First-year roadmap

Welcome to the Faculty of Arts!

You will receive an email from us in early June to welcome you to the Faculty of Arts and to provide you with information about course selection for your chosen program. 

Get a jump start on fall course selection! Review your program information to learn more about what courses you will be taking, which ones we will add for you and which ones you will need to course select for yourself in early July. 

Honours Arts and Arts and Business students: A live virtual event will be held in June 2026 (date TBD), to learn more about Course Selection and to ask questions! 

GBDA students: Attend the course selection virtual event - date to be confirmed.

Learn about your degree and program requirements in preparation for the fall term

Additional questions? Check out our First Year course selection FAQ page!

July 2nd - Course Selection

The course selection period runs from July 2 to July 9. During course selection, you are able to indicate all the courses that you'd like to be enrolled in for the upcoming term. We will select all of your required courses for you, but if your program has room for any electives, you will need to select those on your own.

To see which courses you'll be taking in your first year, and whether or not you need to select any courses, check out our Course Selection page and refer to your program.

Arts Ready day

Join us early in July for Arts Ready day! Meet other incoming first-year students, advisors, staff and students and learn some helpful tips for starting university. 

You will also be able to pick up your WatCard, check out Residence and walk around campus.

July 22 - View your fall schedule

On July 22, you'll be able to view your class schedule in Quest. Your schedule tells you when and where your classes will take place in the Fall term.

July 23rd - Add/drop period begins

Starting on July 23, you can now start modifying your schedule to add, swap, and drop courses. You should NOT drop any of your required courses, but can swap into different lecture, lab, and/or tutorial sections. You may change your elective course(s) to a different choice.

If you need help making any changes, follow these step -by-step Quest instructions. Be sure to contact your academic advisor if you need any advice for the changes you want to make.

September 9th - First day of classes

September 9th is the first official day of the lecture period. 

September (TBC)- Last day to add or swap courses

This is the last day that you can swap or add courses for the fall term. 

If you need help making any changes, follow these step -by-step Quest instructions.

Late September

The course selection period for the winter term runs September 25th to October 5th, 2026. During course selection, you are able to indicate all the courses that you'd like to be enrolled in for the upcoming term. We will select all of your required courses for you, but if your program has room for any electives, you will need to select those on your own.

To see which courses you'll be taking in your first year, and whether or not you need to select any courses, check out our Course Selection page and refer to your program.

November 18th - View your winter schedule in Quest

November 18th, 2026, you'll be able to view your class schedule in Quest. Your schedule tells you when and where your courses will take place in the Winter term.

November 23rd and 24th - Add/drop period begins

Starting November 23rd and 24th, 2026, you can now start modifying your schedule to add, swap, and drop courses. You should NOT drop any of your required courses, but can swap into different lecture, lab, and/or tutorial sections. You may change your elective course(s) to a different choice.

If you need help making any changes, follow these step -by-step Quest instructions.

January 11th - First day of classes

First day of the winter term. You're halfway through your first year!

January (TBC)- Last day to add or swap courses

This is the last day to add new courses or swap into different courses for the winter term.

If you need help making any changes, follow these step -by-step Quest instructions.

All of March - Declare your Major!

Attend the Declare your Major information session in early March to learn about this process and how to submit the online form. You will also have the opportunity to connect with major/minor advisors to learn more about the majors/minors you may be interested in, as well as attend a Co-op information session! 

You can find more information on the Declare your Major webpage.