How do I plan my degre...

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How do I plan my degree and choose my courses?

How do I plan my degree and choose my courses?

It’s simpler than you think! Once you decide where you want to go with your Program, you want to choose the subjects:

Subject	Subject code
Biology	BIOL
Chemistry and biochemistry	CHMI
Computer Science	COSC
Geology (Earth Sciences)	GEOL
Mathematics	MATH
Physics	PHYS

You need to choose the subjects to make continuations that make sense within this discipline. In general, a continuation consists of 6 credits at the first year level, followed by upper-year credits (second year and above). Please keep in mind that Program regulations require a minimum of 3^rd and 4^th year credits! Details are given here.

The 3-year Program

The 3-year program is designed for people who do not necessarily need a 4-year degree, or for people who have a technical degree and want to have a B.Sc. designation. Although a 3-year degree has limitations in some cases, opportunities are available, such as the Public function (municipal, provincial or federal), teacher’s colleges, or the private sector.

Choosing courses for the 3-year degree

This spreadsheet should be used for planning your degree by subject.

Counseling form 3-yr. This spreadsheet is useful to have a snapshot of all your subject and electives requirements. It does not give information about the course availability.

This template will be useful for planning your degree by year:

Liberal Science 3-yr grid. Use this spreadsheet to plan for your academic year. You should follow these simple steps:

In the first year:

Choose your two major continuations; that is 2 (two) of the 6 subjects in the Table above;
Choose your 3^rd science subject;

Note: there is a requirement of 3 Cr MATH in the Program, while 3 Cr of COSC is recommended. You can choose both of these in your first year.

Note 2: if you choose 6 Cr of either MATH or COSC, this can count as your 3^rd science subject.

Choose courses in Social Sciences and Humanities (6 credits recommended);
Choose electives. The electives can be any subject that fits your timetable. It is a good idea to take the MATH or COSC required courses if not chosen above.

In the second year:

Choose second year courses in your two major continuations;
Choose additional courses in your Science Electives;

These can be any of the two main subjects (continuation 1 or 2), provided that you have met the 3^rd science requirement.

Choose 6 Cr in the Science Society theme. Note that this requirement can be done in 1^st or 3^rd year.
Choose the MATH or COSC required courses, if not chosen in first year.
Choose courses in Social Sciences and Humanities now or in 3^rd year;
Choose electives.

In the third year:

Choose second or third year courses in your two major continuations;
Choose additional courses in your Science Electives;
Choose all other courses missing to fill your requirements:

· Science and Society theme?

· Social Science and Humanities?

· Electives?

Graduation time?

Check that either one of the 3-year spreadsheets is complete.

· Do I have 90 successful credits?

· Do I have 18 Credits of Subject 1, and 18 Credits of Subject 2?

· Do I have 6 Cr of courses in the Science and Society theme?

· Do I have 12 Credits of Social Sciences and Humanities?

· Do I meet the minimum of 3 Cr. MATH?

· Do I have a minimum of 6 Cr. at the 3^rd year level in my main subject?

The 4-year Program

The 4-year program is designed to provide a science background with sufficient depth to be proficient in two science subjects, without being a specialist in a single discipline. Yet, the number of credits in the various science subjects is similar, and could be higher than some of the single discipline degrees. A capstone course LIBS 4006 is mandatory, which is a nice complement to developing the critical thinking necessary for research or advanced skills. A research project in 4^th year is optional.

The degree remains a general degree, yet it is an excellent way to build a multidisciplinary background for similar opportunities as for the 3-year degree, plus other avenues requiring more depth. For example, the Program prepares the students for graduate degrees such as Science Communications, some of our other undergraduate Programs, medicine, or other programs at other institutions.

The requirements for the 4-year degree are more stringent than for the 3-year degree, especially for the minimum 3^rd and 4^th year credits. The 4-year Program is designed to take an extra year after a student meets the requirements of the 3-year Program (there could be exceptions, e.g., depending upon the antecedents, course availabilities, the number of distance education courses, or the students who have entered or transferred to Liberal Science before the fall of 2009).

It should be noted that the 4-year degree is not available by distance education

Choosing courses for the 4-year degree

This spreadsheet should be used for planning your degree by subject.

Counseling form 4-yr. This spreadsheet is similar to that used for the 3-year degree.

This template will be useful for planning your degree by year:

Course grid 4-yr program. Use this spreadsheet to plan for your academic year. Similarly to the case above, you should follow these simple steps:

In the first year:

Choose your two major continuations; that is 2 (two) of the 6 subjects in the Table above;
Choose your 3^rd science subject;

Note: there is a requirement of 3 Cr MATH and 3 Cr of COSC. You can choose both of these in your first year.

Note 2: if you choose 6 Cr of either MATH or COSC, this can count as your 3^rd science subject.

Choose courses in Social Sciences and Humanities (6 credits recommended);
Choose electives. The electives can be any subject that fits your timetable. It is a good idea to take the MATH or COSC required courses if not chosen above.

In the second year:

Choose second year courses in your two major continuations;
Choose additional courses in your Science Electives;

These can be any of the two main subjects (continuation 1 or 2), provided that you have met the 3^rd science requirement.

Choose 6 Cr in the Science Society theme. Note that this requirement can be done in 1^st or 3^rd year.
Choose the MATH or COSC required courses, if not chosen in first year.
Choose 6 Cr in Social Sciences and Humanities;
Choose electives.

In the third year:

Choose second or third year courses in your two major continuations;
Choose additional courses in your Science Electives;
Choose all other courses that should have been taken earlier:

· Science and Society theme?

· Social Science and Humanities?

· Electives?

(Optional) talk to potential research supervisors for a research project.

In the fourth year:

Choose third or fourth year courses in your two major continuations;
Select the course LIBS 4006 Science Ingegration;
Select all other courses to meet graduation requirements.

Graduation time?

Check that either one of the 4-year spreadsheets is complete.

· Do I have 120 successful credits?

· Do I have 30 Credits of Subject 1, and 24 Credits of Subject 2 (note that there is a maximum of 48 credits in a single subject)?

· Do I have 6 Cr of courses in the Science and Society theme?

· Do I have 18 Credits of Social Sciences and Humanities?

· Do I meet the minimum of 3 Cr. MATH and 3 Cr. COSC?

· Did I take the course LIBS 4006?

· Do I have a minimum combined of 36 Cr. at the 3^rd and 4^th year levels?