Undergraduate Program

The department offers the following academic programs leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree,
or to be combined with other programs in a Bachelor of General Studies or other degrees at SFU.

To download a checklist for any of the programs, please see the Major/Minor/Certs CHECKLISTS page, by clicking here.

Major

Joint Majors

     Humanities and English
     Humanities and French
     Humanities and History
     Humanities and Philosophy
     Humanities and Women's Studies
 

Minor

Extended Minor

Certificate in Religious Studies

Certificate in Medieval and Renaissance Studies

Post Baccalaureate Diploma

 

Admission to a Humanities Program

Please see the advisor:
Alice Muir-Hartley, AQ 5115, 778-782-4094
ahartley@sfu.ca

Student Responsibility:

It is the responsibility of each student to be aware of degree and academic program regulations as stated in the Calendar. Academic advisors are available to give advice and guidance. However, the ultimate responsibility for completeness and correctness of course selection, for compliance with and completion of program and degree requirements and for observance of regulations and deadlines rests with the student. If there are any discrepancies between the calendar and the requirements listed on this website, the calendar will be deemed to be correct.


Major Program

Lower Division: 18 units including:

HUM 101W-3 Introduction to the Humanities

plus two of

HUM 102W-3 Classical Mythology

HUM 105-3 Western Civilization from the Ancient World to the Reformation Era

HUM 130-3 Introduction to Religious Studies

plus one of

HUM 201-3 Great Texts in the Humanities I

HUM 202-3 Great Texts in the Humanities II

HUM 203-3 Great Texts in the Humanities III

plus two further lower division HUM courses.

Upper Division: 32 units in upper division Humanities* courses which must include HUM 490-4 Humanities Seminar plus 28 units in upper division Humanities. Students must therefore consult the advisor to plan their upper division course selection.

*with humanities advisor prior approval, students may substitute one humanities-related upper division course from another academic unit towards the upper division humanities requirement. The same course may not be used toward more than one program (honours, joint honours, major, joint major, minor or extended minor). See http://www.sfu.ca/humanities/about/ for a definition of humanities related subjects.



Joint Major Programs

Humanities offers joint major programs with English, French, History, Philosophy or Women’s Studies. Students must plan their programs in consultation with advisors in each department.

Humanities Joint Major Requirements (required for all HUM joint major programs)

Lower Division: 15 units including:

HUM 101W-3 Introduction to the Humanities

One of:

HUM 102W-3 Classical Mythology

HUM 105-3 Western Civilization from the Ancient World to the Reformation Era

HUM 130-3 Introduction to Religious Studies

plus one of

HUM 201-3 Great Texts in the Humanities I

HUM 202-3 Great Texts in the Humanities II

HUM 203-3 Great Texts in the Humanities III

plus two further lower division humanities courses.

Upper Division: 20 units in upper division humanities courses.

 

English Joint Major requirements:

Students complete the lower division requirements of the English Major program.
(Please refer to the SFU calendar or the English Department website.)

Upper Division:
20 upper division English units. One course must come from within the grouping of ENLG 300, 304, 306, 310, 311, 313, 320 and 322; and one from within the grouping of ENGL 354, 357 and 359. Four units must be at the 400 level (excluding Directed Studies courses).

 

French Joint Major requirements:

Students complete the lower division requirements of the French Major program.
(Please refer to the SFU calendar or the French Department website.)

Upper Division

FREN 301-3 Advanced French Composition

One of:

FREN 360-3 Intermediate French Literature

FREN 370-3 Introduction to French Linguistics II

And 15 units from the 400 level French linguistics or literature offerings. FREN 461 and 462 are recommended.

History Joint Major requirements:

Students complete the lower division requirement of the History Major program. (Please refer to the SFU calendar or the History Department website.)

Upper Division:

24 units of 300 and 400 level history courses of which 12 units must be in 400 level courses. Courses must be distributed within all four groups. Students complete at least one course from each group. Global/comparative courses that are also included in another group may only be counted towards fulfilling the upper division course requirement for one group. For a description of the three groups, see the SFU calendar or the History Department website.

Philosophy Joint Major requirements:

Lower division:

15 units, including all of:

PHIL 100-3 Knowledge and Reality

PHIL 120-3 Introduction to Moral Philosophy

PHIL 203-3 Metaphysics

and one of

PHIL 150-3 History of Philosophy I, or

PHIL 151-3 History of Philosophy II

Upper division:

21 units of upper level Philosophy courses.

Women’s Studies Joint Major requirements:

Lower Division: 15 units, including both of

WS 101-3 Introduction to Women’s Issues in Canada

WS 102-3 Introduction to Western Feminisms

and one of

WS 207-3 Introduction to Feminist Theory

WS 208-3 Feminist Research Methods

Upper Division:

20 units of 300 and 400 level Women’s Studies courses



Minor Program

9 units to include HUM 101W, one of HUM 201, 202, or 203 and one further lower division humanities course;

Upper division requirements: 16 units in upper division humanities courses.



Extended Minor Program

Students complete the lower division requirements for the Humanities Major and the upper division requirements for the Humanities Minor programs.



Certificate in Religious Studies

This program encourages and facilitates the study of religious thought and its effects on civilization from an interdisciplinary perspective. Students may select courses that will provide either a focus on one tradition or a broader thematic study across a range of traditions and cultures. Courses are mainly drawn from Humanities, History, Asia-Canada and other departments in the university.

This certificate program is available to those without a bachelor's degree. Credits earned in the program may be applied to a major or minor program and to a bachelor's degree. However, credits applied to one certificate may not be applied to another SFU certificate or diploma. Students may apply a maximum of 15 transfer units of relevant coursework to the Certificate.

Admission Requirements:

Prospective students must apply to Simon Fraser University for admission and meet the normal SFU admission requirements. Approval into the Certificate program must be obtained from the Humanities Department advisor.

Certificate Requirements:

Students are required to complete at least 30 units, of which 13-14 are earned by completing the four required courses. The remaining units are selected from the electives list.

Note that students are responsible for meeting the prerequisite requirements for courses taken towards the Certificate.

Required Courses (a minimum of 13 units)

Both of:

HUM 130-3 Introduction to Religious Studies (HUM 230 prior to Fall 07)

HUM 330-4 Religion in Context

Two of:

ARCH 226-3 The Prehistory of Religion: Shamans, Sorcerers and Saints

HUM 204-3 Great Religious Texts

HUM 331-4 Studies in Asian Religions

PHIL 240-3 Philosophy of Religion

Elective Courses (17 units)

ASC 202-3 Studies in Asian Cultures*

ASC 302-3 Selected Topics in Chinese Studies*

ASC 303-3 Selected Topics in Japanese Studies*

ASC 400-3 Selected Topics in Asia-Canada Studies*

HIST 220-3 Late Medieval and Renaissance Europe

HIST 249-3 Classical Islamic Civilization

HIST 288-3 History of Christianity to 1500

HIST 320-4 European Reformation

HIST 352-4 Religion and Politics in Modern Iran

HIST 388-4 Christianity and Globalization

HIST 404-4 Protestants, Papists and Puritans: Culture and Belief in Early Modern England 1500-1640

HIST 439-4 Catholicism in Early Modern Europe

HIST 466-4 Religion and Society in Africa, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

HIST 468-4 Problems in the History of Religion

HIST 469-4 Islamic Social and Intellectual History

HUM 102W-3 Classical Mythology

HUM 203-3 Great Texts in the Humanities III*

HUM 219-3 The Early Middle Ages

HUM 305-4 Medieval Studies*

HUM 307-4 Carolingian Civilization

HUM 332-4 Mythology in Context

HUM 350-4 Great Figures in Humanistic Tradition*

HUM 375-4 The Woodsworth Seminar*

SA 322-4 Sociology of Religion (S)

SA 323-4 Symbol, Myth and Meaning (A)

WS 304-4 Women and Religion

WS 305-4 Conceiving Creativity

*When topics are appropriate. Consult with the Certificate advisor.

Other courses with appropriate content may be counted with prior approval of the Advisor.



Certificate in Medieval and Renaissance Studies

This interdisciplinary program is devoted to the study of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, its history, culture, and thought. Students may concentrate upon a specific period, topic, or figure, or upon the broader pre-modern period.

Units earned in a certificate may be applied to a bachelor's degree, and a major or minor
program, or the certificate may be completed as a stand-alone program. However, units applied to one certificate may not be applied to another Simon Fraser University certificate or diploma.

Students may apply transfer credit of relevant course work to a maximum of 15 transfer units.

 

Admission Requirements:

Students who apply to Simon Fraser University for admission are required to meet the normal admission requirements. Approval from the Department of Humanities advisor is required for entry to this program.

Minimum Grades

The program requires a minimum 2.0 grade point average, calculated on all courses that are applied toward the certificate, and that have been completed at Simon Fraser University. Duplicate courses are counted only once.

Certificate Requirements:

With prior approval from the advisor, students may complete other relevant courses that do not appear in the following list.

Note that students are responsible for meeting the prerequisite requirements for courses taken towards the Certificate.

Students must complete a minimum of 30 units.

 

Required Courses (minimum of 17 units)

Three of:
HUM 103-3 The Invention of the Book: Alphabets, Papyrus, Parchment, and Print
HUM 105-3 Western Civilization from the Ancient World to the Reformation Era
HUM 201-3
Great Texts: Ancient World to Renaissance
HUM 211-3 Art and Literature of the Italian Renaissance
HUM 219-3 The Early Middle Ages
HIST 220-3 Late Medieval and Renaissance Europe
   
Two of:
HUM 305-4
Medieval Studies
HUM 307-4 Carolingian Civilization
HUM 311-4
Italian Renaissance Humanism
HUM 312-4W Renaissance Studies
HUM 402-4
Renaissance Studies
   
Elective Courses (13 units)
HUM 101-3W Introduction to Humanities
HUM 161-3 Latin I
HUM 162-3 Latin II
ENGL 201-3 Medieval Literature
ENGL 300-4 Old English
ENGL 304-4 Studies in Medieval Literature
ENGL 306-4 Chaucer
ENGL 310-4 Studies in Early Modern Literature Excluding Shakespeare
ENGL 311-4 Early Shakespeare
ENGL 313-4 Late Shakespeare
FREN 341-3* Readings in French Literature from the Middle Ages to the Eighteenth Century (pre-1789)
HIST 249-3 Classical Islamic Civilization
HIST 288-3 History of Christianity to 1500
HIST 308-4 The Byzantium from Constantine to the End of the Dark Ages: 4th to the 9th Centuries
HIST 317-4 From Reconstruction to Destruction: The Byzantine Empire from the 9th to 15th Centuries


*When topics are appropriate; consult with the advisor.



Post Baccalaureate Diploma

This program is available for students who have already completed a Bachelor’s degree.

Requirements: Students must successfully complete 30 upper division or graduate credit hours including at least 16 HUM units.