Faculty of Arts

• General Information
• General Regulations 
• Regulations for Granting a Second UNB Bachelor of Arts Degree

General Information

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree at UNB Fredericton may be earned for study in humanities, languages, sciences, social sciences, or interdisciplinary programs. Within the different branches of knowledge, a collection of some thirty different disciplines at UNB (Fredericton campus) offers students an opportunity for the learning experience of their choice, in preparation for their personal academic goals, which may include:

• entry into advanced professional programs (such as architecture, business, education, journalism, law, divinity, social work, etc.);
• employment in the broad and growing number of career fields which require the skills developed in an Arts degree—the ability to critically analyze a text, to research a topic, to communicate orally and in writing, to work independently or on a team, to apply general principles to a specific problem, to demonstrate flexibility, to adapt to and grow in new situations, and to take initiative;
• admission into graduate training and research in their chosen discipline.
  

The structure of the four-year Bachelor of Arts program encourages Arts students to gain a basic understanding of a variety of academic disciplines as they begin their studies, and then to focus on one or two of those disciplines as they complete the degree requirements. Years 1 and 2 lay a foundation by broadening students’ perspectives on the many different ways we have of understanding the world and by strengthening the thinking and communication skills necessary for the students’ success in university and beyond. Years 3 and 4 build on that broad foundation by further developing the students’ understanding of the approaches, methodologies, and subject matter of the discipline(s) chosen by the students to be their central area(s) of interest—their “Major(s).” An even more intensive specialization is possible for students who maintain high grades, if they chose to complete their degree “with Honours.” Students may also choose to complement their Major or Honours subject(s) with a Minor in another discipline.

The BA program may also be combined with complementary fields in other degree programs:

• BAA (Bachelor of Applied Arts (Craft and Design))— a four-year articulated degree program (offered in co-operation with the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design) offering a unique combination of the traditional strengths of liberal arts education with practical experience in studio art courses;
• BAS (Bachelor of Arts and Science) — a four-year joint degree program (offered in co-operation with the Faculty of Science) which offers a chance to gain broader experience of academic work in both faculties; 
• BA/BCS (Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Computer Science) — a five-year concurrent degree program (offered in co-operation with the Faculty of Computer Science) which leads to both a BA and a BCS; it combines in-depth scientific training with the development of sophisticated analytical, communication, and critical skills;
• BA/BSc (Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science) — a five-year concurrent degree program (offered in co-operation with the Faculty of Science) which leads to both a BA and a BSc; it provides an academic framework for students who have a strong interest in one of the Science disciplines and in one of the Arts disciplines and want to work in both.
  

General Regulations

I. This section outlines what students need to do to complete a BA degree at UNB on the Fredericton campus; all students are encouraged to review carefully the regulations in this section, to seek assistance regularly from Faculty and Department advisors, and to take overall responsibility for their own progress through the degree program. While UNB makes every effort to ensure that academic advice is available to all students, it remains the students’ responsibility to seek such advice and to ensure they fully understand what is required of them. (Any matter not addressed by the General Regulations of the Arts Faculty will be governed by the General University Regulations in Section B of this Calendar. Questions concerning the application of regulations should be directed in writing to the Associate Dean of Arts.)

II. The BA degree requires the successful completion of both (a) the general Arts Faculty requirements and (b) the specific requirements of an Honours/Major program. The general Arts Faculty requirements include

• the first-year and second-year distribution requirements (see below under First-Year Regulations and Second-Year Regulations);
• the successful completion of at least 51 credit hours (ch), and normally 60 ch, of upper level courses (3000 or higher); and
• the successful completion overall of at least 120 ch of approved courses with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 2.0 (C) or higher.
  

The specific Honours/Majors requirements are described by Department or Program in the Programs of Study section, below.

III. Students should note the following additional regulations:

1. In the Faculty of Arts, almost all courses are given a weighting of 3 ch per term, so that a one-term course normally counts for 3 ch, and a full-year course for 6 ch. Courses taken outside the Faculty of Arts with a weighting of 3-5 ch (one term) receive a value of 3 ch towards the BA degree; those with a weighting of 6-8 ch (full-year) receive a value of 6 ch toward the BA degree. Courses taken outside the Faculty of Arts with a weighting of 1 or 2 ch do not count toward the BA. 
   
2. The regular academic year, from September to April, is made up of two terms: Fall and Winter. The typical course load for a student is 15 ch (or five 3 ch courses) each term. A student may register for up to 18 ch each term and normally must register for at least 9 ch each term to be considered full-time (for tuition purposes). 
   
3. As far as possible, requirements should be completed in sequence: first-year distribution requirements; then second-year distribution requirements; then upper-year courses to complete Major(s) or Honours requirements. 
   
4. With the exception of laboratory courses and field schools, any appropriate courses completed successfully in the Faculties of Science or Computer Science may be counted toward a BA degree. In addition, if a student completes the requirements for a Minor in Business (24 ch), the full Minor will count towards the BA; otherwise, no more than 12 ch of courses in Faculties other than Arts, Science, and Computer Science may be counted toward the completion of the BA.
   
5. Only students completing a BA degree may earn a Major or Honours designation in an Arts discipline, with the following exceptions: students may complete a BBA in Economics or in Law in Society; students may complete a BSc in Economics or in Psychology. 
   
6. Students who have successfully completed the First Year (30 ch) of the BA program on the Saint John campus of UNB shall have their full First Year accepted as equivalent to that offered in Fredericton. 
   
7. To complete the BA degree, students transferring from another university should note that at least 60 ch of the total credit hours, at least 30 ch of the upper level courses, and at least half of the courses counting towards their Majors, Honours, and/or Minor, must be taken at UNB.
   

FIRST-YEAR REGULATIONS (1-30 Credit Hours)

The first year is designed to offer a strong, broad-based core of knowledge and skills from various Arts disciplines and to provide a foundation for the remainder of the degree program. To fulfill the Faculty’s distribution requirements, students should choose their first-year courses (the first 30 ch) as follows: 

1. 6 ch - ARTS 1001 and ARTS 1002.
2. 18 ch - Six credit hours in each of three different disciplines. Three of the four groups of disciplines (A, B, C, D) listed below must be represented.
3.  6 ch - The remaining six credit hours may be taken in one discipline from any of Groups A, B, C, or D, or taken as three credit hours in each of two disciplines, including Drama, Gender and Women's Studies, International Development Studies, and Music. ARTS 1003 may be taken instead of one of the disciplinary courses. First-year students may take no more than 6 ch in any one discipline, except if they take ARTS 1001, ARTS 1002, and ARTS 1003.
   

   A (Languages)1	B (Humanities)	C (Social Sciences)	D (Sciences)2
   Chinese	Classics	Anthropology	Astronomy
   French	English		Biology
   German	History	Economics	Chemistry
   Greek (Ancient)	Media Arts & Cultures	Political Science	Computer Science
   Greek (Modern)	Philosophy	Psychology	Earth Sciences
   Japanese	Comparative Cultural Studies	Sociology	Mathematics
   Latin			Physics
   Russian			Statistics
   Spanish

   Notes:

   1. Other languages such as Arabic, Wolastoqey, and Mi’kmaq (when available) may be taken to satisfy the requirements of Group A.
      
   2. Laboratory courses taken in other Faculties will not be counted in the credit hour total but will be counted in the calculation of the Grade Point Average (GPA) for the BA program. 
      
   PLEASE NOTE: ARTS 1001 was first taught in Fall 2020, and ARTS 1002 was first taught in Winter 2021. Students who previously took ARTS 1000 or ARTS 1100 to meet their first-year BA requirements will still have those courses counted towards their program in lieu of ARTS 1001 and ARTS 1002. Students who completed ARTS 1000 or ARTS 1100 cannot receive credit for either ARTS 1001 or ARTS 1002.

       FIRST-YEAR REGULATIONS PRIOR TO 2020-2021 (for information; this applies to students
       who began the BA program prior to Fall 2020 and completed ARTS 1000 or ARTS 1100).

       Prior to 2020-2021, there were two options for completing the first-year BA requirements:

  1. 6 ch - ARTS 1000
  2. 18 ch - Six credit hours in each of three different disciplines. Three of the four groups of disciplines
      (A, B, C, D) listed below must be represented.
  3. 6 ch - The remaining six credit hours may be taken in one discipline from any of Groups A, B, C, or
      D, or taken as three credit hours in each of two disciplines, including Drama, Gender and Women's
      Studies, IDS, and Music. In either case, the discipline(s) should be different from the three taken
      under regulation 2, above, since first-year students may take no more than 6 ch in any one
      discipline. 

OR

1. 9 ch - ARTS 1100
2. 18 ch - Six credit hours in each of three different disciplines. Three of the four groups of disciplines (A, B, C, D) listed below must be represented.
3. 3 ch - The remaining three credit hours may be taken in one discipline from any of Groups A, B, C, or D, including Drama, Gender and Women's Studies and Music. The discipline should be different from any of the three taken under regulation 2, above, since first-year students may take no more than 6 ch in any one discipline.

SECOND-YEAR REGULATIONS (31-60 Credit Hours)

Students may choose their second-year courses from the disciplines listed under the First-Year regulations, as well as from Drama, Film, Music, International Development Studies, Law in Society, and Gender and Women's Studies. To fulfill the Faculty’s distribution requirements, students should choose their courses as follows:

1. 18 ch - Six credit hours in each of three disciplines
2. 12 ch - At least three credit hours in a fourth discipline; the remaining credit hours may be elective courses in any discipline, as long as no more than 12 ch of the 30 ch total are taken in any single discipline. 

During the Winter term of their second year, students must consult with the academic advisor(s) in the discipline(s) in which they intend to complete a Major or Honours program in their final two years, in order to declare a Major or apply for Honours, and to have their proposed course selection approved.

THIRD-AND FOURTH-YEAR REGULATIONS (61-120 Credit Hours) 

General Information

1. Choice of Major/Honours program: Normally, students declare their Major, or apply for admission to Honours, in the discipline(s) of their choice with the Department(s) or Interdisciplinary Program(s) involved by end of the Second year, althought students who have decided on a major are encouraged to declare their major by the end of their First year. (Students who wish to specialize in two subjects may declare a Double Major or apply for Joint Honours.) The Honours program is designed for students with a high level of ability who wish to undertake intensive study of one or two subjects, especially in preparation for graduate work.
   
   
2. Upper level courses: Normally, all courses taken to fulfill the last 60 ch of the BA degree will be upper level courses (i.e., with 3, 4, or 5 as the first digit of the course number). In consultation with their academic advisor(s), students may choose to include up to 9 ch of 1000-level or 2000-level courses in the final 60 ch of their degree program. 
   
   
3. Approval of courses: All the courses in which a student enrols must be selected in consultation with the academic advisor(s) in the Department(s) or Interdisciplinary Program(s) in which the student is majoring or honouring. The final selection of courses that will count toward the completion of the BA degree must be approved by the Dean.
   
   
4. Minors: Students may take a Minor in an Arts discipline in which they are not majoring or honouring, or in Business, Computer Science, or a Science discipline. A Minor comprises 24 ch, with at least 12 ch at the upper level. 
   

BA Majors Program

1. A student may earn a Single Major by successfully completing at least 30 ch in that subject, 24 of which must be in upper level courses. Departments may require Single Major students to take up to 42 ch in upper level courses. A student may earn a Double Major by successfully completing at least 30 ch in each of the two subjects, a minimum of 18 ch of which must be at the upper level in each discipline. Departments may require students to take up to 30 ch of upper level courses.
   
2. A student will normally declare his or her intention to complete a Major or Double Major before beginning the final 60 ch, and preferably during the Winter term of the second year, by meeting with the academic advisor(s) in the relevant Department(s) (and, if applicable, the relevant Interdisciplinary Program).
   
3. Students may major in Gender and Women's Studies, Law in Society, or International Development Studies only as part of a Double Major. 
4. Most Departments and Interdisciplinary Programs require a grade of C or above in all courses that count towards Major or Honours requirements. 
5. Candidates for the degree of BA (Major) are listed at graduation in three divisions based on the CGPA of all courses taken. See Section B of this Calendar, “Listing of Graduates.” A student who attains a Grade Point Average equal to or greater than 3.75 over credit hours 61-120 and no grades below C over the last 90 ch shall be awarded a Distinction upon graduation. 

BA Honours Program

1. Single Honours students are required to complete at least 36 ch in upper level courses in the Honours subject. Individual Departments may require up to 48 ch in upper level courses. 
   
   Joint Honours students must complete at least 18 ch in upper level courses from each Department. Departments may require up to 30 upper level ch.
   
   
2. In most subjects, Honours may be taken singly or jointly with Honours in another subject. These subjects are: Anthropology, Biology, Chemistry, Classical Studies, Classics, Comparative Cultural Studies, Earth Sciences, Economics, English, French, History, Mathematics, Media Arts & Cultures, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Statistics. Honours in International Development Studies, Law in Society, and Gender and Women's Studies must be taken jointly with Honours in one of the above disciplines. 
   
   
3. Students seeking admission to a Single Honours or Joint Honours program are strongly encouraged to seek advising about Honours program requirements before beginning the final 60 ch, and preferably during the Winter term of the second year, by meeting with the academic advisor(s) in the relevant Department(s). For a Joint Honours program, a single admission will be made by the Departments (or, if applicable, the Department and the Interdisciplinary Program) acting in collaboration. Only under exceptional circumstances will Fourth-Year students be permitted to enter an Honours program.
   
   The basic requirement for admission to Honours is that the student shall have demonstrated a high level of ability in previous work in the subject(s) in which Honours is proposed. 
   
   
4. Single Honours students who successfully complete the requirements for a Double Major in a second discipline may, if they choose, declare that Double Major. Upon graduation, their transcript will record that they have fulfilled the requirements for a Major in that subject.
   
   
5. A first-class Honours degree requires a GPA of 3.6 in the courses of the Honours subject or subjects, excluding lower level courses. For an Honours degree an average of 3.0 is required in these courses. Averages in the Honours subject(s) are calculated on the basis of the minimum number of credit hours required by individual Departments or Interdisciplinary Programs; credit hours successfully completed above this minimum are treated as “non-required” courses. Students are required to sustain a GPA of 2.5 in “non-required” courses taken for credit hours 31-120. Courses which Honours students are obliged to take must be counted as part of the minimum number of credit hours for the purpose of calculating the GPA in the Honours courses. 
   
   The recommendation to award an Honours degree will be made to the Dean of Arts by the Department(s) concerned. In the case of Joint Honours, the standing is determined by the overall average in the courses required to fulfill the minimum requirements in both programs, and is subject to the agreement of both Departments (or of the Department and the Interdisciplinary Program) concerned. 
   

Regulations for Granting a Second UNB Bachelor of Arts Degree

BA graduates of UNB may apply for admission to and follow a program towards a second BA degree under the following regulations:

• The general regulations of the University must be satisfied.
• The regulations of the Degree program and Departmental regulations concerning Major or Honours must be satisfied. 

Normally, the minimum number of credit hours to be successfully completed beyond the work required for the previous degree will not be less than the normal load of the final academic year in the degree program concerned (typically, 30 ch). More than the minimum number of credit hours may be required.

The courses taken must be approved by the Dean and the Department(s) (or the Department and the Interdisciplinary Program) offering the Major or Honours program.

The general regulation that at least half the credit hours for a degree must be taken at UNB still applies.

Candidates for a second undergraduate degree may not choose a Major or Honours in the same discipline as in the first undergraduate degree, whether the first degree involved a Single or Double Major or Single or Joint Honours. Candidates may not choose a Major or Honours in a discipline in which they previously completed a Minor.

Students must apply to the Associate Registrar (Admissions) for entry to the second degree program.

Only under special circumstances will students be admitted to a third undergraduate degree program.

After completing a first degree, students may be permitted to upgrade a Minor to a Major or Honours, or to upgrade a Major to Honours, but in either case a notation only will be included on the student record and a second degree will not be awarded.

Students seeking to complete an Honours degree or obtain an Honours notation after completing a first degree should seek advising about requirements for admission to the Honours program. Admission to a second degree does not guarantee admission to the Honours program.