Any easy ways to finish the 3rd year of a 3-year general degree in Canada when youre not in it for the learning anymore?

October 2, 2005 8:57 AM

What is the best way to finish the 3rd year of a 3-year general degree in Canada when youre not in it for the learning anymore?

I need a certain amount of 3rd year courses which almost always require 2nd year pre-reqs. So this gives me the option of psyc or politics, neither of which im interested in enough anymore. My other options are start over taking Japanese, but this way finishing my degree will be spread out over at least 2 years. The 3rd option is find a school that offers a lot of 3rd year fluff courses without pre-requisites. Anyone been in a similar situation? What is the easiest way for me to get this last year over with without filling my head with too much stuff which i will just dump when im finished?

posted by GleepGlop to Education (10 answers total)

You must have some second year courses already. Find out which 3rd year courses require those. Note that often several courses require the same pre-req. For example, in sociology most 3rd year courses will have the same pre-req: a second year methods course. If you can't find something that requires what you've already taken, you can take one second year course that will give you enough third year requirements to finish your degree.
posted by duck at 9:55 AM on October 2, 2005

Don't know what school you go to (I'm at UWO) but these are some observations I've noticed about my university.

Assuming you've just begun your "last year" (3rd year of a 3 year degree). My school's add/drop date has long passed (Sept. 16th). I'd guess that your school's final add deadline has long ago passed as well. Meaning you can't add any new 1st term or full year courses unless you already had them in your schedule. You'd be stuck with your original schedule. At my school I believe all the Japanese courses are full year courses (so if you aren't already registered, you wouldn't be able to take it until Sept. 2006). Which as near as I can tell would add 3 years instead of 2 years to your final year (but maybe your school has 1/2 year Japanese courses). Still, I guess you can organize your schedule around adding/dropping courses in January.

At my school I believe the standards for progressing onto each new year are pretty low (for honours - avg 70%, min. of 60% in core courses --- for non-honours I think the average might just be 60%). You should check into what your university's standards are for completing your degree. Maybe you can slide by in a course without too much work just to hit the minimum.

My university is pretty big, lots of bird courses that don't require a lot of prerequisites. Also, lots of people know what these courses are. Many are already full. You should check over to make sure there's space for you in any fluff courses.

You could always audit courses you think would be interesting/useful (even if you don't have the prereqs) and half-ass it through the courses you must take to finish your degree.
posted by curbstop at 10:30 AM on October 2, 2005

Response by poster: Im not currently enrolled, I went to U of Guelph. Ive considered half-assing through, but in psyc im assuming there are labs and group assignments, i cant really half-ass through an entire year of that. And pols, if i was good at whipping off essays, which im not... Guelph doesnt seem to have a lot of 3rd year courses without pre-reqs. I know they exist though. For example i saw at UBC a 3rd yr 'intro to japanese film' with no pre-reqs. You would think if a place offers a general degree they would offer 'general' courses that dont assume you are specializing.
I am hoping i can take a combination of japanese and fluff courses. But not a lot of universities in canada offer general degrees. And im looking for a solution besides scouring the website of each university in canada until i find what im looking for!
posted by GleepGlop at 11:10 AM on October 2, 2005

If you find a 3rd year course that seems appealing to you, but don't have the pre-req, one option might be to get in contact with the professor. Explain why you're interested in the course, and that because of your current life situation the pre-requisates are an obstacle for you.

Ask if you can enroll in their course after auditing the prerequisite course. If the professor agrees (they normally have the power to waive prereqs), you can audit the prerequisite course, which will be a lot less work for you.

There aren't many 3rd year courses without pre-reqs because what makes it a 3rd year course is that it's more advanced than a first or second year course. If I were designing a course that required no existing familiarity with the subject matter or discipline, I would call it a first year course. If the course assumes background information, you need the pre-req whether you're specializing or not. If it doesn't, then why would it be a 3rd year course?
posted by duck at 11:24 AM on October 2, 2005

Before you get too far into a plan to transfer to another school, please make sure you clearly understand what they will and won't transfer. Most universities in Canada seem to require you to have taken two years or half your credits with them in order to give you a degree with their name on it. So even if you could transfer to school X and they'd accept all your 1st and 2nd year credits as is, they might still expect you to do 2 more years at their school in order to graduate.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:52 AM on October 2, 2005

Response by poster: Unless its a 3 yr degree. Then they may only take 1.5 of my 2 yrs and require a further 1.5... not too sure about that...

It occured to me i might be able to stomach something in a hands-on type capacity like Drama (technical production). There seems to be a lot of those courses, maybe i can skip by without any acting skill!
posted by GleepGlop at 12:01 PM on October 2, 2005

What school are you at and what courses have you taken to date? Let's start with what you have and what you need to finish.

I wouldn't recommend changing schools at this point. Most Cdn universities now require four years. Also, your current program has probably grandfathered you for certain requirements.
posted by acoutu at 1:48 PM on October 2, 2005

Response by poster: i dont know what grandfathering means, but... yes i think if i can learn to write a good essay im halfway there. the problem i have i realized was with swallowing a system of thought which pols and psyc both required. building a set in drama class, no BS required. no extensive background knowledge required. i think if i put my mind to it i can muscle through a final year at Guelph...
posted by GleepGlop at 2:02 PM on October 2, 2005

I've worked in the career management field for several years. Since you're pursuing a BA, my advice would be to choose the path of least resistance. If the BA in drama interests you and can be completed quickly, I think that's your answer. Once you have your degree, you can take all the Japanese and poli sci courses you want. You can go on to be an accountant, a teacher, a lawyer, MBA, doctor or whatever just by picking up a few classes later (before applying to those programs), if you ever want. You'll have a foundation for all your future choices. And it won't matter whether you majored in poli sci, drama or psych. Employers tend not to care much about what your BA was in.
posted by acoutu at 11:44 PM on October 2, 2005

Oh, and grandfathering means that, since you're already in the program, you don't have to worry about any changes made since you declared your major. For example, if they came along and said everyone who declares a major in drama from now on must take a course in The Great Vowel Shift, you wouldn't need to do so. One more reason to declare a major asap.
posted by acoutu at 11:46 PM on October 2, 2005