What sets us apart at the University of Ottawa are some of the same things that set you apart—diversity, thirst for knowledge and the many strengths that make us unique. At uOttawa, most of our programs offer you the flexibility to combine multiple disciplines you’re interested in or to explore completely new ones…all without adding to your time at university! Interested in a specific discipline? No worries! At uOttawa, you can do a degree in a single discipline as well.
An education that reflects who you are is awaiting you at the University of Ottawa!
An education that reflects who you are is awaiting you at the University of Ottawa!
The table below will help you better understand the 11 undergraduate academic paths at the University of Ottawa.
Undergraduate academic paths
Select more than one academic path to compare your options.
Honours bachelor's (minor or option cannot be added)HONOURS
+ ELECTIVES
Honours bachelor with possibility of adding a minor
HONOURS WITH MINOR
+ MINOR
+ ELECTIVES
Honours bachelor with the possibility of adding an option
HONOURS INCLUDING AN OPTION
+ ELECTIVES
Joint honours bachelor
JOINT HONOURS: TWO DISCIPLINES LEADING TO ONE DEGREE
+ ELECTIVES
Honours bachelor degree with double major or major and minor
MAJOR
+ MAJOR
+ ELECTIVES
MAJOR
+ MINOR
+ ELECTIVES
Concurrent honours bachelor program leading to two degrees
HONOURS
+ HONOURS
Bachelor's degree — 120 units
BACHELOR'S
+ ELECTIVES
Bachelor's degree – 90 units
BACHELOR'S
+ MINOR
+ ELECTIVES
Undergraduate programs requiring previous university studies
COMPULSORY, OPTIONAL, AND ELECTIVE COURSES
Certificate
COMPULSORY, OPTIONAL, AND ELECTIVE COURSES
Honours bachelor combined with college studies
COLLEGE STUDIES
+
UNIVERSITY STUDIES
Results
| Academic paths |
| Description |
| Number of disciplines in this path |
| Choice of discipline |
| Examples of degrees |
| Faculties offering this path |
| Admission |
| Length (full time) |
| Number of credits |
| Number of courses |
| Minimum cumulative grade point average to be considered in good academic standing and to graduate |
| Optional or mandatory changes during program |
| CO-OP |
| French immersion (Arts, Health Sciences, Social Sciences, Telfer School of Management) Extended French (Engineering,Science) |
| Enables studies at master's level |
| Academic paths | Honours bachelor's (minor or option cannot be added) | Honours bachelor with possibility of adding a minor | Honours bachelor degree with double major or major and minor | Honours bachelor with possibility of adding an option | Joint honours bachelor | Concurrent honours bachelor program leading to two degrees | Honours bachelor combined with college studies | Undergraduate programs requiring previous university studies | Bachelor's degree – 90 credits | Bachelor's degree – 120 credits | Certificate |
| Description | Fixed path providing highly specialized training | Path allowing student to add a minor in a second discipline of their choice offered by their home faculty or another faculty | Path comprising two majors, or a major and a minor, in different disciplines. The first major must be one offered by the student's home faculty. The second major or the minor can be one offered by another faculty. | Path allowing students to go into greater depth in one aspect of their main discipline by adding an option in a related field | Path involving two pre-established complementary specializations | Path allowing student to complete requirements of two degrees simultaneously. Usually combination of an honours bachelor and a professional or graduate-level program. | Path with two options: - After obtaining a diploma from La Cité or Algonquin College, the student transfers to the University of Ottawa and is awarded a university degree upon completion of program. - After completing 75 university credits (25 courses), the student transfers to La Cité or Algonquin College. The student is awarded a degree from the University of Ottawa after completing both programs. |
Undergraduate path requiring successful completion of two to four years of prior university studies | Path providing a basic university education without specialization | Program open only to students who will not meet the degree requirements for an honours program | Path providing additional training to those with previous studies or to meet workplace or professional development requirements (comprises 10 to 12 courses in chosen field) |
| Number of disciplines in this path | 12 | 35 | 45 | 21 | 16 | 14 | 2 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Choice of discipline | Discipline chosen at time of admission. No change required for duration of studies. | Main discipline is chosen at time of admission. Students can add a second discipline after completing a minimum of eight courses in their program (24 credits). | Main discipline is chosen at time of admission. Students add the second discipline after completing a minimum of eight courses in their program (24 credits). | Main discipline is chosen at time of admission. The point at which the option is chosen depends on the program. | Limited number of (pre-established) discipline combinations. Combination is chosen at time of admission. | Discipline combinations are pre-established | Discipline chosen at time of admission. No change required for duration of studies. | Discipline is chosen at time of admission. No change required for duration of studies. | Main discipline chosen at time of admission | Requires at least one discipline as a major or two disciplines as two minors | Discipline chosen at time of admission |
| Examples of degrees | BASc in Biomedical Mechanical Engineering Honours BSc in Physical Geography Honours BSocSc in International Studies and Modern Languages Bachelor of Science in Nursing Honours Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting |
Honours BA in Spanish Honours BSc in Human Kinetics Honours BSc in Statistics Honours BSocSc in Economics |
Honours BA with Major in Geography and Major in Mathematics Honours BA with Major in Theatre and Minor in Communication Honours BSocSc with Major in Sociology and Major in Statistics Honours BSc with Major in Biology and Major in Psychology |
Honours Bachelor of Commerce (Option in Accounting) Honours BSc in Biology (Cellular and Molecular option) BASc in Software Engineering, Engineering Management and Entrepreneurship Option |
BA spécialisé bidisciplinaire en communication et lettres françaises Joint Honours BSc in Computer Science and Mathematics Joint Honours BSocSc in Public Administration and Political Science |
Honours Bachelor of Commerce and Juris Doctor BASc in Chemical Engineering and BSc in Computing Technology Bachelor of Music/Honours Bachelor of Science with Major |
Honours Bachelor in Digital Journalism Honours Bachelor in Public Relations |
Bachelor of Science in Nursing – Second Entry Program Formation à l'enseignement Juris Doctor (JD) Licentiate in Law (LLL) Teacher Education Undergraduate Medical Education (MD Program) |
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Social Sciences with Minor in Sociology |
Bachelor of Arts with Major in Communication Bachelor of Social Sciences with Major in Criminology Bachelor of Science with Minor in Biology and Minor in Chemistry |
Certificate in Human Resource Management Certificate in Francophone Studies Certificat en rédaction professionnelle et édition Certificate in Piano Pedagogy |
| Faculties offering this path | Engineering Health Sciences Science Social Sciences Telfer School of Management |
Arts Health Sciences Science Social Sciences |
Arts Engineering Science Social Sciences |
Engineering Science Telfer School of Management |
Arts Science Social Sciences |
Arts Engineering Law Science Social Sciences Telfer School of Management |
Arts | Education Health Sciences Law Medicine |
Arts Science Social Sciences |
Arts Science Social Sciences |
Arts Civil Law Education Telfer School of Management |
| Admission | Directly from high school or after one year of CEGEP | Directly from high school or after one year of CEGEP | Directly from high school or after one year of CEGEP | Directly from high school or after one year of CEGEP | Directly from high school or after one year of CEGEP | Only one application for admission is required to apply to both programs. Admission directly from high school or after one year of CEGEP possible in some programs. | Directly from high school or after one year of CEGEP | Requires several years of prior university studies except for the civil law program (LLL), which accepts students directly from CEGEP | Directly from high school or after one year of CEGEP. Minor can be chosen at time of admission or later in the program. | Students cannot apply directly to this program. Automatic registration by faculties. | Some certificates require prior work experience |
| Length (full time) | 4 or more years | 4 years | 4 years | 4 years | 4 years | 4 or 5 years, or more | 4 years (2 at each institution) | 3 or more years | 3 years | 4 years | 1 year (often part time) 2 years for the Certificat en éducation technologique program |
| Number of credits | 120 credits | 120 credits | 120 credits | 120 credits | 120 credits | 129 to 189 credits | 120 credits | Varies | 90 credits | 120 credits | Between 30 and 36 credits 60 credits for the Certificat en éducation technologique program |
| Number of courses | 40 courses | 40 courses | 40 courses | 40 courses | 40 courses | 43 to 63 courses | 40 courses | Varies | 30 courses | 40 courses | Approximately 10 courses 20 courses for the Certificat en éducation technologique program |
| Minimum cumulative grade point average to be considered in good academic standing and to graduate | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | Varies | 4.0 | 4.0 | Varies |
| Optional or mandatory changes during program | Fixed path. No changes required for duration of studies. | Minor is optional | Second major or second minor is mandatory | Adding an option is not mandatory in most cases. See specific program requirements. | Fixed path. No changes required for duration of studies. | Fixed path. No changes required for duration of studies. | Fixed path. No changes required for duration of studies. | Fixed path. No changes required for duration of studies. | Minor offered by home faculty can be added but is not mandatory | Not applicable | Fixed path. No changes required for duration of studies. |
| CO-OP | In some disciplines | In some discipline (main discipline only) | In some disciplines (main discipline only) | In some disciplines | In some disciplines | In some disciplines | No | No (available in the civil law program only) | No | No | No |
| French immersion (Arts, Health Sciences, Social Sciences, Telfer School of Management) Extended French (Engineering, Science) |
In some disciplines of the English program | In some disciplines of the English program (main discipline only) | In some disciplines of the English program (main discipline only) | In some disciplines of the English program | In some disciplines of the English program | In some disciplines of the English program | No | No | No | No | No |
| Enables studies at master's level | Yes | Yes | If the major is main discipline of an honours bachelor program | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Important information about the table
Estimated length of studies: Based on an academic year from September to April. Programs with CO-OP usually take an additional term to complete. Learn about how CO-OP works in different programs.
Changes during your program: In some paths, such as the honours bachelor with major, you must add a second discipline once your studies are under way. In others, adding a second discipline is optional.
French immersion and enriched French: Some programs offered in English allow you to take a number of your courses every year in French through French Immersion Studies (in the faculties of Arts, Health Sciences and Social Sciences, and the Telfer School of Management) or the Extended French Stream (in the faculties of Engineering and Science). Learn more about French immersion.
Cumulative grade point average (CGPA): The University of Ottawa uses a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) to measure academic performance. Your CGPA is a number out of 10 based on the grades you’ve received in every course you’ve taken at the University and the number of units (credits) each course is worth.
Wondering if a particular path offers the discipline you’re interested in?
Visit the undergraduate programs site to find out about the programs offered in each discipline, the course options in each program and the degree requirements. As you can see in the above table, each path offers different types of programs and a variety of disciplines. If you were recently admitted to the University of Ottawa and haven’t had a chance to visit this page, please take a moment to do so.
Still have questions?
If you didn’t find all the answers and would like to talk to someone about your program to better understand the different requirements and options, get in touch with your faculty to make an appointment with an academic advisor or academic assistant. They’d be happy to help you decide on the best option for you.
Did you know...
- Getting a passing grade in your courses isn’t enough to get your degree. You must also maintain a specific grade average. See Academic Regulation I-11.
- Completing the courses you need to graduate means being sure you don’t take too many courses at the 1000 level and not enough at other levels. See Academic Regulation I-12.
- If you redo a course, only the grade you get the second time is counted, regardless of whether it’s higher or lower than your grade the first time around. See Academic Regulation I-5.
Understanding your program also means understanding the academic regulations you must comply with in order to graduate. Knowing what they are is just as important as knowing about the courses required to graduate, so be sure to become familiar with the regulations early on. There are only 15 academic regulations applicable to undergraduate students, so why not go have a look right now?