Academic Terms and Definitions

Honours Degree:

• Consists of 20 credits typically completed over four years of full-time study.

General Degree:

• Consists of 15 credits typically completed over three years of full-time study.  First-year courses are generally the same as for the Honours degree.

Undergraduate Degree:

• Normally the first degree one earns while studying at university.  Examples include the Bachelor of Science (BSc) and Bachelor of Arts (BA) degrees.

Graduate Degree:

• Completed after an undergraduate degree.  Examples include Master’s and Doctorate (PhD) degrees.

Major:

• The main area(s) of study in a degree.

Minor:

• An optional secondary area of study when completing a single major Honours degree.

Single Major Degree:

• Consists of one major.

Joint Major Degree:

• Consists of two majors.  Also known as a Double Major Degree.

Specialization:

• A group of courses in a particular area of study that may only be completed with a specific major.

Emphasis Program:

• A group of courses in a particular area of study that may be completed with any major.

Credit:

• The unit of measurement for courses.  One full-time year usually consists of five credits taken from September to April.  Optional summer credits may be taken.

Education Degrees

Bachelor of Education:

• Can be completed at the same time as (concurrently) or (B.Ed.) degree – right after (consecutively) students complete their undergraduate degree.
  

Concurrent Education:

• Program of study in which students earn their undergraduate degree while also completing requirements for their B.Ed.

Consecutive Education:

• Students apply to this B.Ed. program upon completion of their undergraduate degrees.