Plan Your Program

There are many ways to earn an undergraduate degree in FASS. You may choose to complete a degree with a major, two minors (at least one in FASS), an honours program, a joint major program, or a joint honours program. You can also create your own unique program combination, such as a major in one subject and a minor in another. The options are endless.

Ready to declare your major/minor?

Overview

With the exception of a few specialized programs (French Cohort Program, Accelerated Law Program, etc.) students in FASS are admitted to a Bachelor's degree and are undeclared until they contact a department to formally declare a program (major, minor), usually by the time they have completed 60 units.

FASS offers both Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Science (BSc) degrees. However, the BSc is only available to students completing a major or honours in Economics, which also offers a BA.

Major

You can choose one subject area of concentration within your degree – most students do. All programs have specific requirements for lower and upper division courses.

Minor

A minor requires about half the number of courses needed for a major. You can add an optional minor to your degree with any major. You can also complete two minors to earn your BA degree.

Honours

An honours program includes the requirements of a major plus other advanced courses that prepare students for the pursuit of a graduate program.

Joint Major

A joint major includes two subjects that are complimentary to one another and have similar unit value (as opposed to a major in one subject and a minor in another, where the major would be considerably larger than the minor).

What are the differences?

The difference between majors, joint majors, extended minors and minors is essentially the number of units you would complete in a particular subject at the lower and upper division levels:

	Major	Joint Major	Extended Minor	Minor
Lower Division	~18 to 24 units	~18 to 24 units in each subject	~18 to 24 units	~9 to 15 units
Upper Division	~30 to 36 units	~20 to 24 units in each subject	~15 to 18 units	~15 to 18 units

Honours degrees require the completion of at least 120 units, including at least 60 upper division units. Of these, at least 48 upper division units must be taken in a subject in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

Find out whether your choice of major or minor will affect your Career Planning.

Programs Available

	Major	Honours	Joint Major	Joint Honours	Minor	Extended Minor
Accelerated Law (SFU-Exeter)	X
Anthropology	X	X	X	X	X	X
Behavioural Neuroscience	X	X
Cognitive Science	X	X			X
Creative Writing					X
Criminology	X	X	X		X	X
Economics (BA)	X	X	X	X	X	X
Economics (BSc)	X	X
English	X	X	X		X	X
French	X	X	X		X
French Cohort Program	X				X	X
Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies	X		X		X	X
Gerontology					X
Global Asia					X
Global Humanities	X		X		X	X
History	X	X	X		X	X
Indigenous Languages					X
Indigenous Studies	X		X		X
International Studies	X	X	X		X
Italian Studies					X
Labour Studies	X				X
Legal Studies					X
Linguistics	X	X	X			X
Medical Humanities and Social Sciences					X
Philosophy	X	X	X		X	X
Police Studies					X
Political Science	X	X	X		X	X
Psychology	X	X	X		X	X
Public Policy					X
Social Data Analytics					X
Sociology	X	X	X	X	X	X
Urban Studies	X
World Literature	X	X	X		X	X

Last updated July 15, 2026 . Always connect with an advisor for the most up-to-date information.

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences