Associate of Arts - General Studies

No matter what career path you choose in life, it always gives you a leading edge to have a solid education on your resume. With today’s job market becoming ever more competitive, employers are looking for viable candidates who show dedication and determination, especially to their academic background. Getting started on your associate or bachelor’s degree today, sets you up for future career—and life—success.

If you are not quite sure what you want to major in yet, but know you want to get your bachelor’s degree eventually, the associate of arts general degree is right for you. It gives you a well-rounded blend of arts courses designed to let you see some of the options you will have later, once you decide on a specialty to focus on.

Giving you a full two years of study, the general associate of arts degree fulfills most, if not all, course requirements for third-year entry into BC approved Bachelor of Arts university degree programs. Mix and match your courses to suit your needs and interests, as long as they fulfill the specified requirements.

In addition to meeting the general admission requirements to Selkirk College, applicants to the University Arts and Sciences program must meet the following requirements to be considered fully qualified:

Minimum grade of 60% in English 12 or English 12 First Peoples or equivalent. Students who do not meet this requirement must write the Language Proficiency Index (LPI) test and achieve a minimum of level 4 to attain equivalency.

Additional Requirements

Students whose first language is not English must fulfill the college’s English language proficiency requirement. See Policy 8611: Admissions.

Mature students must meet the English 12 requirement.

If you are a student who lacks the admission requirements, you may still gain entry to the program by taking a combination of Academic Upgrading and university courses in your first year. This may extend the length of your program.

Graduation and Promotion

All Associate of Arts students are required to complete:

Two semester courses in first-year English

Six semester courses in first-year Arts in two or more subject areas

Three semester courses in UAS science and math at the 100 level or higher, of which, one must be a lab science and one must be a UAS math, statistics or computer science course

Biology 101, Geography 130 and 232, and Geology are considered lab sciences

Six semester courses in second-year Arts in two or more subject areas

Six additional UAS courses

Students must achieve a GPA of 2.00

Applicants, whose first language is not English, or who have received their primary education in a

language other than English, are required to provide proof of English language proficiency in one of the

following ways:

(a) completion of BC English 12 with a minimum final grade of C+ at an English curriculum secondary school where English is the primary language

(b) completion of International Baccalaureate (IB) English Language A (Higher level) with a minimum grade of 3 or C

(c) completion of the Advanced 4 and 5 (or equivalent) of the Selkirk College English Language Program with a minimum of ”C+” (60%)average in core subjects and provincial level English 51, with at least a "C+"grade