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.
A Liberal Arts diploma is an excellent choice if you want to explore broadly before you choose a discipline in the arts. It is designed to provide you with a breadth of intellectual and academic experience while recognizing the importance of concentrated study in a specific field or discipline.
The Liberal Arts diploma (LAD) requires the completion of a minimum of 60 credits. This is approximately 20 classes.
If you want to complete this program in two years, you will need to complete 30 credits or 10 courses each year.
The LAD 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
9-12 hours per week
for homework
How you choose to build your diploma will develop over time, throughout the course of your education. What is most important at this time, is that you simply begin thinking about your interests and start trying out these areas of interest.
Here is an example of what a fall and winter semester might look like:
| Fall (Sep-Dec) | Winter (Jan-Apr) |
|---|---|
| ENGL 105 (English) | PHIL 100 (Philosophy) |
|
AIS 101 (Arts and Integrated Studies) |
CMNS 180 (Communications) |
| 100-level SOC (Sociology), or PSYC (Psychology), or HIST (History) | 100-level GEOG (Geography), or GDS (Global Development Studies), or FNST (First Nations Studies) |
| or ANTH (Anthropology), or THEA (Theatre), or VA (Visual Arts), etc. | or ECON (Economics), or BUS (Business Administration), or CYC (Child and Youth Care), etc. |
Book an appointment with an academic advisor or email your questions to advising@ufv.ca.