Joint honours and second degrees

The terms joint honours and double-major can be used interchangeably and some Faculties will use one or the other, e.g. double-majors in the Faculty of Arts, joint honours in the Faculty of Science. Both mean the same thing: a significant concentration of coursework, well beyond what's typically required for a minor, outside one's primary area of study. This typically means that studies beyond four academic years/eight terms are required in order to complete all plan requirements. The outcome is a single degree, not two.

Students seeking two degrees can complete them in sequence, i.e. one after the other. This is the only scenario that Science supports. Before embarking on a plan to complete two degrees in sequence, students should review whether two degrees are necessary for future study/work plans.

The invalid credential combinations table should be consulted when considering a joint honours plan or second degree along with counting of courses information, the 50% rule, and residency requirement.

• The joint honours plan must be outside Science (i.e. crosses a Faculty line)
• Year two is typically the earliest opportunity for a request to be reviewed after some course work, usually at least two courses, in the subject/area of interest have been completed
• Requests are subject to a three-part review:
  • academic advisor in Science
  • academic advisor for the joint honours plan
  • academic advisor for joint honours plans in Science

• Follow review instructions outlined by home Faculty
  • the academic advisor for joint honours plans in Science will assist and note the appropriate joint honours plan advisor to consult (for the list below)
• Available plans are:
  • Joint Honours Biology
  • Joint Honours Chemistry
  • Joint Honours Earth Sciences
  • Joint Honours Physics
• Only students in Arts have the following additional option:
  • Joint Honours Science
• Faculty of Science admission requirements do not have to be satisfied, however, students should have completed the appropriate pre-university maths and sciences

• Consult the appropriate Faculty academic advising contact on program viability
• Sequential pathway, i.e. one after the other, only

• Program admission requirements (pre-university) need to be satisfied
• Co-op is not available; regular studies only
• Sequential pathway, i.e. one after the other, only
• Courses taken as part of the first degree will be assessed for transfer and numeric grades will be cleared from average calculations, i.e. no courses taken as part of the first degree will count towards the number of courses required for numeric grades that are counting in program averages
• Students seeking a Three-Year General Science degree will need to take at least 7.5 units while registered in Science degree studies following the awarding of the first UW degree; students seeking a Honours degree will need to take at least 10 units while registered in Science degree studies following the awarding of the first UW degree
• Students with a BSc can be considered for post-degree studies
• Consult the academic advisor for readmission in Science regarding any program scenario questions