Frequently Asked Questions

Visit ulethbridge.ca/ross/admissions/apply for comprehensive instructions on filling out the undergraduate application for admission.

Admission to our Bachelor of Nursing, Bachelor of Nursing After Degree, and Bachelor of Therapeutic Recreation programs is competitive. This means that meeting the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission to the program. Competitiveness of your application depends on the pool of applicants at your time of application.

Carefully review the admission requirements for these programs.

For Bachelor of Nursing admission information, see HERE
For Bachelor of Nursing After Degree admission, see HERE
For Bachelor of Therapeutic Recreation admission, see HERE

Applicants to the Bachelor of Health Sciences who have previously completed an undergraduate degree have the opportunity to complete an individualized program through Second Degree admission. If you have been awarded a diploma from a recognized post-secondary institution, you may be considered for Post-Diploma Degree admission. Post-Diploma Degree programs are typically 20 courses in length.

You must apply for admission prior to receiving a personalized program plan. 

Applicants must meet all admission requirements to be considered for admission to a University of Lethbridge.

Learn more about the Post-Diploma pathway here.

Some of our programs are delivered on multiple campuses.

• The Lethbridge campus delivers all of of the Health Sciences undergraduate programs (BHSc, BTR, BN, BNAD)
• The Calgary Campus delivers the BHSc Public Health (post diploma and second degree admission routes only)
• Our Bachelor of Therapeutic Recreation program is delivered both IN PERSON (on the Lethbridge campus) and ONLINE

If you are applying to a program that is delivered on more than one campus, make sure you apply to the CORRECT campus (Lethbridge (in person), Calgary (in person), or Online (online delivery).

Learn more about our Calgary Campus.

Your program is the broad category that defines your degree/diploma/certificate and all the requirements you need to meet in order to graduate (e.g., Bachelor of Health Sciences; Bachelor of Nursing).

Your major is the specific area of study in your program and will determine many of your required courses. (e.g., Public Health, Addictions Counselling).

The Faculty is a formal subdivision within the university. Faculties/schools develop, approve and administer the programs and courses relating to the specific degrees/credentials they offer. At uLethbridge, there are six faculties/schools: Faculty of Arts and Science, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Fine Arts, Faculty of Health Sciences, Dhillon School of Business, and the School of Graduate Studies.

• Bachelor of Health Sciences (majors in Aboriginal Health, Addictions Counselling, and Public Health)
  • You may have been admitted to the BHSc program through a Second Degree of Post Diploma admission route
• Bachelor of Nursing
• Bachelor of Nursing After Degree
• Bachelor of Therapeutic Recreation
  

Your Program Planning Guide outlines the courses required to complete your program, along with a course sequencing plan. Program Planning Guides can be found here.

Students are governed by the program requirements of the Calendar in effect at the time of their most recent admission, which is called the Year of the Calendar.
To view your Year of the Calendar, log into the Bridge, click on "Students", then on "Student Records", then on "View Student Information". Under your "Current Program" information, you will see CATALOG TERM which is the same as your Year or the Calendar.

Keep your Program Planning Guide up to date and refer to it frequently for course registration and general program planning. Make sure to follow the program planning guide for your calendar year. Your academic advisor will ask you for an updated copy of your PPG during your advising meeting(s).

Student Enrolment and Registrar Services has developed a Registration Guide to help you through registration .

Registration Guide

When registering, you may find that you receive an error message at some point along the way. See here for commonly received error messages and what they mean.

Ensure that you meet the prerequisites for the course in which you are trying to register. When you register for a course on the Bridge, you can see the Course Description, Prerequisites, and other important course details. For example:

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Space in many courses in the Faculty of Health Sciences is reserved for students who require those specific courses to meet degree requirements. Registration restrictions for many courses will be removed during the initial wait-list period, or by the first week of classes. Students are advised to keep trying to register on the Bridge and hopefully space will become available.

All students with a Calendar Year of 2018 or later have access to minors offered across the University. To add or remove a minor to your program, complete the Request to Add/Remove Minor, Concentration, Specialization, or Change a Disciplinary Stream (Undergraduate) form.

Note:
- Access to courses to fulfill minor requirements is not guaranteed.
- Courses will not be overfilled to accommodate students wishing to fulfill minor requirements.
- Course substitutions to complete minor requirements are not allowed.
- Completing a minor may require taking courses above the minimum degree requirements.

Read more about the minors offered by the Faculty of Health Sciences.

A prerequisite is a course that must be successfully completed before you can take a particular course*.

Students may request a prerequisite waiver for an Aboriginal Health, Addictions Counselling, Health Sciences, Public Health, or Therapeutic Recreation course by completing a Prerequisite Waiver form. Note that your request may be denied.

Ensure that you meet the prerequisites for the course in which you are trying to register. When you register for a course on the Bridge, you can see the Course Description, Prerequisites, and other important course details. For example:

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NOTE

Although you may be able to register in a course while you are completing the required prerequisite(s), you must meet all prerequisites before the course begins. If you do not meet the prerequisites for a course when the course begins (i.e., by the time the term the course is offered in begins), you will be removed from the course.

Only under extenuating circumstances may students in the Faculty of Health Sciences obtain special permission to study at another university to receive credit at the U of L for any course(s) taken on another campus. Permission must be obtained before enrollment at the other university. Contact the appropriate Advisor in Health Sciences for more information.

See the Transfer Course Database here.

An Independent Study is a course for which credit is earned through individual study under the supervision of an instructor. Read the policies and regulations specific to the Faculty of Health Sciences here.

Leave of Absence (LOA) is available for students studying at the undergraduate level occasionally have extenuating circumstances (e.g., illness, family priorities, deployment) that may interrupt their studies and they need to step away from their studies for a period of time.

LOAs cannot be requested mid-term; they must be for the duration of a semester.

Prior to submitting this form, it is strongly encouraged that you meet with an Academic Advisor to make a plan for absence and return. International students are highly encouraged to meet with an advisor in the International Centre to understand the implications of a Leave on their study permit and to obtain any appropriate supportive documentation.

To apply for a Leave of Absence, fill out this form and email it from your @uleth.ca email address to student.records@uleth.ca OR print the form and drop off in-person at the SEARS office (SU140) prior to the first day of classes for the term in which the leave is to begin.

I was on an approved LOA:

You will be able to register for classes for the term following your LOA without issue. Ensure you check your Bridge account to see when your registration window is so that you can register for the courses in your returning semester in a timely manner to avoid your courses filling up.

I was not on an approved LOA:

Students who fail to register for a fall or winter term are considered inactive and are removed from their program. All students returning to the university after an absence from a fall or winter term must apply for readmission according to the current application and procedure deadlines. The admission deadlines for Faculty of Health Sciences programs start in March. Most Faculty of Health Sciences programs only admit students in the fall semester. Completed courses do not “expire,” but students are required to complete degree requirements from the year of their return. For more information on returning after an absence, refer to the Academic Calendar ( Admission - General Admission Routes and Academic Qualifications).

Some courses offered at the University of Lethbridge are delivered online. You can see the delivery mode of courses on the Timetable on the Bridge. Some online courses are reserved for students in certain programs.

Students and faculty members can access the timetable on the Bridge (bridge.uleth.ca).

Staff or community members can access a list of courses here: ulethbridge.ca/ross/open-studies-courses

Credit Hours

Each course has a specified number of Credit Hours. Most courses carry a credit load of 3.0 credit hours; some courses carry more and some carry fewer credit hours (e.g 1.5). Students on academic probation or in practicum terms are not able to take more than 15.0 credit hours within four courses.

Five courses (15.0 credit hours) per term is the regular load carried during the two main terms in order to complete a 40-course degree in four years. Keep in mind the 15.0 credit hours does not equal 15 hours; you must also consider any labs and tutorials that go with a class!

To be considered a full-time student, you must register in a minimum of 9.0 credit hours (three 3.0 credit courses) during each of the two main terms (Fall and Winter).

Learn more about Credit Hours here: ulethbridge.ca/ross/registration/learn-more/credit-hours

Contact Hours

There are two types of contact hours: (1) hours per week, and (2) other hours per term. ‘Contact hours per week’ are regularly scheduled weekly meeting times, while ‘Other hours per term’ are meeting times that are scheduled at irregular times over the term. You can see credit hours and contact hours for each course in the Course Catalogue and on the Timetable in the Bridge.

Contact hours per week: a-b-c
a - number of required lecture hours per week
b - number of required laboratory hours per week
c - number of required hours per week in a different setting (e.g., tutorial)

Example:

ADDICTIONS COUNSELLING 1000
Introduction to Addiction Studies
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Overview of the major concepts, theories, prevalence and issues concerning addictive behaviours and approaches for individual and community interventions.
Lib Ed Req:Social Science

A student's year of standing is dictated based on the following number of completed course credits (including transfer courses) . Courses enrolled in for the current term will be counted as "completed" and counted towards a students year of standing when registering for a subsequent term, however, prerequisite checks are done following term deadlines (see Academic Schedule) and any withdrawals, drops, or non-passing grades that drop a student below a required year of standing may result in a course being dropped from registration.

• First Year Standing: 0.0 to 29.5 credit hours
• Second Year Standing: 30.0 to 59.5 credit hours
• Third Year Standing: 60.0 to 89.5 credit hours
• Fourth Year Standing: 90.0 to 119.5 credit hours
• Fifth Year Standing: 120.0 or more credit hours

Successfully admitted post-diploma students begin with Third Year standing
Successfully admitted second degree students begin with Fourth Year standing

In the event that you need to withdraw from one or more of your courses following the extended drop deadline you can log onto the Bridge and do so under Student – Registration – Add, Drop, or Withdraw from Classes. You will be assessed full fees for the courses in which you were registered. The deadlines for withdrawal are found in the Academic Schedule. Keep in mind that if you withdraw from a course, you will receive a 'W' on your transcript.

A WC designation is a ‘Withdrawal with Cause’ record on your transcript which indicates a course withdrawal in case of serious illness or extenuating circumstances. Read more about WC procedures in the Faculty of Health Sciences here.

Academic Standing

To be in good standing, on academic probation or required to withdraw, a student must fall within the GPA ranges as indicated below:

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The number of completed courses is based on a standard 3.0 credit hour course. Post-diploma students and students coming from Lethbridge College in the collaborative nursing programs are considered to have a minimum of 20 completed courses.

Required Withdrawal

A student is required to withdraw from the Faculty of Health Sciences if any of the following occurs:

• The cumulative GPA falls below the required levels for two or more consecutive terms at the end of the winter term;
• The student fails any internship/practicum/clinical/field experience course; or
• The student fails to meet the Standards of Professional Conduct

Contact the Student Union to initiate a final grade appeal ulsu.ca/grade-appeals

Some programs require students to achieve a minimum grade in certain courses. For example, students in the Bachelor of Therapeutic Recreation program must achieve a grade of C or higher in their courses with a TREC subject code. Minimum grade requirements can be found on the program planning guides or in the Academic Calendar (Faculty of Health Sciences-Degree Programs).

Some programs require students to achieve a minimum GPA in a group of courses. For example, Bachelor of Health Sciences students are required to have a minimum GPA of 2.5 in their Faculty of Health Sciences courses (courses with the following subject codes ABHL/ADCS/HLSC/PUBH). This does not mean students must achieve a 2.5 GPA in each of these courses; rather, their GPA in these courses (combined) must be 2.5 or higher at the time of graduation.

Review your program policies and requirements in the Academic Calendar.

Any student who is not in Good Standing at the end of a term will be placed on Academic Probation, or required to withdraw, depending on their GPA. Students who remain on Academic Probation for two consecutive terms at the end of a Winter term will be required to withdraw from the University.

Depending on your program, you are required to finish your program within a specified timeline.

Review program time limits here: Residence Requirements and Time Limits

In keeping with the liberal education focus of the University, all undergraduate students must complete the Liberal Education List Requirement.

The Liberal Education List Requirement ensures that throughout your degree you will acquire a breadth of knowledge, encompassing a variety of disciplines, perspectives and theories - a solid foundation for personal and professional development. Over the course of your program, you must complete four courses from each of the following three lists (12 courses in total):

• List I - Fine Arts and Humanities
• List II - Social Science
• List III - Science

You can see these lists in the Academic Calendar. If a course is on one of these lists, you can also see that in the Course Catalogue and on the Timetable on the Bridge.

The Program Planning Guides for Faculty of Health Sciences programs include regular program requirements and Liberal Education requirements!

BHSc and BTR students

It is important that all students entering programs that require internship recognize that they may have to relocate to a different community (such as to another province or city) to complete their internship.

The location of students and location of suitable internship supervisors/sites means students need to be flexible to relocate, if necessary. The program has supports in place, such as an internship specialist and internship coordinator, to assist students in preparing for their internship, and the program encourages students to explore financial resources that may be available to offset the costs associated with potential relocation, such as bursaries or scholarships.

Nursing students

Students who have clearly identified specific clinical learning goals that require practice placements outside the southwestern part of Alberta Health Services South Zone may apply for an out-of-region placement for the Senior Preceptorship. Out-of-region placements are located beyond this geographic region and may include provincial, national, or international placements. Students intending to seek an out-of-region placement must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 on all courses counted towards program requirements (including courses taken at the University of Lethbridge and courses transferred from Lethbridge College or other institutions that are used to meet program requirements) completed by the end of the first term of the third year for B.N. students or by the end of Summer Session III of the first year for B.N. After Degree students.

Travel outside Lethbridge will be expected for Nursing clinical practice, and students will incur costs related to this travel.

Internship and practicum are full-time commitments for students (15.0 credit hours per term). You must request permission to take a course in addition to your internship. Please contact your academic advisor to discuss this possibility.

Students may be required to complete training related to their practicum or internship placement prior to the start of the academic term.

You must apply for graduation on the Bridge uleth.ca/bridge, even if you do not plan to attend your convocation ceremony. The application deadlines can be found at ulethbridge.ca/convocation/important-deadlines. You must formally apply to graduate by completing the Application for Graduation available on the Bridge.

Students who are not eligible to graduate will submit another application by the appropriate future deadline.

All dates and deadlines regarding graduation and convocation are located in the Academic Schedule (see Academic Schedule).

Students owing the University of Lethbridge fees, fines, or other charges will not be permitted to graduate and will have academic transcripts withheld. Outstanding fees include tuition fees, housing charges (including Telecom charges), and library fines.

An academic advisor can preform a graduation check to help students in the Faculty of Health Sciences ensure they have met the requirements to graduate.

A graduation check can only be requested after you've registered in your final courses. The graduation check is based on your course registration at the time it is completed. If you change your registration, it is your responsibility to ensure the courses fit in your program, or request a new grad check.

You need to complete your own graduation check using the appropriate Program Planning Guide prior to submitting this form.

A graduation check may take up to three weeks to process; you will be notified of the results through your University of Lethbridge email account.

Request a graduation check

For B.H.Sc. and B.T.R. students, the graduation GPA is the cumulative GPA recorded on your U of L transcript. You can view your unofficial transcript on the Bridge.

For NURSING STUDENTS the graduation GPA is calculated using the grade point average from all gradable courses used to meet program requirements; this includes courses taken at the U of L, courses completed at Lethbridge College, and transfer courses from other institutions. Only courses used to meet degree requirements will be used in this calculation (any extra courses that aren't required for your program are not calculated into your graduation GPA). Please refer to the Health Sciences section of the Calendar (from the year you entered the program) for a complete listing of courses required for each program. Please note that students in the collaborative Nursing program or students who have received transfer credit from another institution often have a significantly different graduation GPA than the cumulative GPA displayed on the U of L transcript.

You can use our GPA calculation templates to easily calculate your Graduation GPA.

Every Fall and Spring, students with outstanding academic performance are recognized on the Dean’s Honour List. This is a significant accomplishment, which places students among the very best at the University of Lethbridge. There are two ways to qualify for the Dean’s Honour List:

1. Students completing four or more graded courses in one term must achieve a GPA of 3.75 or higher on these courses; or,

2. Students completing three or fewer courses in one term must achieve a GPA of 3.75 or higher on these courses AND must have a cumulative University of Lethbridge GPA of 3.75 or higher AND must have completed a minimum of four graded courses at the University, including the current term.

The Dean's Honour List is available here: ulethbridge.ca/healthsciences/student-honours

At spring convocation, medals are awarded to recognize graduate and undergraduate academic achievement and performance. The Faculty of Health Sciences awards its most distinguished graduate for the academic year the Gold Medal. All students who have graduated during the academic year* with Great Distinction (with a GPA of 3.75 or higher) are eligible for consideration for the Faculty of Health Sciences Gold Medal.

*All students, whether you graduate in October, February, or May, are eligible for consideration for the Gold Medal. Awards are announced at the Spring convocation.

See details about the Gold Medal here ulethbridge.ca/healthsciences/faculty-health-sciences-gold-medal

There are several awards exclusively for Faculty of Health Sciences students.

Visit ulethbridge.ca/ross/student-finance/awards for more information about students awards for all students.