General information

On the Saint John campus there are a variety of programs leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts: Majors programs in Biology, French, Information and Communication Studies, International Studies, Linguistics, Mathematics, Philosophy, Sport and Exercise Psychology, and Statistics, and with Majors and Honours programs in: Economics, English, History, Politics, Psychology and Sociology.

BA degree regulations

Intent

The BA Degree regulations are intended to ensure that the student is exposed to a diversity of academic disciplines in the first half of the degree program, and to give the student a more specialized and concentrated knowledge of one or two academic disciplines in the second half of the program. Students are responsible for ensuring that their course of study meets the BA Degree regulations.

Cooperative Education (Co-op) Option

The Faculty of Arts offers a 4-years Cooperative Education (Co-op) option with within the BA program. Consistent with the philosophy of cooperative education, the program is designed to alternate study terms and meaningful work terms. The number of positions is limited, and, therefore, restricted to students with a B- (2.7) average or higher after their first year of full-time study. Students must apply for the Co-op program at the end of the second term of their first year of full-time study (completion of at least 8 term-courses). Co-Op students are required to maintain a B- (2.7) GPA or higher throughout their academic terms to remain in the Co-op program.

Grading system and classification

The grading system used was adopted by the University in 1974. The regulations governing grades, grade points, grade point averages and cumulative grade point averages for the BA degree are the same as the General University Regulations, for full-time students, part-time students, and for students enrolled before 1974. For their own benefit all students should study these regulations carefully (see Section B of the Calendar).

1. The BA degree will be granted on successful completion of a minimum of 40 term-courses. A term-course must be between 3 and 5 credit hours to be included in the general BA regulations. Some programs may require courses of lesser values, but these will not count in the general BA requirements (min. 3 ch each term-course). The only exception is for those students who successfully complete the Faculty of Arts Co-Op Option Program who may use ARTS 2903, ARTS 3903, and ARTS 4903 (each 1 ch) to combine for 1 term course toward their Arts degree. Certain Honours programs may require successful completion of more than 40 term-courses. A full-year course of 6 or more credit hours will count as 2 term-courses. A grade of D or above indicates successful completion of a course, except as stated elsewhere in the Calendar.

2. Normally, the student will successfully complete 20 term-courses at the lower-level (i.e. courses whose number begins with 1 or 2) before taking the 20 term-courses, or more for certain Honours programs, of upper-level courses (i.e. courses whose numbers begin with 3 or 4) which complete the degree program, in accordance with the requirements of either one or two majors programs. Under special circumstances, up to 4 lower level term-courses may be substituted in the total of 20 term-courses of upper-level courses. The written permission of the appropriate chair(s) is required for such a concession.

3. During the session in which students expect to complete successfully the first 10 term-courses they may choose one or two academic disciplines or fields of study in which they chose to specialize. They must do so by the time they complete the first 20 term-course. If the students choose to specialize in one academic discipline or field of study they are said to be taking a single major; if they choose to specialize in two academic disciplines or fields of study, they are said to be taking a double major. Students with a high grade point average may apply to honour rather than major, in one or two disciplines. The honours programs involve more intensive study and are typically taken by students in preparation for postgraduate work. When students have decided on the academic discipline(s) or field(s) of study in which they wish to specialize, they must apply to the appropriate Department(s)/ Discipline(s) for permission to enter the majors program(s) concerned. Students who fail to apply for acceptance to a majors program after they have successfully completed 20 term-courses may find that they will be required to complete successfully more than 40 term-courses in order to fulfill the majors requirements and get a degree. A student must fulfill the requirement for one or more Majors program(s) in order to obtain a BA Degree. Course selections for students in majors programs must be approved by the appropriate Department Chair(s), or their designate.

4. Among the 20 term-courses at the lower-level, a student must successfully complete at least 2 term-courses in three of the four groups listed below. Up to 6 term-courses may be taken in any one discipline, but not more than 4 term-courses may be taken in any other discipline. For students pursuing a double major, this may be amended to allow up to 5 term-courses in each of the disciplines the student is double majoring in subject to Department Chair approval.
   • Group 1 - Humanities: Classics, English, History, Humanities, Philosophy, World Literature. Courses in French or Spanish Civilization also form part of this group.
   • Group 2 - Languages: French, German, Greek, Latin, Spanish. (NOTE: Courses in French or Spanish Civilization do not form part of this group.)
   • Group 3 - Social Science: Economics, Gender Studies, Geography, Communication Studies, Linguistics, Politics, Psychology, Sociology.
   • Group 4 - Science: Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Geology, Information Technology, Mathematics, Physics, Science, Statistics.

5. With the exceptions noted below only credit hours successfully completed in disciplines listed above will count towards the BA degree.
   • a. Subject to the agreement of the appropriate departments, up to a maximum of 4 term-courses of core Education courses can be counted towards a BA degree.
   • b. The core Education courses (ED 3031, ED 3041, ED 3092, ED 5032 ), can be counted as Arts elective credits, up to a maximum of 4 term-courses. Methods courses in Education are not eligible for Arts elective credits. Non-core Education courses which are similar to Arts courses, may be considered for Arts elective credit on an individual basis by the Dean of Arts.
   • c. All courses successfully completed in Humanities (designated HUM), Social Science (designated SOCS), University (designated UNIV), and Business Administration (designated BA), count towards a BA degree, provided that UNB course program regulations are met.  SWRK 2001 can be counted as a general elective toward the BA degree and is counted as Group 3 – Social Science. HSCI 2001 and NURS 3061 may be approved as general electives towards the BA degree with permission from the Dean.

6. A student may not take more than 6 courses in any term without the written permission of the Dean.

7. For the purposes of the BA degree, a course offered at UNB Saint John shall have the credit-hour rating assigned to it by the Faculty offering the course. Note: Students taking courses with labs must complete the appropriate lab requirements.

8. Exceptions to these credit hour designations in the BA program may be made only by the Dean of the Faculty and the Registrar.

9. Requirements for the 20 term-courses at the upper-level are listed in the regulations of the appropriate majors programs.

10. Candidates for the degrees of BA (Major) are listed with divisions based on the cumulative grade point averages of all courses taken. See Section B of this Calendar, -Listing of Graduates-.

11. A student who attains a grade point average equal to or greater than 3.75 for courses taken after the completion of their first 20 term-courses and no grades less than C over the last 30 term-courses shall be awarded a Distinction upon graduation.