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Electives To Take

Last updated on 2023/07/06

Most CS programs require students to take some Arts/Languages/Social Science classes. The Honours Computer Science program, for example, requires three of such courses (at least one in Arts/Languages and one in Social Science).

The bolded courses are considered to be bird courses by other CSS members who have taken them.

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This list gives you an overview about classes that you may want to take to satisfy your requirements. However, you should consult an advisor first or look at your UWinsite Students page to see whether they can satisfy the requirements of your specific program.

Arts Courses​

  • GART-1500: Effective Writing I - this class is easy if you feel comfortable with writing and grammar. There are a lot of independent readings, weekly assignments, quizzes, and paragraph-writing. However, the classes are short (50 minutes per week). Make sure to follow the rubric and talk to your GA/TA whenever you need help!
Course Options
  • ARAB-2610: Introduction to Arabic Culture
  • ASIA-2620: Special Topics: Chinese Culture
  • DRAM-1000: Introduction to Theatre and Performance Studies
  • DRAM-1300: Theatre History
  • ENGL-1001: Composition
  • FILM-1001: Film Studies I
  • FILM-1100: Film Production I
  • FILM-1110: Film Production II
  • GART-1210: Introduction to Indigenous Issues
  • GART-2040: Health Care Ethics: Life-Span
  • GART-2090: Ethics in the Professions
  • GREK-1100: Introduction to Ancient Greek
  • GRST-1100: Introduction to Greek Civilization
  • GRST-2000: Topics in Classical Culture
  • GRST-2210: Latin Prose
  • INCS-1370: Introduction to German, Italian and Spanish Literature
  • INCS-2020: Culture & Ideas
  • INCS-2200: Language, Linguistics and Society
  • JWST-2350: To Auschwitz & Beyond
  • MACS-1500: Contemporary Visual Culture
  • PHIL-1100: Introduction to Western Philosophy
  • PHIL-1120: Philosophy and Human Nature
  • PHIL-1290: Contemporary Moral Issues
  • PHIL-1600: Reasoning Skills
Qualifying Subject Codes

Courses with these subjects in their course codes are generally permitted to satisfy Arts requirements.

  • Anthrozoology (ANZO)
  • Art History (MACS)
  • Greek and Roman Studies (GRST, GRHS, GREK)
  • Dramatic Art (DRAM)
  • English and Creative Writing (ENGL)
  • Film Studies (FILM)
  • General Courses, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (GART)
  • Intercultural Studies (INCS)
  • Music-Academic Studies (MUSC)
  • Music-Performance Studies (MUSP)
  • Philosophy (PHIL)
  • Visual Arts (VSAR, CNMA)
  • Women's and Gender Studies* (WGST)
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Special Notes​

  • *The following Women's and Gender Studies courses may be taken for Arts credit: WGST-1200, WGST1300, WGST-2190, WGST-2360, WGST-2700, WGST-3590, and WGST-3850.

Languages Courses​

Taking these courses are especially useful if you are considering student exchange in your third year.

Course Options
  • GRMN 1020: Intensive German for Beginners
  • GRMN 2020: Intensive Intermediate German
  • ITLN 1020: Intensive Italian for Beginners
  • ITLN 2020: Intensive Intermediate Italian
  • LATN 1200: Introductory Latin I
  • SPAN 1020: Intensive Spanish for Beginners
  • SPAN 2020: Intensive Intermediate Spanish
Qualifying Subject Codes

Courses with these subjects in their course codes are generally permitted to satisfy Languages requirements.

  • Arabic (ARAB)
  • French (FREN)
  • German (GRMN)
  • Ancient Greek (GREK)
  • Italian (ITLN)
  • Latin (LATN)
  • Spanish (SPAN)
  • Hebrew (JWST)
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Special Notes​

  • The intensive languages series are all double-credit courses.
  • Students who have taken Grade 11/12 "U" French or equivalent can take FREN-1140 or FREN-1210, depending on the grade level taken, along with other French classes. See an advisor for details.
  • Courses in all languages listed above that may be used to satisfy language requirements include: XXXX-1000, XXXX-1010, XXXX-1020, XXXX-2000, XXXX-2010, XXXX-2020, XXXX-3000, XXXX-3010. All French Studies courses, along with ARAB-1100 and ARAB-1110, count as language requirements. All other courses will only count as Arts courses.

Social Science Courses​

  • ECON-1100: Introduction to Economics I - Harshdip found this course easy. The midterms and finals were all multiple choice.
  • ECON-1110: Introduction to Economics II
Course Options
  • CMAF-1010: Introduction to Media and Society
  • HIST-1030: Past to Present: Understanding History
  • HIST-1130: Europe Encounters the World: Facing Islam, 8th-15th Century
  • HIST-1230: The World in the 20th Century 1914-1945
  • HIST-2430: Canada from Early European Contacts to the Origins of Confederation, 1600-1867
  • HIST-2460: Aboriginal Peoples in Canadian History: Beginning to Mid-Nineteenth Century
  • POLS-1000: Introduction to Canadian Government and Politics
  • POLS-1300: Comparative Politics in a Changing World
  • POLS-1600: Introduction to International Relations
  • POLS-2120: Environmental Policy and Politics
  • POLS-2300: Space, Place, and Scale: Foundations of Human Geography
  • PSYC-1070: Positive Psychology
  • PSYC-1150: Introduction to Psychology as a Behavioural Science
  • PSYC-1160: Introduction to Psychology as a Social Science
  • SACR-1100: Foundations of Social Life
  • SACR-1110: Introduction to Family and Social Relations
  • SJST/DISB-1000: Social Justice in Action
  • SJST-1400: Queer Activism (also offered as WGST 1400)
  • SOSC-1210: Introduction to Indigenous Issues
  • SWRK-1170: Meeting Human Needs through Social Welfare
  • WGST-1000: Women in Canadian Society
  • WORK-1000: Labour and Social Movements in Canadian Society
Qualifying Subject Codes

Courses with these subjects in their course codes are generally permitted to satisfy Social Science requirements.

  • Anthropology (SACR)
  • Anthrozoology (ANZO)
  • Communication, Media and Film (CMAF, CNMA)
  • Diaspora Studies (DIAS)
  • Disability Studies (DISB)
  • Economics (ECON)*
  • General Courses, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (SOSC)**
  • Human Geography (HUGR)
  • History (HIST)
  • Interdisciplinary Arts and Science courses (ARSC)
  • Labour Studies (WORK)
  • Political Science (POLS)
  • Psychology (PSYC)
  • Social Justice (SJST)
  • Social Work (SWRK)
  • Sociology (SACR)
  • Women's and Gender Studies (WGST)***
  • Work and Employment Issues (WORK)
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Special Notes​

  • *All Economics courses will be permitted to satisfy either Science or Social Science requirements.
  • **The following courses may be taken for Social Science credit: ESTU-1000, and ESTU-2100.
  • ***ANZO 1600, WGST-1600, WGST-1200, WGST-1300, WGST-2300, WGST-2190, WGST-2700, WGST-3590, and WGST-3850 can satisfy either a Social Science or an Arts requirement.

Course Tips​

  • Bailey recommends taking ECON-1100 online instead of in-person, if available. The class only consists of midterms and final, and the midterms were all online and therefore open book. Read the textbook thoroughly and you will do well. If the professor requires Pearson MyLab, Christine recommends utilizing its flashcards and mastery questions as study guides.

CS electives​

Although no Computer Science courses can be used to satisfy your Arts/Languages/Social Science requirements, you might want to take some easy classes alongside your hard major classes. Here are some recommendations:

  • COMP-2067: Programming for Beginners - Steven says this is a super easy course. Teaches you bare basics of Python (think COMP-1400 but easier and Python).
  • COMP-2057: Intro to the Internet - Simple HTML/CSS assignments.
  • COMP-2097: Social Media and Mobile Technology for End Users - A bit busy with assignments/projects but still overall very easy
  • COMP-2707: Advanced Website Design - Easy exams, covers HTML, CSS, a bit of Javascript but a lot of work with assignments/projects

Many of these classes also have a distance education option (as of 2022), so they can help you make your timetable more flexible.

Citations

Information about Arts/Languages/Social Science courses are largely compiled from the following two websites: