Bachelor of Arts
Contact:
Dr. Jane MacNeil
Chairperson
Program Information:
E-mail: inquire@rdc.ab.ca
Phone: 403.342.3400 OR 1.888.732.4630
Department Information:
For more information on the Arts program, visit the Arts Department, in Humanities & Social Sciences, under About RDC.
Two-Year University Transfer Program
RDC offers the first two years of these degree programs:
- Bachelor of Arts*
- Bachelor of Arts (Honours)
Four-Year Degree Completion
* Years three and four of a University of Calgary Bachelor of Arts degree can be completed at RDC. Majors in English, Psychology and Sociology are available (with optional Minors in English, History, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology). See the program website www.rdc.ab.ca/uofc_collab_degree or the Calendar section entitled “Degree Completion Programs: University of Calgary Bachelor of Arts”.
For the most current university program and transfer information, please see the Academic Advising homepage. Click on Planning Guides.
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Bachelor of Arts graduates may also go on to professional studies in fields such as law, business, education, etc., or may continue to graduate studies (for a Master's or Doctoral program) in their specific area of interest.
Liberal Arts graduates generally have superior skills in conceptual analysis, evaluation and critical reasoning, leadership motivation, and interpersonal and communication skills.
The Program
The objective in all programs is to provide you with the basis of a liberal arts education which will allow you to transfer to universities offering a Bachelor of Arts degree program.
In most cases, you will major in one of the subjects listed below. By declaring a major, you are simply stating your intent to pursue a comprehensive study of that subject area. Some university programs require you to declare a minor, which represents a second subject you will study in some depth as well.
Majors
You are required to complete a major in the Bachelor of Arts degree. A major includes a certain number of courses taken in one field of study. Generally, about half of the courses taken in a four year degree will be chosen from the major field. This number will vary according to your choice of major and the university you attend.
Majors available at RDC are Anthropology, Communications, Economics, English, French, History, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology and Spanish.
Honours
Honours programs are designed to prepare students particularly well for advanced study at the Master's or Doctoral level in the major field of interest. High standards of performance are required in Honours programs. Most universities offer Honours programs in the same fields as the Majors listed above. You should consult with an Academic Advisor for details.
Transfer Features
You may transfer up to 60 credits (20 three credit courses) taken at RDC to the university of your choice. This normally represents the first two years of a four year program. The courses you select must meet the program requirements of that specific university.
Note: Admission to university is competitive and based on academic achievement. Consult with an Academic Advisor for details.
Course Load: Full-time or Part-time Study
The Bachelor of Arts program is open to full-time students and part-time students. A full-time student will take at least 3 courses per term (minimum 9 credits), with 5 (15 credits) being the normal full load. Extra courses represent special burdens and may result in poor academic performance. A student will be permitted to take more than 5 courses in a term only under exceptional circumstances and with the approval of an Academic Advisor. Part-time students take 1 or 2 courses per term.
Admission Requirements
- Related Link: Admission requirements for specific programs will often refer to Alberta Grade 12 course groups. Visit the Admissions page for detailed group descriptions.
1. Minimum average of 60% with no mark below 50% in:
a. ELA 30-1
b. 4 courses from Groups A, B, or C (Social Studies 30 and a 30-level Language Other than English highly recommended), with no more than one course from Group B
Note: Some universities require Pure Math 30 for admission or as a prerequisite for required courses. Transfer students are responsible for learning the specific admission, progression, and prerequisite requirements of their programs.
OR
2. Mature Student
You must be 19 years of age or older, out of high school at least one full year before the program starts, and have a minimum average of 60% with no mark below 50% in:
a. ELA 30-1
b. Subject from Group A, B, or C
OR
3. Successful completion of one year of a diploma program and Chairperson approval.
Students should be aware of the following:
Program Content
The following information provides basic program content but does not include specific details regarding requirements. This information is current at the time of publication but may change as the universities change their requirements.
If you wish to check exact degree requirements and transfer equivalents, see the university calendars and the Alberta Transfer Guide (http://www.transferalberta.ca). The Registrar’s Office also has reference copies.
Course Selection
Universities normally place restrictions on the type of courses accepted for the B.A. degree. These restrictions may take the form of required core subjects, or discipline areas and limits on the number of first-year courses that you can take. In selecting courses, you must make sure they meet both the admission and the program requirements of the transfer university.
University of Alberta Bachelor of Arts Program Requirements:
See Academic Advising Planning Guides for more specific program details: www.rdc.ab.ca/academic_advising. For U of A credit weights, check the Alberta Transfer Guide (http://www.transferalberta.ca)
U of A will accept for credit those courses and programs listed in the Alberta Transfer Guide to the extent that they are relevant and applicable to the degree to which the student is admitted. (Alberta Transfer Guide, 2010-2011, page 37).
Program Requirements
- basic requirements (36 credits)
- a major subject of concentration
- a minor subject of concentration or two major subjects of concentration
Students who declare a double major are not permitted to declare a minor.
Basic Requirements
- Junior English (ENGL 219 and ENGL 220)
- Language (6 credits of a language other than English)
- The Study of Science (6 credits)
Select 6 credits of transferable coursework from ASTR, BIOC, BIOL, BOTA, CHEM, CMPT (not CMPT 261), GENE, GEOG (only GEOG 2310 and/or GEOG 231), MICRO, MATH, PHYS, PSYC (only PSYC 260, PSYC 312*, PSYC 368, PSYC 369, PSYC 375, and/or PSYC 377) STAT*, ZOOL
- Breadth and Diversity (18 credits)
To acquaint students with and offer them a basic awareness of the variety of disciplines practiced throughout the Faculty of Arts, students must complete 6 credits from each of the following groups:
Group 1 Creative Process in the Arts
Select six credits of transferable coursework from ART, DRAM, or MUSI (not MUSI 210)
Group 2 Cultures and Cultural Products
Select six credits of transferable coursework from ENGL, FILM, HIST, CLAS, or PHIL
Group 3 Social Systems and Interactions
Select six credits of transferable coursework from:
GEOG 250 and/or GEOG 251), ECON, POLI, PSYC (only those courses designated as Arts courses), PSYC 261, PSYC 312*, PSYC 341, PSYC 347, PSYC 353, PSYC 358, PSYC 389 or SOCI
- Options (24 credits)
Select 24 credits of transferable coursework from ARTS, SCIENCE, or OTHER with an overall maximum of 18 credits from the OTHER category. (Refer to the University of Alberta Calendar for further details).
Arts
Anthropology (ANTH), Art (ART), Classics (CLAS), Drama (DRAM), Economics (ECON), English (ENGL), Film Studies (FILM), French (FREN), Geography (GEOG) (only GEOG 250, GEOG 251), History (HIST), Music (MUSI, MUSE), Philosophy (PHIL), Political Science (POLI), Psychology (PSYC) (only courses transferring as Faculty of Arts courses), Sociology (SOCI), Spanish (SPAN)
Science
Astronomy (ASTR), Biochemistry (BIOC), Biology (BIOL), Botany (BOT), Chemistry (CHEM), Computing Science (CMPT) (not CMPT 261), Geography (GEOG) (only GEOG 230 and GEOG 231), Genetics (GENE), Mathematics (MATH), Microbiology (MICR), Physics (PHYS), Psychology (PSYC) (only courses transferring as Faculty of Science courses), Statistics (STAT), Zoology (ZOOL).
Other
Accounting (ACCT), Business (BUS, BADM), Communication (COMM), Dance (KDNC), Education (EDCM, EDFN, EDFX, EDIT, EDUC), Engineering (ENCP, ENGG, ENPH), Family Studies (FAM), Geography (GEOG) (only GEOG 318, GEOG 381, GEOG 393), Kinesiology (KNSS, KPED, KPAC, PSIO), Disability & Community Studies (DACS).
Junior Courses
No more than 48 U of A credits at the 200 Level are permitted in your program.
University of Calgary
Bachelor of Arts Core Program Requirements
See Academic Advising Planning Guides for more specific program details: www.rdc.ab.ca/academic_advising. For U of C credit weights, check the Alberta Transfer Guide http://www.transferalberta.ca.
Major Field: 42-60 credits required in the major field.
Optional Minor: requires completion of between 30-36 credits in a particular field of study.
Domain of Science: 6 credits are required from the Faculty of Science. RDC Science courses that fulfill the U of C Science requirement:
Astronomy (ASTR 205); Biochemistry (BIOC 393); Biology (BIOL 201, BIOL 217, BIOL 218, BIOL 301, BIOL 317, BIOL 318); Chemistry (CHEM 211, CHEM 212; one of CHEM 351, CHEM 352); Computing Science (CMPT 201, CMPT 261); Genetics (GENE 370, GENE 375); Mathematics (MATH 221, MATH 204; one of MATH 202, MATH 203); Microbiology (MICR 365); Physics (PHYS 205, PHYS 226, PHYS 241, PHYS 247); Statistics (STAT 251*); Zoology (ZOOL 325, ZOOL 342).
* Economics, Psychology, Sociology Majors should not take any statistics courses as option.
Options: All students in the Faculty of Arts are encouraged, but not required, to complete at least 15 credits from across the fields of study within the Faculty of Arts.
Complete details are available from Academic Advising.
Refer to the University of Calgary Calendar for further details.
University of Lethbridge
Bachelor of Arts Program Requirements
See Academic Advising Planning Guides for more specific program details: www.rdc.ab.ca/academic_advising. For U of L credit weights, check the Alberta Transfer Guide http://www.transferalberta.ca.
Majors available: Anthropology, Economics, English, French, French/Spanish, Geography, History, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology.
Art, Dramatic Arts, Agricultural Studies, Archaeology & Geography, Canadian Studies, General Humanities, General Social Science, Urban & Regional studies.
General Liberal Education Requirement (GLER)
The General Liberal Education Requirement (GLER) is a 12-course requirement for all University of Lethbridge undergraduate students. You should complete these requirements by the end of your second year.
You must complete 12 transferable credits from each of the following three areas:
- Fine Arts and Humanities
- Social Sciences
- Science
Fine Arts and Humanities
All transferable courses in the following subjects are classified as Fine Arts and Humanities (excluding those courses listed as Sciences): ART, DRAM, ENGL, FREN, HIST, MUSI (not MUSE or MUSI 210), PHIL, SPAN
The following courses are also classified as Fine Arts and Humanities: ANTH 308, CLAS 209, COMM 271, FILM 201, FILM 202, INTD 240, KNSS 205, POLI 308, SOCI 307.
Social Science
All transferable courses in the following subjects are classified as Social Science (excluding those courses listed as Fine Arts and Humanities or Sciences): ANTH, ECON, KNSS (not 280), POLI, PSYC, SOCI.
The following courses are also classified as Social Sciences: FAM 315 (not FAM 322), GEOG 251, GEOG 381, GEOG 381
Science
All transferable courses in the following subjects are classified as Sciences: BIOC, BIOL, CHEM, CMPT, MATH, PHYS, PSIO, ZOOL
The following courses are also classified as Sciences: ANTH 200, ANTH 306, ANTH 319, ANTH 390, ASTR 205, BUS 307, ENGG 230, GENE 370, GENE 375, GEOG 230, GEOG 231, KNSS 200, KNSS 201, KNSS 307, MICR 365, PHIL 221; PHIL 222 or PHIL 389; PHIL 364, PSYC 260, PSYC 312, PSYC 368, PSYC 369, PSYC 375, PSYC 377; STAT 250 or BADM 111 or BUS 306
Open Options - Any U of L transferable course for which you have the prerequisite(s) (including transferable COMM).
Program Cost Estimates
Graduation Requirements
You must pass 20 term university transfer courses or a minimum of 60 credit hours, and achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 to receive a RDC Diploma in University Transfer Studies.