Bachelor of Arts & Sciences (BAS)

Welcome to the Bachelor of Arts & Sciences degree program! We are excited to welcome you to the University of Guelph community and to the unique family of students, faculty and staff in the Bachelor of Arts & Sciences.

 

Picking your courses for Semester 1 & 2: 

All BAS students in the program complete two specializations: a minor in the Sciences and a minor in the Arts/Social Sciences. These two specializations can be as closely related or as independent from each other as the student wishes, and the student does not need to finalize their choice of specializations until the end of second year. You can view a degree overview, including a list of all available minors, on the BAS page of the 2025 – 2026 academic calendar.  

Remember that course selection takes place over a couple of months – not in one day. If you don’t get all of your preferred courses on the first day, this is okay. Be patient! There is time. 

If you do know your intended minors, you are welcome to declare them even before course selection begins. This is not required but can ease course selection because some courses will restrict to majors or minors before opening to undeclared students. You can do so here: ORS - Schedule of Studies (uoguelph.ca) 

 

Fall – ASCI*1110, 2 arts and 2 sciences 
Winter – ASCI*1120, 2 arts and 2 sciences 

As a BAS student, you will normally select five courses (or 2.50 credits) per semester. 

  • Select ASCI*1110 Society and Inquiry in the fall, and ASCI*1120 Society and Inquiry 2 in the winter.  

  • Select two science courses per semester. The courses you pick will be determined by the science minor you are considering pursuing. If you know your intended minor, choose the courses listed beside each minor at below link “BAS website”. If you do not know yet, choose two off the Science Core list. BAS students may not take BIOL*1500, BIOM*2000, BOT*1200 or MBG*1000. 

  • Select two courses from the arts and/or social sciences. If you know your intended minor, choose the courses listed beside each minor at below link “BAS website”. If you do not know yet, choose two off the Arts Core list. 

  • A helpful chart can be found here on the BAS website, under “Course Selection for First Year Students”. This is where you can see the intro courses required for each minor. Note: if your minor only requires 1-2 intro courses, you fill the other spots with Arts Core or Science Core content. You still take 2.50 credits a semester! 

  • Should you find that all sections of a required course are full, or you are being restricted, please contact the Faculty Advisor for the specific subject area to inquire. You can find Faculty Advisor contact information here. 

 

A Sample First Semester

  • Arts & Sciences – ASCI*1110
  • Science Core Course – BIOL*1090
  • Science Core Course – CHEM*1040
  • Arts or Social Science Core Course – CLAS*1000
  • Arts or Social Science Core Course – SOC*1100

For additional information please contact:

Sarah Bradley
Program Counsellor, BAS
bas@uoguelph.ca