First Year Required Courses & Specialization Admission Pre-requisites
May 26, 2016
May 26, 2016
There is a difference between specialization admission pre-requisites and required first-year courses for a specialization.
As a Science first year student, you'll be told to check out the UBC Calendar to see which courses you’ll be required to take to meet a specialization’s requirements, and students are often shocked at the number of courses listed under a specialization’s “First Year” column, for example, see the sample year-by-year timetables for Biology, Major (3095) (scroll down).
For instance, PHYS 131 may be on the Calendar for specializations such as Biology, Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Behavioural Neuroscience, but it’s not a pre-requisite for entry into those specializations. The pre-requisites are the courses that you need to take in first year in order to gain entry into a specialization, and most first-year students in Science will meet those requirements easily through the common Chemistry, Biology and Math courses.
Basically, there is a difference between pre-reqs for entry into a specialization and the “First Year” requirements on a specialization’s Calendar. Speak to an advisor if you’re unsure about your course selections. Rest assure that many of the specializations have common pre-reqs, so it wouldn't be necessary taking over 5 courses per term. There are some specializations that require different courses than the others, so if you’re truly interested in those, make sure you’re registering for those courses in your first year!
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