Honours BBA (WLU) and Honours Bachelor of Computer Science (UW)

This double degree program is administered jointly by the School of Business & Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) and the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo (UW). It is a restricted-enrolment program with admission normally limited to Year 1 in a fall (September-to-December) term.

Students who successfully complete this program will be eligible to attend both universities' convocation ceremonies and be awarded a WLU Honours BBA degree and a UW Honours BCS degree at the respective convocations. Students may register for this program at either university. The academic component is the same, regardless of where students are formally registered, but students participate in the co-op process at their home institution. Thus, the degree attached to each student's registered university is a degree with a Co-op Option designation, with the other university's degree being a regular-stream parchment.

This academic program cannot be combined with any other major. It requires a minimum of 9 full-time academic study terms and successful completion of a minimum of 52 one-term (0.5-credit) courses. Most students require 10 full time terms to complete the program. The 52 0.5-credit courses must include 24 specified business-related 0.5 credits taken at WLU and 24 specified mathematics and computer science 0.5 credits at UW. The remaining 4 0.5-credit electives may be taken at either university.

Double degree programs must be completed simultaneously, and one degree cannot be delayed as a sequential degree. Students admitted by Laurier to the BBA/BMath(UW) or BBA/BCS(UW) are not eligible to transfer to any single degree program at UW until after completion of the first year of the program to which they were admitted. Students must be in good financial standing with Laurier to be eligible to transfer programs. Eligible students must meet UW admission standards.

Program Requirements

After Year 1, WLU-registered students who remain eligible to continue their studies in the double degree program are required to participate in the Co-op Option. Refer to the "Co-operative Education" section later in this chapter. The WLU co-op process involves three (or four at a student's discretion) co-op work terms intermixed with the 9 study terms, beginning with a first co-op work term in the January-to-April period between the third and fourth study terms. The earlier May-to-August term between the second and third study terms is an "off" term (where students are on their own for the term, similar to regular-stream students).

For UW-registered students, the co-op process involves four (or five at a student's discretion) co-op work terms intermixed with the 9 study terms. The first of these work terms occurs during the May-to-August period between the second and third study terms, thus replacing the corresponding "off" term for WLU-registered students by an extra work term. With this one exception of the first May-to-August period, the term sequencing for UW-registered students is identical to the one for WLU-registered students.

With the sequencing of study terms and work terms indicated above, the normal duration for this program is four and two-thirds calendar years (or five calendar years at a student's discretion). Only under especially mitigating circumstances, and with the approval of both universities, can the term sequencing attached to the double degree program be altered, and such instances will usually result in a delay (possibly as much as one calendar year) of the graduation date.

All double degree program students, regardless of their home university affiliation, are required to satisfy all term-by-term progression requirements of both Laurier's School of Business and Economics and UW's Faculty of Mathematics to remain eligible to continue in the program, and to meet all graduation requirements of both institutions to be eligible for the two degrees. More specifically, students must ensure that their course selection each term, their academic performance level, and their academic conduct in general, comply with all the policies, procedures, regulations and requirements of both universities. Failure to do so will normally result in students being required to withdraw from the double degree program. Such students may remain eligible to enrol in the (single degree) Laurier BBA program (although not necessarily in the Co-op Option) or to enrol in another appropriate (single degree) UW BCS or BMath plan respectively, depending upon their individual circumstances.

Each academic term, the last date to add or drop a course without failure will be specific to the institution offering the course.  A business or economics course will follow Laurier's add/drop dates, a math or computer science course will follow UW's add/drop dates.  This academic policy is specific to students enrolled in Laurier-UW double degree programs only. Tuition fee penalties are specific to each student’s home-based institution, regardless of the institution offering the course.

Special circumstances do exist for the double degree program including the allowance for 2.5 course credit repeats, instead of the traditional 2.0 course credit repeats allowed in the Honours BBA (WLU) program. In addition, any student who must satisfy UW progression standards and repeat a Math or CS course they have passed will have the original course deemed an extra on the WLU student record. This only applies when the non-BU GPA requirement for progression has been satisfied.

 
Honours BBA (WLU) and Honours BCS (UW) Double Degree

Bachelor of Business Administration (WLU)/ Bachelor of Computer Science (UW)
Year
Required Business and Economics courses Required Math Courses   
Required Math Courses (choice of when taken)
Elective
Courses
Minimum Cumulative Credit Total & Required Completion Dates
1
BU111(F) BU121(W)
EC120(F) EC140(W)
CS 135(F) CS 136(W)
MA 135(F) MA 137(F) MA 136(W) MA 138(W)

Year 1 English course (0.5 credit):
Communications Requirement: EMLS 101R, EMLS 102R, EMLS/ENGL 129R, ENGL 109, COMMST 100, COMMST 223 

The required Business courses in Year 1 are assigned. First attempts at BU111 and BU121 must be completed by the end of Winter term.  

10 0.5-credits and GPA requirements for both Business (7.0) and non-Business (5.0) courses must be achieved by August 31. Total course repeats may not exceed a maximum of 1.5 credits. All credits taken during Year 1 will be included in the GPA requirements for progression into Year 2. 
2
BU127(F) BU283(F)
BU288 (F)
BU231(S) BU247(S) 
ST 230(F)
ST 231(S)
CO 250(S)
CS 245(F)
CS 246(F)

MA 239


20 0.5-credits by December 31. ST 231 and CO 250 (UW) must be completed prior to registration in Year 3 required BU courses. The required BU courses are integrated sets that must be taken concurrently and as assigned. Note: students taking until December 31 to meet requirements will have future study/work terms altered.
3
BU252(F) BU354(F) BU393(F)

BU362(S)
BU375(S)
BU398(S)


CS 240
CS 241
CS 251

Electives (11 courses) to be completed over Years 3, 4, & 5:

A total of four (4) 'open choice' courses - these can be BU, CS, MATH or other courses
30 0.5-credits by December 31. The required BU courses are integrated sets that must be taken concurrently and as assigned. Note: students taking until December 31 to meet requirements will have future study/work terms altered.
4 and 5
Required BU Courses to be taken between Years 4 and 5:
BU381
BU491

CS 341
CS 350
CS 490
CS 492
Two additional CS courses chosen from CS 340-398, 440-489,
Two additional  CS courses chosen from 440-489
A minimum of seven (7) BU or ENTR electives courses taken at Laurier Co-op Option 1 students: 40 0.5-credits by August 31 Co-op Option 2 and 3 students: 40 0.5-credits by December 31

52 0.5-credits to graduate

 
Program Notes and Regulations

  1. UW Course Abbreviations:
    CS - Computer Science; EN - English; EFAS - English for Academic Success; MA - Core Mathematics; ST - Statistics.
  2. Under certain circumstances, MATH 137 and MATH 138 may be replaced by MATH 127 and MATH 128 respectively. Refer to the UW Calendar.
  3. It is recommended that students complete at least 21 0.5-credit courses by the end of Year 2, either by taking 6 courses in one of their study terms, or by taking an elective course via Online Learning during an off term or a co-op term.
  4. The UW courses MATH 135, 136, 137, 138, 235, 237, 239, CS 135, ST 230 and ST 231 may be replaced by the 'Advanced' courses MATH 145, 146, 147, 148, 245, 247, 249, CS 145, ST 240 and ST 241 respectively.
  5. Students may take CS 115 and CS 116 in place of CS 135, or if needed they may taken CS 116 after CS 135 and before CS 136. Students who take CS 116 in the Winter term in Year 1 must take CS 136 in the Fall term in Year 2 and CS 245 and CS 246  in the Spring term of Year 2.
  6. Economics Minor: EC120; EC140; one of EC250, EC260 - taken in Year 2 (refer to i and ii below); three additional Economics courses approved by the double degree program advisor from WLU (refer to iii below):
    i) UW's ECON 201 taken either on campus or by Online Learning, may be substituted for WLU's EC260.
    ii) If both EC250 and EC260 (or ECON 201) are taken, only two additional Economics courses are required.
    iii) The "three additional Economics courses" may be any mix of approved EC courses from WLU and ECON courses from UW. These courses may be taken either on campus or (when available) by Online Learning.
  7. Mathematics Minor: the Faculty of Science will permit students who have completed two years of study in the above double degree program, but who subsequently decide to drop their affiliation with University of Waterloo, to obtain a mathematics minor with the BBA degree if they complete a minimum of 1.0 senior mathematics credits on the WLU campus. Students must still have completed the required courses, or their equivalents, in such a way that 3.5 credits constitute the minor.
  8. ENTR courses are considered BU electives, but are included in the non-BU GPA. BU elective credits cannot be used for progression during Year 1 and 2. However, as an additional elective credit, the elective will count in the GPA.

For details about the various UW Honours BMath policies, procedures, regulations and requirements that apply to this double degree program, consult the UW Undergraduate Calendar and/or one of UW's academic program advisors.

 
Progression and Graduation Requirements for the BBA Program

Progression and Graduation Requirements for the BBA Program