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 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 070 of UFV ELS program, or
• Completion of one of:
  • EAP 064 (formerly ESL WG64), EAP 066 (formerly ESL S66), and EAP 068 (formerly ESL RV68) or articulated equivalent with a minimum GPA of 2.33.
  • 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 080 of UFV ELS program, or
• Completion of one of:
  • EAP 070 (formerly ESL R70) and EAP 074 (formerly ESL WG74) or articulated equivalent with a minimum GPA of 2.33.
  • 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/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.

Prerequisites

Students must meet all prerequisites for any course at UFV.

Program outline — Level 1

Required 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 3.00 or less may take one academic course only.
Students with a GPA of 3.00 or more may choose a maximum of two academic courses.

Elective options

• EAP or ESL and/or
• Upgrading and University Preparation, and Academic (maximum three courses)

EAP or ESL electives:

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
• Computer Information Systems: CIS 100, CIS 110, CIS 162
• Fashion Design: FD 113 (discontinued), FD 171 (discontinued), FD 180 (discontinued)
• Kinesiology: KIN 103, KIN 170
• Languages: FREN 100 (discontinued), 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 105
• Theatre: THEA 111
• Visual Arts: VA 113, VA 115, VA 117, VA 160, VA 170, VA 180

Students with a GPA of 3.00 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
• Computer Informations Systems: CIS 145
• Computing Science: COMP 125
• Criminology: CRIM 201
• Kinesiology: KIN 260
• Mathematics: MATH 117 (discontinued)

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

Required ELS (core) course

Required 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 3.00 or less may take two academic courses only.
Students with a GPA of 3.00 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

• EAP or ESL and/or
• University Preparation and Academic (maximum three courses)

EAP or ESL electives:

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 (discontinued), CHEM 110, CHEM 113, CHEM 150
• Computer Information Systems: CIS 100, CIS 110, CIS 124, CIS 145, CIS 146 (discontinued), CIS 165, CIS 185
• Communications: CMNS 099 (discontinued)
• Computing Science: COMP 125, COMP 150
• Criminology: CRIM 100, CRIM 201, CRIM 202
• English: ENGL 099
• Fashion Design: FD 113 (discontinued), FD 171 (discontinued), FD 180 (discontinued), FD 193 (discontinued)
• Kinesiology: KIN 103, KIN 160, KIN 170, KIN 215
• Languages: FREN 100 (discontinued), GERM 101, HALQ 101, JAPN 101, MAND 101, PUNJ 101, RUSS 101, SPAN 101
• Latin American Studies: LAS 100
• Mathematics: MATH 084, MATH 085, MATH 094, MATH 095, MATH 110, MATH 111, MATH 112, MATH 117 (discontinued), MATH 124, MATH 125, MATH 140, MATH 141, MATH 152/ENGR 152, MATH 170 (discontinued)
• Music: MUSC 101, MUSC 150
• Physics: PHYS 083, PHYS 093, PHYS 100, PHYS 101, 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 3.00 or more have the option of choosing three maximum from list above or below (only one "bolded" course).

• Anthropology: ANTH 101 (discontinued), ANTH 102
• Art History: AH 101, AH 102
• Business: BUS 249
• Computer Information Systems: CIS 190
• Criminology: CRIM 103, CRIM 104, CRIM 105, CRIM 252
• Economics: ECON 100, ECON 101
• Geography: GEOG 101 (discontinued), GEOG 102 (discontinued), GEOG 140
• History: HIST 100-level or 200-level
• Kinesiology: KIN 270
• Latin American Studies: LAS 200/SOC 200
• Linguistics: LING 101, LING 110
• Media and Communication Studies: MACS 110, MACS 130
• Physics: PHYS 112
• Political Science: POSC 100, POSC 110, POSC 120, POSC 260
• Sociology: SOC 101, SOC 250/GDS 250

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

Program requirements

To maintain status in the University Foundation certificate program, students must maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.33. Upon successful completion (a grade point average of 2.33 or C+ average and at least a C+ in EAP 084 (formerly ESL WG84) of all Level II core courses and a total of 27 credits (of which nine credits must be 100-level or higher), students may be granted a certificate in the University Foundation certificate program. See the Graduation requirements section below.

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.

Program continuance

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).

Course withdrawal deadlines

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

Graduation requirements

Students must apply for graduation by completing the Graduation Request form available at ufv.ca/registrar/forms, or from the Office of the Registrar. This should 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 1 of each year, with all program requirements completed by the Winter semester grade deadline (see Important Registration Dates) of each year. There is a $25 graduation fee.

Course listings

For complete details on courses see the course descriptions section.