Policy Studies, BA (Honours)

Acceptance Criteria

Students may apply to the appropriate department for acceptance into the Honours stream upon successful completion of twenty courses in the Bachelor of Arts program. Acceptance into the Honours stream is competitive meaning students with higher GPA’s will be considered first. Students must present a minimum Grade Point Average of 3.00 in the last 10 courses completed and identify a research focus that is compatible with the available faculty for mentorship within the department.

Before applying for Honours, students must also have declared a major in the Honours discipline. Students may apply for entrance into Honours between March 1 and May 1 of the academic year in which they have successfully completed twenty courses. Departments/disciplines in which Honours streams are housed will meet to decide on who will be accepted into the Honours stream, based on the number of applications received and the qualifications of the students who have applied. A student who has graduated with a Bachelor of Arts may not apply to enter Honours in the same discipline in which they received the Bachelor of Arts degree.

Continuance Requirements

Students accepted into the Honours BA must maintain a term GPA of 3.00 in each semester. Subject to review by the Chair, students who fail to maintain a term GPA of 3.00, will lose their place in the Honours stream. Students will normally not be permitted to reapply for Honours, and may do so only with the permission of the Chair of their Honours discipline. Students permitted to reapply must follow the procedures for acceptance into the Honours stream, as mentioned above.

There is no guarantee that a student will be re-admitted into the Honours stream. Students completing the Honours steam who have failed to satisfy all the requirements for an Honours degree but who have satisfied all requirements for a BA major degree shall receive a BA major degree upon graduation.

Graduation Requirements - Major in Policy Studies (Honours)

All students must meet the general graduation requirements for the Bachelor of Arts (honours), in addition to the graduation requirements for the Policy Studies (honours) major.

A minimum grade of 3.00 (B) is required for all courses in the major with the subject code POST. Students who fail to maintain this minimum will lose their place in the Policy Studies Honours program.
Policy Studies Honours students must fulfill all General Education requirements as specified for the Bachelor of Arts - Policy Studies degree.
Policy Studies Honours students will complete five electives for graduation, instead of the six required for the Policy Studies Major.
Students must produce an Honours thesis, the content of which must be approved by the Policy Studies Honours Advisor and the Chair of the Department of Economics, Justice and Policy Studies.
The POST 5120 POST 5120 - Honours Thesis will be completed during the student’s last semester in the program. Complete information for the Honours Thesis program is provided by the department in the Policy Studies Honours Information Handbook, available at the General Office of the Department of Economics, Justice and Policy Studies (EA 3039).

General Education Requirements

Ten courses must be completed to meet the General Education requirements to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts - Policy Studies (Honours).

Four courses will be taken at the foundational level: one from each of the thematic clusters.
Three courses will be taken at the second tier: no more than one from each of the thematic clusters. One of these courses must be from the Numeracy and Scientific Literacy cluster.
Three courses must be taken at the third tier, selected from at least two of the thematic clusters.

Interested students should consult the Policy Studies Department’s website for more detailed information about the Policy Studies Honours stream.