Undergraduate Programs

Program Overview

Explore diverse programs that foster critical thinking, creativity, and global awareness. Choose from majors, minors, and interdisciplinary degrees tailored to your interests and career goals.

Bachelor of Arts Program Options

For degree and individual program requirements, visit the UBC Okanagan Academic Calendar.

B.A. Requirements

Updates to the Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements

To better support student success and academic flexibility, we are updating the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. These revisions will create more opportunities for students to explore electives, pursue a minor, and engage in co‑curricular and experiential learning.

Changes to the BA program will take effect in September 2026. The BA degree requires a minimum of 120 credits, including 21 credits across five foundational focus areas: communication, critical thinking, creativity, scientific literacy or numeracy, and Indigenous content. These areas build essential skills in clear expression, rigorous analysis, imaginative thinking, informed decision-making, and reflective engagement with diverse ways of knowing. Alongside these foundational requirements, students complete the courses for their chosen majors, minors and have the flexibility to explore a wide range of electives, allowing them to shape a degree that reflects their interests, strengths, and goals. 

All current B.A. students who are not planning to graduate this academic year are eligible to move into the new degree requirements.  

Students interested in transitioning to the updated Bachelor of Arts degree requirements are asked to complete the short survey below. The survey helps us to understand which students would like to move into the revised structure and allows our advising team to provide appropriate guidance.

Complete the survey

Students are also encouraged to attend an upcoming information session to learn more about the changes and ask questions about their academic planning. 

• Monday, March 30 | 8:30–9:30 AM, via Zoom 

• Monday April 27 l 2-3 PM, via Zoom 

Information Session Registration

Students unable to attend an information session can access this previously recorded session held on March 12, 2026 to learn more about the changes to the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree at UBC Okanagan.

Declaring a Major in the B.A.

BA students must declare their major at the end of their first year (after completing a minimum of 24 credits) for most programs. However, a select number of majors require 48 completed credits. Students should ensure they are taking courses starting in first year that are needed for their major of choice.

Students can declare their major through Workday, for some programs students must contact Academic & Career Advising. See the table below with the program areas, requirements, and when to declare.

BA students may also declare a minor once they are promoted to second year, a minor is not a requirement for degree completion.

Transfer Credits

Transfer credit is granted for courses completed at an institution outside of UBC. A student is able to transfer up to a maximum of 60 credits towards their degree.

Some of these credits may be eligible for use towards the B.A. category requirements. For credits that transfer as specific credit to existing UBCO courses (ex. ANTH_O 170), credit will automatically be applied to the category in which it fulfills.

For courses that transfer as general credit (ex. PSYO_O 1^st), students will need to speak to an Academic Advisor to request this transfer credit be considered for a specific category. An official syllabus will need to be submitted to the Dean’s Office. The BA Standing Committee will review these requests to determine if the course learning outcomes sufficiently meet the category requirements.

To discuss and request the use of specific transfer credit courses towards the B.A., please see an Academic Advisor.

MORE INFO ON TRANSFER CREDITS

Language Fluency Degrees

Students achieve advanced proficiency levels in Interior Salish languages while learning about multiple ways to contribute to language recovery and revitalization efforts.

Bachelor of Nsyilxcn Language Fluency (major)

ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS

The Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is organized into four departments that are responsible for the programs offered by our faculty.

Undergraduate Student Resources

Access the services you need to help you achieve your personal, academic, and career goals.

Learn more about planning your academic journey by visiting our Undergraduate Academic Planning resource page.

Arts students [or students registered in a B.A. program] may earn a double major or declare a minor in a discipline offered by the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science. Please see the Academic Calendar for more information.

For full details on our programs, see the Academic Calendar.