Academic Advising Centre
This guide has been prepared with the information you need to successfully register for your first year at UFV. Please review the information provided on this page thoroughly before contacting your academic advisor with questions.
Watch a recorded planning session or read the guide below.
The BES degree requires the completion of a minimum of 120 credits (approximately 40 classes) and is broken down into four learning areas:
You will design your degree by selecting and completing courses from each of these learning areas to meet specific requirements.
The BES does not require the completion of these credits/courses within a specific timeframe. Your pace is based on your personal schedule and goals—it needs to work for you.
If you want to complete this program in four years, this means you will need to complete 30 credits or 10 courses each year.
Many students complete this degree in 5+ years, adjusting their course workload in relation to work schedules, non-academic commitments, etc.
This program planning guide focuses on the lower-level requirements for each learning area as they are the most pertinent pieces in your planning at this time.
You can access a list of all approved and required courses for your program in two ways:
First time using MyGRADplan?
Visit MyGRADplan website to get login instructions and review tutorials. Specifically, you will want to learn about the 'What if' and 'Look ahead' features as they will be most helpful in your course planning.
Given that 3 classes correspond to approximately 20+ hours/week of school work both in and out of the classroom, it is very important that you consider your workload capacity carefully.
It is much better to start with less and add more coursework in future semesters than to start out feeling overloaded in your first semester.
Ultimately, the number of courses you take each semester is up to you, but here is what we recommend for first-year students:
Pick
3-4 courses per semester
Expect
9-12 hours per week in class
And at least
9-12 hours per week
for homework
Environmental Studies courses can be a heavy course load. If you are working, you want to make sure to keep a good balance between work and school:
| YEAR ONE | ||
|---|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Name | Credits |
|
One of:
|
|
3 |
|
One of
|
|
3 |
| GEOG 103 | The Physical Environment | 4 |
| GEOG 111 | Environmental Issues & Strategies | 3 |
| PHIL 100 | Reasoning: Intro to Critical Thinking | 3 |
|
One of
|
|
3 - 4 Credits |
| LIST 1A* | Society and Culture | 3 |
| LIST 1B* | Political Economy | 3 |
| Electives | 4 - 5 credits | |
| Total Credits | 30 | |
| YEAR TWO | ||
| Course Number | Course Names | Credit |
|
One of
|
|
4 |
| CMNS/GEOG 257 | Environment Science and Communications | 3 |
| ENV 200 | Living in our Wathershed | 4 |
|
One of
|
|
4 |
|
One of
|
|
4 |
| LIST 1C* | Professional and Research Skills | 3 |
| Electives | 8 | |
| Total Credits | 30 | |
| YEAR THREE | ||
| Course Number | Course Names | Credit |
| GEOG 331 | Environ Assessment and Management | 4 |
| PHIL 318 | Environmental Ethics | 3 |
|
One of
|
|
3 |
| LIST 2A* | Society, Culture, Economy (300-400) | 3 |
| LIST 2B* | Professional and Research Skills (upper level) | 3 |
| Upper Level Electives | 8 | |
| Electives | 6 | |
| Total Credits | 30 | |
| YEAR FOUR | ||
| Course Number | Course Names | Credit |
| ENV 410 | Environmental Seminar | 4 |
|
One of
|
|
0 - 6 |
| LIST 2A* | Society, Culture, and Economy (Upper Level 8) | 4 |
| LIST 2C* | Sciences II (Upper Level) | 4 |
| Upper Level Electives | 9 (for a total of 45) | |
| Electives | 9 | |
| Totals | 30 |
*For complete lists of categories 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, 2B, and 2C see the Academic Calendar
If you are missing a high school level course or did not receive the grade you needed for a course prerequisite, you have the option of taking the equivalent course at UFV.
| High school course | UFV equivalent course |
|---|---|
| Biology 11 | BIO 083 |
| Biology 12 | BIO 093 |
| Chemistry 11 | CHEM 083 |
| Chemistry 12 | CHEM 110 |
| Physics 11 | PHYS 083 |
| Physics 12 | PHYS 093 |
| Pre-calculus 12 |
MATH 092/093 or 094/095 or 096 or MATH 110 (if PC 12 taken with C or higher grade) |
Book an appointment with an academic advisor or email your questions to advising@ufv.ca.