Planning your degree program

A venn diagram illustrating the course and program components needed to obtain a BA&Sc degree in SSS

Program requirements (54 credits)

Planning your SSS program can be logistically challenging. Please see your program advisor early on to make sure you are on the right track, and to consult the File SSS Degree Planning Guide.xlsx to help you organize and plan your schedules.

In general, students are meant to complete the freshman core requirements in their U0 year, 200-level courses in their U1 year, 300-level courses in their U2 year, and 400-level courses in their U3 year. This is rarely as neat in practice, but higher-level classes tend to have pre-requisites, so it make sense to try to finish lower-level courses earlier.  

Minor requirements (18-24 credits)

All Interfaculty BASc students must complete a minor. The full list of the minors available to Interfaculty Arts & Science students can be found in the eCalendar. Students are encouraged to choose their minor to give depth in some core area of interest that will complement the breadth gained through their SSS major.

Freshman Program (30 credits)

Students must complete the freshman program of BA&Sc (30 credits), although some students may come to McGill with transfer credits (such as CEGEP, AP, A-Levels, IB or French Bacc exemptions) that cover some or all of the Freshman core. For helpful information on course selection for your freshmen program, students should refer to the BA&Sc Freshmen (U0) course selection guide. Any questions about your freshmen program requirements should be directed to your tania.raggo [at] mcgill.ca (subject: freshemen%20requirements) (Faculty advisor).

Electives (12-18 credits)

You must complete 12-18 credits of electives depending on choice of the minor in order to meet 120 credits required to graduate from a BA&Sc degree. You can take elective courses outside the Arts or Sciences Faculties, but there are limits to the number of 'outside' credits to keep in mind. Electives are a great opportunity to try different classes outside of what you know and to expand your horizon.

Other considerations

Arts credits & Science credits

All Interfaculty students must complete at least 21 credits in the Faculty of Arts and 21 credits in the Faculty of Science. These credits can come from courses that fulfill the major or minor requirements. 

Study abroad

Students planning to study abroad should ideally leave on exchange during their U1 or U2 year. The deadline for exchange application is typically mid-January of the year prior to the exchange.  

Honours

Students interested in applying to Honours should also keep in mind special requirements and must apply during their U2 year. Remember that Honours is technically another degree program to which you need to apply fore. Please visit the honours section for more information.
 

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