Honours Bachelor of Arts (HBA)

To qualify for an Honours Bachelor of Arts (HBA) degree, a student must meet the following requirements:

Course Requirements

Complete at least 20.0 credits (i.e. with a grade of 50% or more or CR), meeting the following criteria:

  • At least 13.0 credits at the 200+ level including a minimum of 6.0 credits at the 300/400 level (no more than 1.0 credit at the 300/400 level of transfer credit may be counted with the exception of courses taken through an official university exchange program)
  • No more than 15.0 credits may have the same three-letter designator (e.g. "ANT," "ENG," etc.)

Distribution Requirements

  • Complete at least 1.0 credit from each of the following divisions: Humanities, Sciences, Social Sciences. See Note 3 below for details.

Grade Requirement

  • Achieve a Cumulative GPA of 1.85 or more by the time of graduation.
  • Students who meet all the requirements for the Honours Bachelor of Arts, but have a cumulative GPA below 1.85 may elect to graduate with a 4-year Bachelor of Arts degree provided they are in good standing (i.e., CGPA is 1.50 or more).

Program Requirements for an Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree

  • One Specialist in an Arts area, OR
  • Two Major programs in an Arts area, OR
  • One Major in an Arts area plus one Major in a Science area, OR
  • One Major and two Minors. At least one Major, or both Minors, must be in the Arts area for an HBA

Considerations for combining programs:

  • Students who combine programs must check the program requirements listed in this Calendar to ensure that their chosen programs have 12 distinct credits among them. Students who combine one Major in the Arts with one Major in Science may be eligible to receive either an HBA or HBSc. In such cases, students will be awarded an HBSc unless notification is given to the Office of the Registrar.
  • While planning for the upcoming year, students may apply for as many programs as they wish on ACORN. However, students must make timely decisions on their final selection as soon as possible. No more than three programs may be listed on ACORN under the “Currently Enrolled” section, with no more than two Specialists or two Majors. Students who wish to combine programs must adhere to one of the appropriate combinations listed above.
  • For degree completion, it is not permissible to complete more than one program type (Specialist, Major, Minor) containing the same final four-digit program code. For example, students may not complete a Major in English (ERMA1645) and a Minor in English (ERMIN1645).

Notes:

  1. Effective as of September 2020, a maximum of 6.0 credits at the 100-level for degree credit is no longer being enforced. Instead, students must complete a minimum of 13.0 credits at the 200+level and higher, including a minimum of 6.0 credits at the 300+ level.

  2. Students may consult with an Academic Advisor in the Office of the Registrar regarding degree requirements. Consult the departmental program advisor regarding program requirements.

  3. On distribution requirements:

    • Not all courses offered fulfill distribution requirements.
    • Some courses have two assigned distributions. In these cases, the course will count towards one distribution requirement, but cannot fulfill two requirements simultaneously.
    • Courses used to fulfill program requirements may also be used to fulfill distribution requirements.
    • Students who are unsure about their distribution requirements or who need information on another U of T campus should contact the Office of the Registrar.
    • Students wishing to use transfer credit(s) to fulfill distribution are responsible for confirming with the Office of the Registrar that the credit is acceptable for this purpose.

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