Academic Calendar 2024/25

International and Development Studies

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Associate of Arts degree — International and Development Studies option

Employment opportunities

This program is designed to provide a sound background for students who intend to pursue careers in businesses with interests overseas, church work in the third world, teaching, journalism, community relations, translation, international development work, the travel industry, diplomacy, government, international trade and commerce, as well as for those wishing to prepare for advanced scholarly work and research. Currently, the International and Development Studies option focuses on Latin America.

International and Development Studies field school

Optional field schools and study tours of three to six weeks duration are organized on a regular basis. A typical field school in Latin America of a three-week duration would cost approximately $2,000 plus meals. A field school certificate will be awarded to those students successfully completing this aspect of the program.

Work experience

It is recommended that students undertake an average of three hours per week voluntary work during at least one semester of the second year in the program. This can be fulfilled in a number of ways and might include activities involving community education, non-governmental organizations, church groups involved in international issues, etc. Students will thus be introduced to the work world as it pertains to the international sphere, blending academic studies with the realities of employment.

It may be possible to arrange employment opportunities, probably on an exchange basis, in the regions of specialization. This can only be done for individuals who have taken the appropriate language courses.

Entrance requirements

See the Associate of Arts degree section for details on entrance requirements and application procedures.

General requirements

  1. 60 credits of 100- and 200-level courses. A minimum of 15 credits must be completed at UFV.
  2. Each course must be transferable to one of Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, University of Northern British Columbia, or University of Victoria. Transferability of courses can be found on the B.C. Transfer Guide at bctransferguide.ca. No course will be used to meet more than one of the following specific requirements.
  3. Graduation requires a minimum GPA of 2.00, calculated on all courses that could apply to the program.

Program outline

Course Title Credits
Six credits in English or Communications:
Two of: 6
ENGL 105–170 ENGL courses numbered 105–170  
CMNS 125 Communicating Professionally to Academic and Workplace Audiences  
CMNS 251 Professional Report Writing  
Nine credits in Science:
MATH, COMP, or STAT course 3–4
Lab science One 100-level course 3–4
Science elective One lower-level course 3–4
36 credits in Arts:
One of: 3
ANTH 102 Culture and Society  
ECON 203 Comparative Economic Systems (discontinued)
GEOG 140 Human Geography
POSC 260 International Relations and Global Politics
POSC 360 The United Nations and International Organizations
SOC 101 Introductory Sociology I
Plus:  
ANTH 220/GDS 220 Anthropology of Globalization and Development 3
LAS 100 Images of Latin America 3
or LAS 102 Latin American Study tour
One of: 3
LAS 110 Pre-Columbian, Hispanic, and African Heritage of Latin America  
HIST 261 Latin American History: The Colonial Experience (discontinued)
HIST 262 Latin American History: The National Experience (discontinued)
Plus:  
LAS 200/SOC 200 Introduction to Latin American Issues 3
LAS 206/ANTH 206/MACS 206/SOC 206 The Politics of Arts in Latin America 3
SOC 250/GDS 250 Sociology of Development — The Global South 3
Two of: 6
GEOG 233 Selected Regions
GEOG 241 Social Geography: The Urban Experience
GEOG 242/ ECON 242 Economic Geography
POSC 230 Democracies and Authoritarian Regimes
SOC 255/ MACS 255 Introduction to Social Research (formerly also offered as ANTH 255)
Plus:  
Humanities Two 100-level courses (other than ENGL) 6
Arts elective One 200-level course 3
Nine credits in Arts, Science, or other areas 9

Note 1: Recommended elective courses are ANTH 102, ECON 203 (discontinued), GEOG 140, GEOG 242/ECON 242, POSC 260, POSC 360, and SOC 101.

Note 2: Students are responsible for prerequisite courses and may wish to use them to meet the above requirements where applicable.

Subject areas

Please see this section for a list of the subject areas which apply to Associate of Arts program categories.

Undergraduate continuance

Students enrolled in undergraduate courses (courses numbered 100 or higher) must maintain an undergraduate Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of at least 2.00 to remain enrolled in Good Academic Standing at UFV. Students in Good Academic Standing will have no registration limits placed on them. Failure to meet the minimum CGPA requirement will result in restrictions on registration and may eventually lead to academic suspension from undergraduate studies at UFV. Students on Academic Warning or Academic Probation are limited to registering in 10 credits. For further details, see the Academic standing and undergraduate continuance section of the academic calendar. Academic standing is governed by UFV’s Undergraduate Continuance policy (92).

Residency

Students must complete at least 15 of the credits required at UFV.

Course listings

For complete details on courses see the course descriptions section.


Current Students