Minors

Minors Overview

UBC Okanagan – Bachelor of Applied Science students interested in the Minor in Arts, Minor in Computer Science, or Minor in Management are required to apply. The application for Minors and options can be found here (this form is available from May 1st to May 31st each academic year). Students are only permitted to do one Minor.

The application for Minors is competitive and primarily based on the Academic Period Average from your most recent winter session. The strength of applicants can vary from year to year and so will the minimum cut-off. If you are interested in applying for a Minor, we recommend you work towards getting the best average you can. To be eligible for consideration, you must apply by the May 31st deadline. Students can only complete one Minor and (if they like) one Concentration. If accepted into more than one, students will be notified and will have to select their choice by a deadline.

Minor in Arts

Designed to allow students to pursue interests outside of Engineering and receive recognition on their transcript, the Minor in Arts requires a minimum of 18 upper-level credits (300- and 400-level courses). The academic calendar entry is here: https://okanagan.calendar.ubc.ca/faculties-schools-and-colleges/school-engineering/bachelor-applied-science-program/minor-arts. Prerequisites will not be waived, therefore, this Minor will likely require some lower-level courses in addition to the Minor requirements. Students in the Minor are required to take courses from within the following subject areas (exemptions noted):

  • Anthropology (ANTH)
  • Art History and Visual Culture (ARTH)
  • Chinese (CHIN)
  • Creative Writing (CRWR)
  • Cultural Studies (CULT)
  • Digital Humanities (DIHU)
  • Economics (ECON)
  • English (ENGL) – not ENGL 109, 112, or 114
  • French (FREN)
  • Gender and Women’s Studies (GWST)
  • Geography (GEOG) – not physical geography courses like GEOG 108, 109, 200, 205, etc.
  • German (GERM)
  • Health Studies (HEAL)
  • History (HIST)
  • Indigenous Studies (INDG)
  • Japanese Studies (JPST)
  • Korean (KORN)
  • Philosophy (PHIL)
  • Political Science (POLI)
  • Psychology (PSYO)
  • Sociology (SOCI)
  • Spanish (SPAN)
  • World Literature (WRLD)

If students have any questions about course eligibility for the Minor, we recommend meeting with an Engineering Advisor to discuss their intended course plan. Students should plan their courses carefully to ensure that prerequisites are met for all intended courses. Prerequisites will not be waived and conflicts will not be permitted. Some lower-level (100- or 200-level) courses may be taken by Letter of Permission elsewhere if all requirements are met. All other Minor courses must be taken at UBC. The full listing of all courses by course code is here. The course offerings annually are here.

Humanities elective courses can be counted towards both the Minor in Arts requirements and the Bachelor of Applied Science program requirements if the course is on the approved list for Humanities electives AND the list above of approved Minor topics.

Minor in Computer Science

This Minor allows students to pursue additional skills and foundational knowledge in Computer Science and receive recognition on their transcript. The Minor requires some lower-level (meaning COSC 1XX or 2XX) courses as well as some upper-level courses (COSC 3XX or 4XX). Review the Minor requirements here: https://www.calendar.ubc.ca/okanagan/index.cfm?tree=18,317,989,1360. This Minor is not available for students in the Computer Engineering program. The full listing of all Computer Science courses can be found here. The course offerings annually are here. Commonly selected elective courses for the COSC Minor include:

  • COSC 221 Introduction to Discrete Structures
  • COSC 222 Data Structures
  • COSC 301 Introduction to Data Analytics*
  • COSC 304 Introduction to Databases
  • COSC 310 Software Engineering
  • COSC 322 Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
  • COSC 341 Human Computer Interaction
  • COSC 360 Web Programming
  • COSC 406 Numerical Optimization
  • COSC 407 Introduction to Parallel Computing
  • DATA 311 Machine Learning**
  • MATH 303 Numerical Analysis***

Students interested in counting up to two 300- or 400-level COSC courses as 4th year technical electives should review the curriculum map to see if it has already been approved or email the syllabus to soe.advising@ubc.ca for review by the Program Chair. If approved, these courses may be counted towards the Minor requirements and the Bachelor of Applied Science program requirements. Some of the 100- or 200-level COSC courses may be taken by Letter of Permission elsewhere if all requirements are met, all other Minor courses must be taken at UBC.

Students going into first year interested in the Minor should consider taking COSC 111 instead of APSC 177 in their first year, as COSC 111 can be used in lieu of APSC 177 but APSC 177 may not be able to be used to fulfill COSC 111 prerequisites on future Minor courses.

When planning your course schedule, be advised that conflicts are NOT permitted. If you are having any issues with COSC courses, you will need to contact that department (https://cmps.ok.ubc.ca/)

Note: COSC 301 and DATA 301 were cross-listed (co-located) until 2023W. From 2023W and beyond, the two course are distinctly different and no longer considered equivalent. Students who took DATA 301 in 2023S or earlier count it as equivalent to COSC 301 and thus, usable towards Minor in Computer Science requirements. Students who took it in 2023W should confirm with an Engineering Advisor whether it can be counted towards the Minor. Students taking DATA 301 in 2024S or later, CANNOT count DATA 301 towards the Minor in Computer Science. 

Note: DATA 311 is the ONLY DATA course currently applicable to the Minor in Computer Science requirements.

Note: MATH 303 is the ONLY MATH course currently applicable to the Minor in Computer Science requirements due to its equivalency with COSC 303.

Minor in Management

Designed for students interested in product design, entrepreneurship, or management, this Minor allows students to pursue additional skills and foundational knowledge in management and receive recognition on their transcript. Review the Minor requirements here: https://okanagan.calendar.ubc.ca/faculties-schools-and-colleges/school-engineering/bachelor-applied-science-program/minor-management: https://okanagan.calendar.ubc.ca/faculties-schools-and-colleges/school-engineering/bachelor-applied-science-program/minor-management. The full listing of all Management courses can be found here. The course offerings annually are here. Commonly selected elective courses for the MGMT Minor include:

  • MGMT 410 Leadership in Complex Environments
  • MGMT 412 Negotiations
  • MGMT 414 Managing and Leading Non-Profit and Public Sector Organizations
  • MGMT 421 Globalization, Offshoring and Outsourcing
  • MGMT 422 Project Management
  • MGMT 423 E-Commerce
  • MGMT 425 Strategies in Entrepreneurial Technology
  • MGMT 440 Brands, Culture, and Marketing
  • MGMT 442 Consumer Behaviour
  • MGMT 443 New Product and Service Development
  • MGMT 450 Entrepreneurship and the Smaller Firm
  • MGMT 480 Law and Business
  • MGMT 481 Strategy and Change Management

When registering for MGMT courses, engineering students will need to contact fom.bmgt@ubc.ca for assistance registering if they are unable to add MGMT courses themselves. Minor students will be allowed to take most 400-level MGMT courses as long as they have first completed MGMT 100. Some exceptions exist, including (but not limited to) specialized upper-level Accounting and Finance courses that require additional prerequisites, which will not be waived. Conflicts will not be approved. Students interested in counting one 400-level MGMT course as a 4th year technical elective should email the syllabus to soe.advising@ubc.ca for review by the Program Coordinator. If approved, the course may be counted towards the Minor requirements and the Bachelor of Applied Science program requirements. MGMT 100 may be taken by Letter of Permission elsewhere if all requirements are met, all other Minor courses must be taken at UBC.

Students interested in the Dual Degree Program (allowing you to be admitted into a Master in Management program and start it during your undergraduate degree) are advised to contact dualdegree.mm@ubc.ca to inquire. Note that students CAN do both the Minor in Management and the Master in Management but are not required to do both.