First Semester Electives for New Students
The Majority of Majors in the B.Sc. Program Take a Liberal Education Elective (0.5 credits) in First Semester
New students often wonder which courses are the "best" to take. In fact, there is no "best" option. An elective is just that - an elective! Take what interests you.
Please see below for a small list of 'popular' choices that are taken by many B.Sc. students - it is provided only as a general guide, and should not be considered comprehensive (see link below for the complete list).
Students are welcome to choose any course on the complete Liberal Education list for B.Sc. students, as long as you are able to register (ie: as long as the course has space available, is being offered in the Fall semester, is not restricted to students in certain majors, and any necessary prerequisites are met).
There are many courses to choose from. New students would normally select a first-year course (1000 level, sometimes referred to as 100 level), as higher level courses often require prerequisites to be taken first.
Students are advised to register for their required Science courses first (they take priority) and then schedule the elective around the required courses.
The B.Sc. Academic Counselling Centre cannot help students register for an elective course that is full or restricted to students in certain programs or majors. Our office has no influence on non-science courses. If your preferred elective is full, please continue to monitor WebAdvsior regularly to see if a space becomes available. In the meantime, it would be wise to register for an alternate course.
PSYC 1000 - This very popular course is usually restricted to students in certain programs or majors that are required to take it in the Fall semester (at least initially). This restriction will often be removed at some point, so please continue to monitor WebAdvisor.
If you click on the course codes below, you will be to view the Course Description given in the Undergraduate Calendar (an important resource for all students).
Popular Choices for a First Semester Liberal Education Elective.
These are based on typical Fall course offerings. Some courses may also be offered again in the Winter semester, as well.
ACCT 1220 - Introductory Financial Accounting
ANTH 1120 - Biological Anthropology
ANTH 1150 - Introduction to Anthropology
ECON 1050 - Introductory Microeconomics
ENGL 1030 - Effective Writing
ENGL 1200 - Reading the Contemporary World
FREN 1xxx - French Studies (exact course depends on ability)
FRHD 1010 - Human Development
FRHD 1100 - Life: Health and Well-Being
GEOG 1220 - Human Impact on the Environment
HIST 1xxx - History (usually three or four to choose from)
IDEV 1000 - Understanding Development
PHIL 1xxx - Philosophy (usually two or three to choose from)
SOC 1100 - Sociology
SPAN 1100 - Introductory Spanish
Please note that the First Year Seminars (UNIV 1200) are no longer offered, effective the Fall 2023 semester.