Associate of Science

at University of the Fraser Valley - Abbotsford Campus Canada

Develop your thinking, reading, and writing skills — skills that are highly sought after by employers and applicable in a wide range of fields from marketing and business administration to education, journalism, and research with UFV's Bachelor of Arts in English.

UFV’s English program provides you with the ability to articulate complex ideas and research findings and the skills to analyze various texts and interpret iconic written works throughout history.

English major
There are four concentrations on which to focus your English major: Literature, Creative Writing, Drama, and Writing and Rhetoric.

• Literature courses provide grounding in major authors, genres, and periods as well as a broad understanding of socio-cultural processes that shape Indigenous, national, and transnational literatures.
• Creative writing courses integrate literary study with writing workshops in which you discuss your work with your peers and instructors. Learn various creative processes and techniques for poetry, playwriting, and fiction.
• Drama courses enhance your understanding of how language functions in theatre. You explore a range of dramatic genres, consider how dramatic texts document and archive past performance practices, and contextualize the significance of theatre in historical and social movements.
• Writing and rhetoric courses teach you how writing and language are used as tools by examining issues of meaning and usage of the English language. Learn how language serves as a call to action and how language acts — in itself, on the user, and on the community.

In your first and second year, you study and critique a variety of literature from the cultures and time periods that interest you. You can choose to delve into the challenging craft of creative writing, explore the evolution of theatre and drama throughout history, or analyze the structure and usage of the English language.

In your third and fourth year, you sharpen your critical analysis, writing, and research skills. You are able to establish richer relationships with your professors and peers as you participate in classroom discussions and analyze each other's writing.

By the end of the program, you have developed an appreciation and in-depth understanding of the major genres, periods, movements, and authors throughout literary history. You have gained the transferrable skills — such as critical inquiry, evidence evaluation, and the ability to explore different perspectives and develop arguments — that make you qualified and confident to establish yourself in a variety of fields.

View course requirements in the Academic Calendar:

• Literature concentration
• Creative Writing concentration
• Drama concentration
• Writing and Rhetoric concentration

Take UFV's Community Support Worker Certificate to work in a variety of roles with children and adults with mental and/or physical disabilities. Acquire skills and knowledge needed to work on the front-lines in school and community settings. Learn professional ethics and standards, the history of service delivery, philosophies of helping, adaptive technologies, communications, and how to create inclusive communities. 

Earn your Community Support Worker certifiate from UFV on a full or part-time basis as you complete 31 credits, including a 200-hour supervised field experience in a social service or school setting.

View Community Support Worker's program outline in the UFV Academic Calendar

When you graduate you can apply to earn a Social Services diploma, entering in the second year, The diploma would qualify you for employment in program management and administration. 

UFV's two-year Social Services diploma prepares you to work at the para-professional level in the human services field.

You establish a strong foundation of professional practice in areas of addiction, child welfare, community services, corrections, family and home support services, immigration and refugee services, Indigenous services, mental health, residential care, schools, and social assistance.  Two 13- to 15-week practica allow you to develop job-ready skills and connect to social service agencies and community groups in your local area. 

You may pursue the Social Services diploma full- or part-time. After you graduate, you are ready to enter the workforce. You can also continue your studies and ladder into the UFV Bachelor of Social Work degree program after you have taken the required pre-requisites.

A career in the criminal justice field is a dynamic and challenging one; UFV's 61-credit Criminal Justice diploma program prepares you for front-line/entry-level jobs in the field.
Gain a broad perspective on issues of law, justice, crime, and criminal behaviour with a well-rounded curriculum that includes subject matter from various disciplines, including criminology, psychology, sociology, communications, and political science.

Learn valuable skills in mediation, crisis management, and conflict de-escalation, and participate in a field work practicum that is designed to meet your career interests.
After you graduate, you may go directly into the third year of the Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice program. The diploma program also offers a transfer option to BCIT Bachelor of Technology in Forensic Investigation.

The Bachelor of Integrated Studies — UFV's most customizable degree program — lets you choose from over 100 courses from various disciplines and programs, so you can earn an undergraduate degree tailored to your personal career and academic needs. As part of the program, you draw on a mixture of in-class and online learning opportunities, field-based courses, and professional learning experiences to achieve competency in six core areas:

• Effective communications
• Scientific literacy
• Digital
• Use and analysis of numerical information
• Intercultural engagement
• Professional and applied skills

The Bachelor of Integrated Studies is an excellent option if you want to pursue interdisciplinary studies, combine minors, or change your educational focus partway through your degree. You can also include credits earned while completing a certificate or diploma at UFV or other accredited community colleges or universities.

UFV’s four-year Bachelor of Arts with a Philosophy major or minor is designed to teach you to think independently and become a powerful problem-solver.

Philosophy major
As part of your philosophy studies, you take courses in the history of philosophy, where you examine early schools of thought and learn about the origins of modern philosophy. First and second year courses provide a broad knowledge of reasoning, morality, and politics, while third and fourth year courses allow you to deepen your understanding of logic, philosophical theory, metaphysics, and political philosophy.

The major includes the following general requirements:

• 9 introductory courses in Philosophy
• 9 credits in lower and upper-level History of Philosophy courses
• 3 credits in logic
• 3 credits in each of: Philosophical Theory, Metaphysics and Epistemology, and Political Philosophy

Personalize your studies by choosing studio courses from six disciplines: introductory studio, new media, painting and drawing, photography, print media, and sculpture and extended media.

The hands-on curriculum and ample studio time helps you build up your core artistic skills. The Visual Arts diploma also integrates art history and critical theory to inform your studio practice and put your art in perspective within contemporary culture.

UFV’s small class sizes and well-designed studios enhance your learning experience, providing regular engagement with supportive faculty and fellow students. Gallery and studio tours, exhibition and performance opportunities, and lectures from visiting artists further enhance your education.

When you graduate, you have the industry-related knowledge necessary to succeed in a variety of sectors including art and culture, business, entertainment, and tourism. You may also choose to continue your studies to earn a UFV’s Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Develop your artistic skill, become a creative problem solver, and learn how to flourish in the creative arts industry by earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA). In your first year, you can explore a range of Fine Arts discipline while you complete the BFA general requirements in writing, logical reasoning, and science.

Before the end of your second year, you focus your degree, based on your career goals and personal interests, by choosing a major or two extended minors from the list below:

• Majors
  • Visual Arts
  • Graphic and Digital Design
• Extended Minors
  • Art History and Visual Studies
  • Creative Writing
  • Graphic and Digital Design
  • Media and Communication Studies
  • Theatre
  • Visual Arts
• Minors
  • Art History
  • Business
  • Creative Writing
  • Graphic and Digital Design
  • Media and Communication Studies
  • Theatre
  • Visual Arts

In your third and fourth years of study you deepen your knowledge by completing the requirements for your major, minor, or extended minors, and by selecting your choice of electives to meet the credential requirements of your degree.

The Associate of Arts, Media and Communication Studies option, focuses on the study of information - how it is created, packaged, distributed, and used.

You will learn about different media industries, including social networks, and how they are changing. You will learn how advertising and other commercial images affect you, how Canadians fit into the global village and what it means to be literate in the new media; in short, you will learn how your life and society are changing in response to innovations in communication.

Students seeking careers in the technical areas of media production will find these courses very valuable, but will need courses from elsewhere to provide instruction in the mechanics of production. For example, while the music industry is studied, sound recording is not.

Graduates of the Associate of Arts, Media and Communication Studies option are prepared to seek employment, to transfer to one of the many degree programs in Canada, or to ladder into the Bachelor of Arts (MACS minor or extended minor) at UFV. Graduates are also eligible to apply to enter into the third year of the Bachelor of Arts in Professional Communication at Royal Roads University.

The Engineering Physics Diploma in Mechatronics is designed to teach you how to connect mechanical, electrical, electronic, and software systems to create smart technologies and drive innovation. The program is self-contained, enabling you to enter the workplace immediately, but gives you a background in math and science that is adaptable for completion of a full BSc degree in Physics at UFV, or an Engineering degree from another institution. You learn topics such as mechanics, circuit analysis, sensors and actuators, and optics, and acquire a strong theoretical grounding in physics.

FEATURES:-

• Program eligible for financial aid.