鶹AV
For new students as of Fall 2025: you must complete at least one Faculty of Arts program- as part of your Multi-Track, Honours or Joint-Honours requirements - to graduate with a B.A. degree.
What is the Foundation Program U0?
The U0 year is the first component of your B.A. degree, designed to provide a broad foundation for your further studies in the Faculty of Arts.
Program Requirements
- The U0 year is usually comprised of 24 - 30 credits,
- Includes of 18 credits (usually 6 courses) of core requirements.
Who needs to complete U0?
- If you are entering the B.A. directly from high school with no Advanced Standing credits; or
- You are entering with 0-23 credits of Advanced Standing or Transfer Credits from previous studies
Course options
You will choose one of the following options:
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General Option
You will choose courses from the Humanities, Social Sciences, Languages, and/or Math and Sciences. -
Foundation Year Program Pilot (FYPP)
Limited enrolment for the 2024/25 academic year. A slightly more structured pathway to the General option.
View slides from the Aug 20th FYPP Orientation:
FYPP Orientation 2024 -
En Français
You will choose from a variety of courses conducted in French.
Comparing the General Option to FYPP
General Option |
FYPP |
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18cr core: |
6cr: |
Free choice of courses from Category 1 (eg. Humanities) |
Student must enroll in AFYR 101 + AFYR 102 |
6cr: |
Free choiceof courses from Category 2(eg. Social Sciences) |
Student must enroll in WCOM 150 + one of the designated Foundation Year Seminars |
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6cr: |
Free choice of courses from Category 3(eg. Languages) |
Free choice of courses from any category from the approved list of courses |
Navigating your U0 year
Advancing Standing Exemption
- As of Fall 2025, the maximum permissible total aggregate number of pre-admission advanced standing credits to be accorded to a non-CEGEP and non-University Transfer student – at the time of admission or interfaculty transfer to an Arts degree - is limited to 30cr, and in adherence to the Faculty of Arts Online Education policy. Note that credits earned via intermediary study abroad organizations or companies will not be approved for advanced standing nor for transfer credit.
- If you have receivedAdvanced Standing—such as APs, IBs, ALs, or university transfer credits—you may be exempt from part or all of the B.A. Foundation Program requirements(except for the Foundation Year Program Pilot, see below).
- Courses taken to fulfill the core requirements in either option must be passed with a grade of “C” or better.
- Courses must not be taken under theSatisfactory/Unsatisfactory grade mode.
- You are eligible to register inFirst-Year Seminars, which are small-enrolment classes offered by several departments exclusively for Foundation Year students.
Course selection
- Your courses must be chosen from those offered by the Faculty of Arts or the Faculty of Science.
- U0 students are not permitted to take courses offered by other faculties.
- Courses listed under another Faculty’s offerings are considered to be a Faculty of Arts courses if they are listed in the Faculty of Arts section of theeCalendar.
- Aside from the 18 credits of core requirements, the remainder of your 24 to 30 credits in your first year at 鶹AV (ie. U0 year) must be chosen from theApproved Foundation Course List.
- Your courses should generally be at the introductory level (ie.course numbers listed at the 100 or 200-level).
Further Program Requirements
- A course taken in U0 - and/or being used towards your 18 credits of core requirements - can also count towards future program requirements (if applicable).
Advancing to U1
If you have earned 24 or more credits - including advanced standing credits at the time of admission - after successful completion of your first term (Fall):
- You are eligible to advance to U1and to select your programs of study.For new students as of Fall 2025:you must complete at least oneFaculty of Arts program- as part of yourMulti-Track, Honours or Joint-Honoursrequirements - to graduate with a B.A. degree.
- Ensure that all of your final grades for your first term at 鶹AV are showing on your record.
- Submit a "" formto change your year (from U0) to U1 as of the Winter term.
- You may still request this change even if your 18 credit core requirements are not yet fully met.
- You may still request this change even if your 18 credit core requirements are not yet fully met.
Foundation program courses incomplete warning
- It's placed on the records of all newly admitted students entering the Bachelor of Arts degree with less than 24 credits:
- It's featured at the top of your student record.
- It indicates that Foundation Program courses are in progress.
- This is actually a warning, not a hold, and will not block you from course registration.
- It does not prevent you from advancing to U1 if you have reached 24 or more credits.
- It does not prevent you from declaring your programs of study if you have advanced to U1.
Structure of Foundation program
Option 1 - General Option
- 18 credits of core requirements:
- 6 credits in three of the following four categories:
- Social Sciences
- Humanities
- Languages
- Mathematics & Science
- 6 credits in three of the following four categories:
- A maximum of 18 credits may be chosen from any one category (eg. Social Sciences) but no more than 12 credits may be taken in one department (eg. History).
- Courses must be selected from the Approved Foundation Program Course List.
- Some courses may be offered under two different categories. The selected course may be used to fulfill requirements in the category needed.
I. Social Sciences
African Studies (AFRI 200 only)
Anthropology
Canadian Studies (CANS 200 only)
Economics
Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies
Geography
History
Institute for the Study of International Development (ISID)
Islamic Studies
Jewish Studies
Linguistics
Political Science
Psychology
Quebec Studies (QCST 200 only)
Sociology
II. Humanities
African Studies
Art History & Communications Studies
Canadian Studies
Catholic Studies
Classics
Communication Studies
East Asian Studies
English (and English as a Second Language)
Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies
German Studies
Hispanic Studies
History
Indigenous Studies
Islamic Studies
Italian Studies
Jewish Studies
Languages, Literatures and Cultures
Music
Philosophy
Quebec Studies
Religious Studies
Russian & Slavic Studies
LITERATURE AND CIVILIZATION courses ONLY from the following departments and programs:
Classics
East Asian Studies
German Studies
Hispanic Studies
Islamic Studies
Italian Studies
Jewish Studies
Russian Studies
III. Languages
Acquire or improve your language skills. Literature and civilization courses offered by these departments count as Humanities, not as Language courses. A placement test and/or approval from the appropriate department may be required.
Classics (Latin, Ancient Greek or Modern Greek)
East Asian Studies (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
English as a Second Language
French Language & Literature
French as a Second Language
German Studies
Hispanic Studies (Portuguese, Spanish)
Islamic Studies (Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu)
Italian Studies
Jewish Studies (Hebrew, Yiddish)
Religious Studies (New Testament Greek, Sanskrit)
Russian & Slavic Studies
(Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Armenian, Czech)
IV. Mathematics and Science
Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
Biology
Chemistry
Computer Science
Earth & Planetary Sciences
Geography
Math & Statistics
Philosophy (PHIL 210 only)
Physics
Psychology (selected courses only)
Psychiatry
Option 1a - Foundation Year Program Pilot (FYPP)
The newly designed Foundation Year Program Pilot (FYPP) – offered to a limited number of newly-admitted U0 students (ie. admitted from High School) as of Fall 2024 - provides a modified structure to the usual U0 pathways (eg. General Option, or En Français), but the content is of equal weight, challenge, and complexity.
FYPP maintains a level of flexibility similar to the General Option.
Structure:
- 18 credits of core requirements:
- 12 credits of Required courses (these fulfill the General Option requirements for Humanities & Social Science credits):
- Complexity Courses – 6 credits
- Writing Seminar – 3 credits
- Foundation Year Seminar – 3 credits
- 6 credits of Complementary courses:
- Selected from the Approved Foundation Program Course List, chosen from any of four categories.
- 12 credits of Required courses (these fulfill the General Option requirements for Humanities & Social Science credits):
- The remaining credits for the student's first year are categorized as Electives.
Option 2 - En Français
- 18 credits of core requirement of courses conducted in French.
- Credits may be comprised entirely:
- Of language courses; or
- Of substantive content courses conducted in French; or
- Acombination of the two.
- You may be required to take a proficiency test.
- Credits may be comprised entirely:
- Depending on your level of proficiency:
- Permitted to enroll in a maximum of 12 credits of intensive French language courses.
- An intensive language course is a 6 credit term course.
- If you are at the introductory level, you must take at least 6 credits in French in your Foundationyear, but you may be permitted to complete the remaining core requirement credits in year U1.
- Permitted to enroll in a maximum of 12 credits of intensive French language courses.
French Language and Literature
FREN 199
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French as a Second Language
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FRSL 216
Course not available
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FRSL 326
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