Arts

Liberal Arts diploma

The Liberal Arts diploma is an exit credential which does not take direct admissions. Students can graduate from the Liberal Arts diploma while in another program, as long as all program requirements have been met. Students not currently in a UFV program might consider applying to the Bachelor of Arts or Associate of Arts degree programs, or Qualifying Studies.

The Liberal Arts diploma program requires a minimum of 60 university-level credits. It is designed to provide students with a breadth of intellectual and academic experience while recognizing the importance of concentrated study in a specific field or discipline.

The diploma addresses the needs of students pursuing educational or career goals in the humanities or social sciences. The Liberal Arts diploma may serve as an educational goal or as an intermediate qualification for those who transfer to other educational institutions. Students planning to obtain the Bachelor of Arts offered by the college of Arts can complete the diploma and satisfy the general program requirements for the BA degree and the lower-level requirements for their major, extended minors, or minor program(s).

Students who pursue the Liberal Arts diploma will be subject to the policies on program continuance and warning that apply to the program they have been admitted to. For details on academic standing and undergraduate continuance, see the Undergraduate Continuance section of the academic calendar. Some programs may have a continuance requirement which is higher than the institutional standard.

Graduation

It is the student's responsibility to ensure all program requirements are met. This should be done by regular consultation with an Advisor.

Students who qualify to receive a Liberal Arts diploma must be approved by an Advisor and the Senate. Students must apply for graduation by completing the Graduation Request form available ufv.ca/admissions/forms or at the Office of the Registrar. We recommend this be done in the first month of the final semester. The final deadline for students who wish to attend the June Convocation ceremony is April 1st of each year, with all program requirements completed by April 30th of each year.

Program requirements

A total of 60 university-level credits with an overall cumulative grade point average of 2.0 is required to complete this program. Of those 60 credits, 30 must be completed at UFV. Thirty-three credits must be in Arts chosen from the following list of subjects:

• Anthropology, art history, communications (CMNS 155 and above), criminology/criminal justice (excluding CRIM 201, 202, and 203), economics, English, film, geography, history, international studies, Latin American studies, mathematics/statistics, media and communication studies, modern languages, philosophy, political science, psychology, religious studies, sociology, theatre, and visual arts.

Of the remaining 27 credits, up to 12 credits (at the 100-level or higher) may be from outside the Arts and Sciences. A Science course, as defined by the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer, will include biology, chemistry, computing science, kinesiology, mathematics/statistics, and physics.

Liberal Arts diploma students must consider the following in making their course selection:

• Access to seats in some courses may be limited due to course prerequisites and/or seats reserved for students in specific programs or majors.
• Students considering a teaching career should be aware that not all disciplines or programs are recognized for professional certification. As teacher education programs are professional programs, students should seek advice regarding course selection from an Advisor or from the institution which they plan to attend.

Students planning to continue on to complete the Bachelor of Arts degree offered by the College of Arts are advised to take courses to satisfy their choices within the following requirements: Breadth, Writing, Reasoning, Lab Science, Humanities, and Social Sciences, and to follow the discipline requirements of their chosen major, extended minors, or minor program(s).

Breadth requirement

30 university-level credits from at least five subject areas. No more than 12 credits from any one subject area can be used to satisfy this requirement.

Writing requirement

Three credits from:

• ENGL 105
• ENGL 210 or CMNS 155
• ARTS 100 (see Note)

Note: ARTS 100 meets both the writing requirement and the reasoning requirement.

Reasoning requirement

One of PHIL 100 or ARTS 100 (see Note 1), or at least three credits from each list:

Note:This requirement may be met by PSYC 210 if previously completed.

Laboratory Science requirement

Four credits from:

• Astronomy 103 or 104
• BIO 100-level or higher
• CHEM 100-level or higher
• GEOG 101, 102, 103, or 116
• KPE 163 or 170
• PHYS 100-level or higher
• PSYC 202 (see Note)

Note: This requirement may be met by PSYC 210 or PSYC 220 if previously completed.

Humanities requirement

Six credits from:

• Art History
• Communications
• English 108 or higher
• Film
• French
• History
• Halq'eméylem
• Interdisciplinary courses (see Note)
• Japanese
• Linguistics
• Mandarin
• Mathematics
• Music
• Philosophy 100 or higher
• Punjabi
• Religious Studies
• Russian
• Spanish
• Theatre
• Visual Arts

Note: Interdisciplinary courses are determined by an Advisor.

Social Science requirement

Six credits from:

• Anthropology
• Criminal Justice (see Note 1)
• Economics
• Geography 105, 111, 130 or higher
• Global Development Studies
• Interdisciplinary courses (see Note 2)
• Latin American Studies
• Media and Communication Studies
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Women's Studies
  

Note 1: Please contact an Advisor for details regarding acceptable criminal justice courses.

Note 2:Interdisciplinary courses are determined by an Advisor.

Elective requirement

University-level elective credit(s), to bring total credits to 60.

Note: Students should choose their electives according to the degree they may be pursuing. Please refer to the appropriate section of the calendar for details.

Other Arts diplomas

The following diplomas are also available at UFV:

• Graphic and Digital Design diploma
• Theatre diploma
• Visual Arts diploma

Course listings

For complete details on courses, please consult the appropriate category in the course descriptions section.