Overview
The Honours Bachelor of Arts and Science program is designed for students with interests in both the sciences and the arts. The program offers students the freedom and opportunity to blend creativity and analytical rigor, social expertise and empirical acumen, and discover new knowledge at the intersections. The Honours BAS also offers students an excellent opportunity to gain skills comprising research excellence in the sciences and arts, professional-level oral and written communication, creativity, and inventiveness. This skill set and broad knowledge-base is highly sought after by employers, graduate schools, and professional programs including medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, teaching, and law.
In first year Arts and Sciences (ASCI) courses, students formulate research questions, gather evidence, and cultivate insights from the various academic disciplines to support the interpretation of evidence.
In second year, students examine case studies in the arts and sciences from multiple perspectives and explore how societal and cultural forces shape inquiry and influence the reception of results.
By year three, students are poised to engage in student-driven research in the Arts and Science Colloquium, integrating methodologies and theoretical approaches acquired in the first and second year ASCI courses.
In the final year, students complete course work for their majors and/or minors and are free to pursue research projects or experiential learning opportunities in their major or minor areas of study, and/ or through Honours Thesis or Reading Course options in the BAS program.
Throughout the program students hone their skills in writing, speaking, and quantitative reasoning.
The BAS degree is a 20.0 credit Honours program, which must include:
The following 4 Arts and Science courses (2.0 credits):
- ASCI 1001H: Arts & Science I: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
- ASCI 1002H: Arts & Science II: Theory and Practice
- ASCI 2001H: Case Studies in Arts and Science
- ASCI 3001H: Arts & Science Colloquium
In addition to the above 2.0 core credits, students complete at least 3.0 science credits and 3.0 non-science credits along with courses satisfying the requirements for one of the following:
a) single-major Honours program
b) single-major Honours program with a minor in another subject
c) joint-major Honours program in a humanities or social sciences subject and joint-major Honours program in a science subject
d) minor in a humanities or social sciences subject and a minor in a science subject
In addition to the program requirements listed above, students must satisfy the University degree requirements including 0.5 credit from the Approved Indigenous Course List. Students are not required to complete 14.0 science credits or 1.0 MATH credit for an Honours Bachelor of Arts & Science (BAS) degree.
Not every combination of subjects is available. Students should confirm their academic plan with Academic Advising - https://www.trentu.ca/advising/.
See the Academic Calendar for details on courses and degree requirements. https://www.trentu.ca/registrar/academic-calendar/undergraduate-calendar
Admission Requirements
The Bachelor of Arts & Science degree is a direct-entry program with a limited number of student places. Normally, students with an overall average lower than 75% will not be admitted to the program.