool covers everything from basic requirements, possible careers/industries, student groups to join, experiential learning opportunities, and more! Currently the degree guides exist only for the majors within the BA program, but guides for the other programs are in development… stay tuned!
Speaking of Maximizing Your Degree… Certificates!
You can use some room in your overall course schedule to work towards fulfilling certificate requirements. Certificates are embedded in your degree, which means they are part of your overall total courses and done at the same time, and not before or after your degree. The courses you are taking for your major(s) and/or minor(s) could possibly count towards a certificate at the same time! If not, there’s plenty of room to meet certificate requirements through courses you take as electives. Why take a certificate? They provide you with a unique opportunity to enhance your undergraduate program and explore a special area(s) of interest. Undergraduate certificates here at the University of Alberta often have significant experiential components and/or a capstone course or project. As such, certificates give you a head start entering the workforce as proof of further studies and training in specific skill sets. They are also listed on your parchment.
End result = A highly customized degree.
Take full advantage of the amazing opportunity to customize your degree to your interests! Your undergraduate degree will most likely consist of 40 courses (*120 credits). Since majors require only 10–16 courses, and minors require only 4–14 courses, if you do a little planning it’s quite possible to organize your choices to be able to have a double major and a minor, or a major and a double minor, or pick up two majors and two minors. Take the time to explore calendar requirements and you might be able to find majors and minors that have very similar requirements. You might even have enough courses to make up minor without even realizing it! For example, Political Science, Economics, Psychology, and Sociology courses make up a minor in International Studies. Also, your certificate courses can count towards the certificate AND a major or minor as well. If you’re working towards a Community Engagement and Service-Learning certificate, for example, you can actually take courses for your major that just happen to have CSL components. Add even more depth to your degree by participating in experiential learning opportunities, such as going abroad, pursuing work terms, and more.
Tracking and staying on top of your degree requirements will save you time and money.
We’ve spent some time talking about the different opportunities you could pursue in your programs but now it’s time to remind you that it’s your responsibility to track how all these requirements are coming along. You can change majors, or degree programs, as much as you want to, but ultimately you can’t graduate until you meet the requirements of the degree you’re enrolled in.
You can take more than the number of courses/credits than is required in your degree. Sometimes students do this on purpose, and sometimes it’s a necessity after realizing late in the game that they are missing some required courses. The more courses you take (or have to take) the longer you’ll be in school and the more money it will cost you for tuition.
Here are some tools to help you track your academic requirements:
- The U of A Calendar — aka the official rule book (this link takes you to the Faculty of Arts — Programs page in the 2020–2021 Calendar)
- BA Requirements Tip Sheet
- BA Worksheet
- Guide to Academic Requirements tutorial video.
- What-if Report (Ever wonder how changing your major, minor, certificate or even degree will change your requirements? The what-if report tells you exactly that! This report can be found on the left-hand side of Bear Tracks under “Academics”.)
One last tidbit of information: year of program vs year in school
Lots of students can get this mixed up. Your year of program is based on credits and not the number of years you have attended the U of A. The years you have spent in school is the amount of time that has passed by from when you started. To move from year to year in your program, you have to successfully complete 30 credits. For example, if you took 4 classes (*12 credits) in Fall term and 4 classes (*12 credits) in Winter term in your first year, and didn’t take any spring or summer courses, the following September you would be going into your second year in school but would remain in the first year of your program (because you have only completed 24 credits and not 30). There is absolutely nothing wrong with your ‘year of program’ and ‘year in school’ not lining up exactly — in fact it’s quite common! Mentioning it here because it’s another one of those “…well technically…” kind of things.
A few additional resources
- Majors and Minors Video
- USS Advisors/Student Services
- Department Advisors
- Department Websites
- Program Highlight Videos
- Honors Program Overview
- Our Youtube Channel (Full of all kinds of videos to keep you informed and help you succeed as an Arts student)
If you have any questions (seriously… any!) you can always contact an Arts Undergraduate Student Services Advisor by emailing arts.undergrad@ualberta.ca or by booking a one-on-one advising appointment.
Author bios: This article was co-written by Nathaniel Haile and Joanna Manchur. Nathaniel is BA student pursuing a double major in Political Science and Economics with a double minor in International Studies and Philosophy and is currently on an AWE placement working for the Faculty of Arts as the Student Recruitment, Engagement & Communications Intern. Joanna is the Student Engagement & Communications Specialist for UAlberta Faculty of Arts, and proud Arts grad — ’02 BA Hons.
