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.
Global Development Studies (GDS) is a broadly interdisciplinary program designed to equip students with the critical academic knowledge, skills, and experience required to function effectively as development professionals in Canada or abroad, or to continue on to graduate or to other professional studies.
A Bachelor of Arts in Global Development Studies (BA GDS) degree requires the completion of a minimum of 120 credits. This is approximately 40 classes.
If you want to complete this program in four years, you will need to complete 30 credits or 10 courses each year.
The BA GDS 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.
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
9-18 hours per week
for homework
You have the next several years to meet the program requirements. In your first year, you should focus on lower-level course options.
Here is an example of how you may want to organize your fall and winter semesters.
| Fall (Sep-Dec) | Winter (Jan-Apr) |
|---|---|
| GDS 100 (Global Development Studies) | GDS 220 or GDS 260 (Global Development Studies) |
| One of ENGL 105, CMNS 125, or CMNS 175 | POSC 230 or POSC 260 (Political Science) |
| Elective of your choice | Elective of your choice |
| ECON 100 or 101 | One of ANTH 202, BUS 204, CMNS 251, or GEOG 253 |
This sample plan includes BA GDS program courses and electives. In your first year you do not have to stick entirely to the BA GDS program outline. You are encouraged to try out personal interest courses of your choice as well.
Interested in trying Sociology? History? Computers? Visual Arts? — go ahead and try them. You might find another subject that interests you enough to add that discipline as a minor to your BA GDS degree.
As you take courses and learn about your interests, you can meet with an academic advisor to help shape your BA GDS degree in that direction.
Book an appointment with an academic advisor or email your questions to advising@ufv.ca.