Qualifying Studies

University Foundation certificate

The University Foundation certificate program is an intensive, full-time academic preparation program specifically designed for students who do not meet the English language requirements for full time-time academic study at UFV.

Entrance requirements

In order to be admitted to the University Foundation certificate program, students must meet the requirements for either Level 1 or Level 2.

Level 1

• Placement at level 70 of UFV ESL program, or
• Completion of one of:
  • ESL WG64, RV68 and S66 or articulated equivalent with a minimum GPA 2.33 or higher
  • TOEFL 500 (173 CBT/61 iBT)
  • IELTS 5 (see Note)
  • CanTest 4.0
  • CAEL 50
  • LPI essay score 20 (level 3)
  • MELAB 70

Level 2

• Placement at level 80 of UFV ESL program, or
• Completion of one of:
  • ESL WG74 and R70 or articulated equivalent with a minimum GPA 2.33 or higher
  • TOEFL 550 (213 CBT/79 iBT)
  • IELTS 6 (see Note)
  • CanTest 4.5
  • CAEL 60
  • LPI essay score 25 (level 4)
  • MELAB 80
  • CPT 41

Note: Placement into the Foundation program based on IELTS or TOEFL includes consideration of band and section scores respectively.

Glossary of Acronyms

CAEL - Canadian Academic English Language Assessment
CanTest - Canadian Test for English for Scholars and Trainees
IELTS - International English Language Test scores
LPI - Language Proficiency Index
MELAB - Michigan English Language Assessment Battery
TOEFL - Test of English as a Foreign Language

When to apply

Applications are accepted for entrance to the Fall, Winter, and Summer semesters. For application deadlines, see Specific intake application process.

How to apply

Apply online at ufv.ca/admissions/admissions/apply.

Fees and additional costs

See the Fees and Other Costs section.

Books that are required for individual courses are available in the UFV bookstore. Information regarding tuition for international students is available on the international education website at ufv.ca/international.

Dates and location

UFV offers courses in three four-month semesters (fall, winter, and summer), primarily in Abbotsford.

Program requirements

To maintain status in the University Foundation certificate program, students must maintain a grade point average of at least 2.33. Upon successful completion (a grade point average of 2.33 or C+ average and at least a C+ in ESL WG84) of all Level II core courses and a total of 27 credits (of which nine credits must be 100 level or above), students may be granted a certificate in the University Foundation certificate program. See the Graduation section below.

The program electives are to be taken from an approved list, which is included below.

Continuance in a program

Students whose cumulative grade point average falls below 2.33 during their program are subject to program warning and/or removal from the program.

Program warning

Students, whose cumulative grade point average falls below 2.33 during their program are subject to program warning and/or removal from the program.

Undergraduate continuance

Students enrolled in undergraduate courses (courses numbered 100 or above) must maintain an undergraduate Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of at least 2.00 to remain enrolled in Good Academic Standing at UFV. Students in Good Academic Standing will have no registration limits placed on them. Failure to meet the minimum CGPA requirement will result in restrictions on registration and may eventually lead to academic suspension from undergraduate studies at UFV. Students on Academic Warning or Academic Probation are limited to registering in 10 credits. For further details, see the Academic standing and undergraduate continuance section of the academic calendar. Academic standing is governed by UFV’s Undergraduate Continuance policy (92).

Prerequisites

Students must meet all prerequisites for any course at UFV.

Transfer credit

Students transferring to UFV must seek advice from an advisor to determine how their previous courses can be used toward fulfilling the current requirements. At least 50% of the academic course work must be completed at UFV.

Students wishing to challenge an academic course require permission from the department or program head of the course that they wish to challenge. Courses challenged do not count towards UFV program residency requirements.

Course withdrawal

Course withdrawal deadlines follow UFV's Course Withdrawal policy (81).

Graduation

Students must submit a Request for Graduation form to the UFV Office of the Registrar by April 1. All program requirements must be met by April 30 in order to participate in the June graduation ceremony. There is a $25 graduation fee.

Program outline - Level 1

Compulsory courses (see Note 1)

Note 1: Alternate compulsory course(s) may be substituted by program advisor, depending on individual skill component score(s) as indicated by English proficiency assessment (TOEFL, IELTS, etc) results.

Note 2: Access to academic courses is dependent upon GPA:
Students with a GPA of 3.0 or less may take one academic course only.
Students with a GPA of 3.0 or more may choose a maximum of two academic courses.

Elective options

a) ESL and/or

b) Upgrading and University Preparation, and Academic (maximum three courses)

a) ESL electives:

b) University preparation and academic electives
Choose only one:

Note: Students must meet all prerequisites for university preparation and academic elective courses

Astronomy - ASTR 103, ASTR 104
Biology - BIO 083, BIO 093
Business - BUS 100
Chemistry - CHEM 083, CHEM 110
CIS - CIS 100, CIS 110, CIS 162
Fashion Design - FD 113, FD 171, FD 180
Kinesiology - KPE 103, KPE 170
Languages - FREN 100, GERM 101, HALQ 101, JAPN 101, MAND 101, PUNJ 101, RUSS 101, SPAN 101
Mathematics - MATH 084, MATH 085, MATH 094, MATH 095
Physics - PHYS 083, PHYS 093, PHYS 100, PHYS 101, PHYS 102, PHYS 105
Theatre - THEA 111
Visual Arts - VA 113, VA 115, VA 117, VA 160, VA 170, VA 180

Students with a GPA of 3.0 or more have the option of choosing a maximum of two courses from the list above or below (only one "bolded" course).

Biology - BIO 083
Business - BUS 120, BUS 143, BUS 160
CIS - CIS 145
Computing Science - COMP 125
Criminology - CRIM 201
Kinesiology - KPE 260
Math - MATH 117

Note: Students may take alternate university preparation or academic electives with advisor and/or instructor approval.
Recommended order of Business courses: BUS 100, BUS 160 (or CIS 110), BUS 143 or MATH 117 (if English skills are weak), STAT 106, BUS 120
Recommended order of CIS/COMP courses: BUS 100 (elective), CIS 145, MATH 125 (MATH 117 if English skills are weak), COMP 125 (CIS 100 if computer skills are weak)

Program outline - Level 2

Compulsory ESL (core) course

Plus compulsory academic (core) course

Note 1: Alternate compulsory course(s) may be substituted by program advisor depending on individual skill component score(s) as indicated by English proficiency assessment (TOEFL, IELTS, etc) results.
Note 2: Access to academic courses is dependent upon GPA:
Students with a GPA of 3.0 or less may take two academic course only.
Students with a GPA of 3.0 or more may choose a maximum of three academic courses.

Completion of the University Foundation certificate program requires completion of all core courses in Level 2, nine credits at the 100-level, and 27 credits in total.

Elective options

a) ESL and/or

b) University Preparation and Academic (maximum 3 courses)

a) ESL electives:

b) University preparation and academic electives:
Choose two maximum (only one "bolded" course):

Note: Students must meet all prerequisites for university preparation and academic elective courses.

Anthropology - ANTH 130
Astronomy - ASTR 103, ASTR 104
Biology - BIO 083, BIO 093, BIO 105, BIO 111
Business - BUS 100, BUS 120, BUS 143, BUS 144, BUS 160
Chemistry - CHEM 083, CHEM 105, CHEM 110, CHEM 113, CHEM 150
CIS - CIS 100, CIS 110, CIS 124, CIS 145, CIS 146, CIS 165, CIS 185
Communications - CMNS 099
Computing Science - COMP 125, COMP 150
Criminology - CRIM 100, CRIM 201, CRIM 202
English - ENGL 099
Fashion Design - FD 113, FD 171, FD 180, FD 193
Kinesiology - KPE 103, KPE 160, KPE 170, KPE 215
Languages - FREN 100, GERM 101, HALQ 101, JAPN 101, MAND 101, PUNJ 101, RUSS 101, SPAN 101
LAS - LAS 100
Mathematics - MATH 084, MATH 085, MATH 094, MATH 095, MATH 110, MATH 111, MATH 112, MATH 115, MATH 117, MATH 124, MATH 125, MATH 140, MATH 141, MATH 152, MATH 170
Music — MUSC 101, MUSC 150
Physics - PHYS 083, PHYS 093, PHYS 100, PHYS 101, PHYS 102, PHYS 105, PHYS 111
Statistics — STAT 104, STAT 106
Theatre - THEA 111
Visual Arts - VA 113, VA 115, VA 116, VA 117, VA 160, VA 170, VA 180, VA 224, VA 232, VA 252, VA 284

Students with a GPA of 3.0 or more have the option of choosing 3 maximum from list above or below (only 1 "bolded" course).

Anthropology - ANTH 101, ANTH 102
Art History - AH 101, AH 102
Business - BUS 249 (formerly BUS 149, 162)
CIS - CIS 190
Criminology — CRIM 103, CRIM 104, CRIM 105, CRIM 252
Economics - ECON 100, ECON 101
Geography - GEOG 101, GEOG 102, GEOG 140
History - HIST 100-level or 200-level
Kinesiology - KPE 270
LAS - LAS 200
LING - LING 101, LING 110
MACS - MACS 110, MACS 130
Physics - PHYS 112
Political Science - POSC 100, POSC 110, POSC 120, POSC 260
Sociology - SOC 101, SOC 250

Note: Students may take alternate university preparation or academic electives with advisor and/or instructor approval.

Course listings

For complete details on courses see the course descriptions section.