Foundation Program - General (B.A.) (30 credits)

Offered by: Arts - Dean's Office
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Program credit weight: 30

Program Requirements

The Bachelor of Arts Foundation Year is designed to ensure that students gain a broad foundation for the three-year degree program. It is comprised of 24-30 credits. In the General option, students develop their own program of study using courses from the social sciences, humanities, languages, and/or math and sciences.

This 30-credit option has a core requirement of 18 credits completed by selecting 6 credits in each of three of the four Arts subject categories: social sciences, humanities, languages, and/or mathematics and science. Students select 12 additional credits from approved courses for Foundation Year students based on their interests. A maximum of 18 credits may be taken in any one area and a maximum of 12 credits may be taken in the courses offered by any one department. For more information, see the Arts OASIS website for newly admitted Freshman/Foundation Year students at: http://www.mcgill.ca/oasis.

Degree Requirements — B.A. students

To be eligible for a B.A. degree, a student must fulfil all Faculty and program requirements as indicated in Degree Requirements for the Faculty of Arts.

We recommend that students consult an Arts OASIS advisor for degree planning.

Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.

Core Requirement (18 credits)

18 credits with 6 credits in each of three of the four Arts categories: social sciences, humanities, languages, and mathematics and science.

The course lists below are organized by Arts category and include only courses approved by the offering department for Freshman/Foundation Year (U0) students. Students may use these lists to plan their course selection.

Approved Courses - Social Sciences

For a list of the approved Arts Freshman/Foundation Year (U0) courses, see the Arts OASIS website at: http://www.mcgill.ca/oasis.

Note: If you intend to follow a psychology program, you should not register in SOCI 216 . PSYC 215 Social Psychology. is more appropriate. Credit will not be given for both courses.

Note: A few courses may be listed in both Social Sciences and in another category. For example, CANS 200 Understanding Canada. and ISLA 210 Muslim Societies. are considered to be both Social Sciences and Humanities courses.

Approved Courses - Humanities

For a list of the approved Arts Freshman/Foundation Year (U0) courses, see the Arts OASIS website at: http://www.mcgill.ca/oasis.

Note: Some of the courses are not suitable for first term as they require university-level prerequisites. Please check the course entries for further information about appropriate background before registering.

Note: A few courses may be listed in both Humanities and in another category. For example, CANS 200 Understanding Canada. is considered to be both Humanities and Social Science courses; FREN 198 FYS: Introduction to French and Québec Literature. is considered to be both Humanities and Languages courses.

Approved Courses - Languages

For a list of the approved Arts Freshman/Foundation Year (U0) courses, see the Arts OASIS website at: http://www.mcgill.ca/oasis.

Note: When registering for 'D1' courses, you MUST also register for the second part 'D2' of this full-year course.

Note: No more than one language should be taken at the introductory level during the Freshman/Foundation year. Students with prior knowledge of the language may take higher-level courses with permission from the department.

Note: A few courses may be listed in both Languages and in another category. For example, FREN 198 FYS: Introduction to French and Québec Literature. is considered to be both Languages and Humanities courses.

Approved Courses - Mathematics and Sciences

For a list of the approved Arts Freshman/Foundation Year (U0) courses, see the Arts OASIS website at: http://www.mcgill.ca/oasis.

Note: Some of the courses are not suitable for first term as they require university-level prerequisites. Please check the course entries for further information about appropriate background before registering.

Note: GEOG 205 Global Change: Past, Present and Future. is listed as a Mathematics and Sciences course as well as a Social Sciences course.