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Degree Options

The Department of Communication Studies offers the following 4-year Honours BA degree options:

Honours Double-Major BA

Students in the Double-Major Program are free to combine their major with any other program / department in the new Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, and with Cultural Studies and Film Studies in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Kinesiology and Psychology in the Faculty of Health.

Requirements

  1. Students must take at least 48 credits in Comn Studies and at least 36 credits in the other major.
  2. Courses taken to meet Communication Studies requirements cannot also be used to meet the requirements of the other major.
  3. Students must take a total of at least 18 credits at the 3000 or 4000 level.
  4. Students must take 12 credits in COMN courses at the 4000-level.
  5. The 48 credits in Communication Studies must include:
    • 6 credits from COMN1310 9.0;
    • 12 credits chosen from Category A courses (except COMN 1310)
    • 6 credits at the 3000 level chosen from the list of COMN courses in Category B;
    • 12 credits at the 4000 level chosen from the list of COMN courses in Category C;
    • 12 additional credits (at least 6 credits at the 3000 or 4000 level) from Category D courses which include both Communication Studies courses as well as designated courses from LA&PS, Health and Fine Arts.
  6. This means that in total students are required to take at least 36 credits at the 3000-level or 4000-level, including at least 18 credits at the 4000-level (from COMN and other departments)
  7. Students who are completing a double major or major/minor are deemed to have fulfilled the 12 credits outside the major requirement.
Stand-Alone Major Honours BA

This is a 48-credit degree in Communication Studies only.

Requirements:

  1. The 48 credits must include:
    • 6 credits from COMN1310 9.0;
    • 12 credits from Category A courses (except COMN 1310)
    • At least 18 credits at the 3000 or 4000 level from COMN courses. These must include 6 credits from 3000 level COMN courses (Category B), and 12 credits from the 4000 level COMN courses (Category C).
    • At least 12 additional credits (at least 6 credits at the 3000 or 4000 level) from Category D courses which include both Communication Studies courses and designated courses from LA&PS, Health and Fine Arts.
  2. This means that in total students must take at least 36 credits at the 3000-level or 4000-level, including at least 18 credits at the 4000-level
  3. Students are required to take at least 18 credits outside the major.
Honours Major/Minor

The Stand-Alone Honours program in Communication Studies may be pursued jointly with any Honours Minor BA program in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.

Requirements:

  1. Students must take at least 48 credits in Comn Studies
  2. The 48 credits in Comn Studies must include:
    • 6 credits from COMN1310 9.0;
    • 12 credits from Category A courses (except COMN 1310)
    • At least 18 credits at the 3000 or 4000 level from COMN courses. These must include 6 credits from 3000 level COMN courses (Category B), and 12 credits from the 4000 level COMN courses (Category C).
    • At least 12 additional credits (at least 6 credits at the 3000 or 4000 level) from Category D courses which include both Communication Studies courses as well as designated courses from LA&PS, Health and Fine Arts.
  3. This means that in total students must take at least 36 credits at the 3000-level or 4000-level, including at least 18 credits at the 4000-level
  4. Students who are completing a double major or major/minor are deemed to have fulfilled the 'credits outside the major' requirement.
Specialized Honours

This 60-credit degree program is of interest to students wishing to pursue a more intensive concentration in the field of communication studies and/or considering graduate level studies in this area.

Requirements:

The 60 credits in Communication Studies must include:

  1. 6 credits from COMN1310 6.0;
  2. 12 credits from Category A courses (except COMN 1310)
  3. 18 credits overall at the 3rd year level. This includes 6 credits at the 3000 level chosen from the Category B list; plus 12 credits in COMN 3320 6.0 and COMN3391 6.0;
  4. At least 12 credits at the 4th year level: 6 credits chosen from the Category C list of 4th year COMN courses plus 6 credits for COMN4810 6.0;
  5. 2 additional credits from Category D.
  6. This means that in total students must take at least 36 credits at the 3000-level or 4000-level, including at least 18 credits at the 4000-level
  7. Students must take at least 18 credits outside the major

Students apply for this program after taking COMN1310 6.0 and one other Comn Studies course with a minimum of 6.0 in each course. Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 6.0 (B) in all Communication Studies credits and the required minimum cumulative GPA is 5.0 C+; these averages must be maintained to continue in and graduate from the Specialized Honours BA degree. If you don't maintain these marks, you will be de-enrolled from the program.

The deadline for application to this Program is usually in early June, dates will be posted on the Department notice boards. Students will be notified of acceptance or non-acceptance as soon as marks are posted.

If you want into this program, please enroll in the courses you would need for the fall. An advising session is always an option if you're unsure about what to take. All applications must be submitted to the Communication Studies Program Office, 3003 or 3004 TEL Bldg. and application forms are available from the Department Offices or online

International Honours BA (iBA)

This 48-credit degree can be taken as stand-alone, double-major, major/minor

Requirements:

Students will take at least 48 credits in Communication Studies including the following:

  1. 6 credits from COMN 1310 9.00
  2. 12 credits from Category A courses (except COMN 1310)
  3. 6 credits from Category B at the 3rd year;
  4. 12 credits from Category C at the 4th year;
  5. 12 extra credits from Category D that includes Communication Studies courses as well as designated courses from LA&PS, the Health and Fine Arts Faculties.

In addition to the courses required for their major, students in the Honours iBA program must fulfill the following requirements:

Language Study Credits: at least 18 credits in a modern languages offered by York University, including the Advanced I university-level course in the chosen language;

Internationally-Oriented Credits: at least 12 credits of internationally-oriented courses chosen outside the major;

International Exchange: at least one full term abroad as a full-time student at one of York University's exchange partners.

Upper-level credits: at least 36 credits in the 3000-level or 4000-level, including at least 18 credits at the 4000 level.

Credits outside the major: For the Honours iBA, courses taken outside the major to satisfy the language study requirement and/or the internally-oriented courses requirement can also be used to satisfy the outside the major requirement.

For more detailed information regarding the Honours iBA program requirements, please contact the Department

Please note the following:

We do not offer a 90-credit degree, or a minor in Communication Studies (although you may combine a minor in another department/program with our stand-alone major).

Residency requirement: a minimum of 30 course credits and at least 50% of the course credits required in each major/minor must be taken at York University. Applies to all degree options.

Graduation requirement: Students must successfully complete (pass) at least 120 credits which meet the Faculty's degree and program requirements with a cumulative grade point average of at least 5.0. This applies to all degree options.

Students who enrolled the program before 09-10 should check the mini-calendar [link to current mini-calendar] for degree requirements.