General Studies

Bachelor of Science, General Studies

The Bachelor of Science, General Studies is appropriate for students planning to continue their studies in professional areas such as post-secondary education, business administration, dentistry, law, medicine, or veterinary medicine. In particular, this program provides excellent preparation for prospective secondary school teachers. It is not generally intended for students planning to continue to graduate studies in science; however, with careful planning and high academic achievement, it is possible to enter a science graduate program, although additional qualifying studies may be required at some universities.

This program provides a comprehensive undergraduate science education with the opportunity for specialization in two or three of the following concentrations: 

• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Computer Science
• Data Science
• Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Economics²
• Geospatial Information Science
• Mathematics
• Physics
• Psychology³
• Statistics

Students in all B.Sc. programs must complete at least 42 credits at the 300/400 level in any discipline, of which at least 30 credits must be completed at UBC.

Students must see an undergraduate advisor before entering third-year.

In addition to fulfilling the B.Sc. requirements, students completing a B.Sc. General Studies must successfully complete 36 credits of courses numbered 300 or higher by selecting one of the following two options⁴:

Option A

At least 18 credits in each of any two of the above listed disciplines^5,6.

Option B

At least 18 credits in one of the above listed disciplines, at least 9 credits in a second discipline, and at least 9 credits in a third discipline.

Courses selected for either option must be acceptable for a B.Sc. major program in the specific disciplines^5,6. Students who successfully complete the B.Sc. General Studies program will have the disciplines recorded on their transcript.

¹For a list of Geography courses designated as Science courses, see B.Sc. requirements.

²For students completing the B.Sc. Major in Economics program or the B.Sc. General Studies program with one of their concentrations in Economics, courses in Economics (ECON_O) are considered Science courses for Science credit. For all other B.Sc. students, Economics courses count as non-science credit.

³For students completing the B.Sc. Major in Psychology program or the B.Sc. General Studies program with one of their concentrations in Psychology, courses in Psychology (PSYO_O) are considered Science courses for Science credit. For all other B.Sc. students, Psychology courses count as non-science credit.

⁴Students may not complete a major or minor within the General program.

⁵Students may not complete more than one concentration area of similar nature within the same Science GENP (e.g. CHEM and BIOC, BIOL and BIOC, or STAT and DATA).

⁶Cross-listed courses can only be used to satisfy the requirements of one concentration (e.g. GEOG_O 304 and EESC_O 304).