3.2 Faculty of Science - Admission
All programs offered by the Faculty of Science have a fixed number of places for students. For any given program, whenever demand exceeds capacity enrolment will be limited and students will be admitted on the basis of descending ranked academic performance until that capacity is met. Specified selection criteria are described in A.5 Undergraduate Degree Admission Requirements.
Direct entry is possible to most Science Major programs. Entry to most Science Honours programs is possible only after successful completion of at least 30 units. A limited number of programs offer direct entry into a Science Honours program for highly qualified high school students. These programs are Biochemistry; Cellular, Molecular and Microbial Biology; Ecology; Neuroscience; Plant Biology; and Zoology. Students who do not enter an Honours program at the time of admission, can be considered following the completion of at least 30 units.
Change of Program
Students may transfer from one program to any other for which they are eligible.
Note that Indigenous students applying for a change of program can be considered under A.5.6 Indigenous Admissions.
Continuing University of Calgary students may request a change of program online using the Student Centre. Changes in program include transfer to a program in the Faculty of Science, either from another faculty or from within the Faculty of Science, including transfer from a Major to an Honours program, and designation of a Minor, Concentration or Embedded Certificate. If an application is unsuccessful, a new application must be submitted in the following year.
Change of programs are processed effective for the Fall Term only. The deadline to apply is February 1 of the application year.
Students changing programs from a Faculty outside of Science will be required to present the high school courses required for admission by the February 1 deadline. Required Courses for Admission are listed in A.5.3.1.
Students who have not completed 12 units of university course work by the end of the Fall Term in their application year, will be evaluated based on high school admission requirements, as listed in A.5 in the Admissions section of this Calendar.
Students who have completed 12 or more units of university course work by the end of the Fall Term in their application year will be evaluated based on transfer student admission requirements, as listed in A.5 in the Admissions section of this Calendar. Change of program admission GPA will be calculated using the most recent course work to a maximum of 30 units of graded courses. Courses taken and awarded credit on an alternative grading system (e.g. Completed Requirements (CR), Credit Granted (CG), pass, complete) will not be used as part of the 30 units to calculate the admission average.
Honours Programs
Admission to an Honours Program requires successful completion of at least 30 units (with the exception of programs which offer direct admission from high school. These programs are described above under 3.2 Admission). At the time of admission, students must present (i) a GPA of at least 3.30 calculated over the most recent course work to a maximum of 60 units, and (ii) a GPA of at least 3.30 calculated for all science courses included in (i) above (University of Calgary courses and/or transferable courses taken at other institutions).
Courses taken and awarded credit on an alternative grading system (e.g. Completed Requirements (CR), Credit Granted (CG), pass, complete) will not be used as part of the 60 units to calculate the Honours admission average.
For continuation in an Honours program, students are subject to an annual review at the end of the winter semester. Students must maintain a GPA of 3.30 over the courses subject to assessment and on all science courses within those subject to assessment. If fewer than 60 units have been completed then all courses will be subject to assessment; if more than 60 units have been completed, then only the most recent 60 units are subject to assessment. Students whose review GPA is between 3.20 and 3.30 will be placed on notice that they may not be able to complete their Honours degree if their academic achievement does not improve to the level required by graduation requirements. Students who wish to reapply to an Honours Program must meet the admission requirements stated above. Students may apply for Honours after the first, second or third year of their program, but need to plan their program at an early stage in order to be able to meet all Honours Program Requirements. See 3.4 Program Requirements.
Students who wish to change from a Major to an Honours program, must meet the deadline for submission of their application.
Note: The BSc (Honours) in the following programs permits direct entry into first year: Biochemistry; Cellular, Molecular and Microbial Biology; Ecology (suspended); Neuroscience; Plant Biology; and Zoology.
Second Baccalaureate Degrees
Students who have received one or more approved undergraduate degrees (BA, BSc, BEd, etc.) may apply for admission to programs leading to a Second Baccalaureate Degree with a Major Field or a Second Baccalaureate Degree program with Honours in a Major Field.
Students must apply to the Admissions Office and meet all deadlines and requirements. For more information on admission to a second undergraduate degree, refer to A.5.5 in Admissions. For more information regarding requirements for a second degree, refer to 3.4 Program Requirements.