Certificate in Academic Foundations
The Certificate in Academic Foundations encourages students to explore the Arts and Sciences by enrolling in courses across a wide range of disciplines. The Certificate will also guide course selection for those students who are uncertain about their educational goals or interests. The program has minimal structure, to allow maximum flexibility for students to explore their interests.
The program is designed to ensure that students will transfer maximum credits into degree programs at Douglas College, or into degrees at other institutions. The Certificate consists of 30 credits of university transferable courses (i.e., courses that transfer to at least one of the BC Research Universities). In addition to degree programs, the Certificate in Academic Foundations is designed to ladder into the Associate of Arts degree, the Associate of Science degree, the Liberal Arts Diploma, and the Diploma in General Studies. The Certificate in Academic Foundations is not intended to ladder into diploma programs in applied areas. Applied degree programs at Douglas College are currently developing pathways that will eventually permit access from the Certificate in Academic Foundations program into the second year of studies.
The Certificate in Academic Foundations will be of interest to:
- Anyone unsure of their academic goals or areas of interest
- Anyone who wants to explore a wide range of course topics in Arts and Science
- Anyone who plans to transfer to a university degree program
Fulfilling a Certificate in Academic Foundations confers three advantages:
- The Certificate is a recognized credential of 30 credits conferred by Douglas College
- The Certificate provides the academic foundation for moving on to a university-level degree program with transfer credits from Douglas College
- The Certificate guides transfer course selection for those students who are uncertain about their educational goals or interests
The key learning outcomes of the program are:
- Acquisition of writing skills
- Acquisition of numeracy skills
- Exposure to multiple disciplines (academic breadth)
- Exposure to multiple modes of learning (e.g., lectures, labs)
Location
Courses are available at New Westminster and David Lam (Coquitlam) campuses.
Admission
Admission is based on general College admission requirements.
English 12 with a B (or equivalent) is a prerequisite for College level English courses, and BC Principles of Math 11 with a C (or equivalent), or Foundations of Math 11 with a C (or equivalent), are prerequisites for many Math and Statistics courses. In addition, some lab courses have high school prerequisites such as Biology 12, Chemistry 11 or 12 and Physics 11 or 12.
Transfer to Other Institutions
All courses in this certificate program are university transferable to at least one of the BC Research universities; however, students who plan to transfer to another institution should select their courses carefully to ensure that they transfer to their chosen university.
Program Duration
This one-year program may also be taken on a part-time basis.
Credential
Certificate in Academic Foundations
The program requirements are as follows:
- 3 credits of Lab Sciences
- 3 credits of Statistics, Math, or Computing Science
- 3 credits of English, including courses that transfer as English courses to at least one Research University
- 21 credits of university transfer electives, at least 12 of which must be in Arts and/or Sciences, and up to nine of which may be from other areas such as Child, Family, and Community Studies and Business, provided they transfer to at least one Research University.