Course Planning

Overview

---

Welcome to planning your BBA/BCS degrees!

This page will guide you through your academic journey as a BBA/BCS double degree student. Below includes the program requirements; how to enhance your degree; how, when, and what courses to take, etc., which will help you plan the entirety of your DD program. Click on the links below to quickly access major sections of this page. 

Program Requirements

---

Each university has their own Calendar, which is the official source on courses, programs and plans, related policies, and regulations for students. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the policies, regulations, general information, and specific requirements contained in the Calendar for both Universities. If the checklist and other information on our website has an error, then the University Calendars always takes precedence.

Below is a summary of program requirements for a BBA/BCS student to graduate. You must complete 52.5 courses, meet the requirements from both universities and their various additional contraints.

UW Requirements	WLU Requirements	Either Universities
8 required MATH courses (including STAT and CO) 11.5 required CS course 4 CS electives 2 from CS 340-398 or 440-489 2 from CS 440-489 1 Communication course	For students starting on or before 2022/2023: 18 required BUS/ECON courses 6 BUS 300- or 400-level BUS or ENTR elective  For students starting on or after 2023/2024: 17 required BUS/ECON courses 7 BUS 300- or 400-level BUS or ENTR elective	4 general electives in any subject, including CS or BU courses

Checklists

The University calendars can be confusing to read, so we've made a handy checklist to help outline the requirements for your BBA/BCS program. You can use the checklist to determine which courses you still need before you can graduate. Please note that the checklist is not a substitute for the official degree regulations. If there is a question of interpretation or a discrepancy, the University Calendars always takes precedence.

To choose the correct checklist below, select the checklist based on the academic year you've started in the BBA/BCS program. If you started school between September 1, 2020 and August 31, 2021, then your academic year is 2020/2021. Likewise, if you've started school September 1, 2019 and August 31, 2020, then your academic year is 19/20.

Starting Year	Checklist	UW Calendar	WLU Calendar
2023-2024	To be released	Official UW	Official WLU
2022-23	Checklist	Official UW	Official WLU
2021-22	Checklist	Official UW	Official WLU
2020-21	Checklist	Official UW	Official WLU
2019-20	Checklist	Official UW	Official WLU
2018-19	Checklist	Official UW	Official WLU
2017-18	Checklist	Official UW	Official WLU
2016-17	Checklist	Official UW	Official WLU

Enhance your degree(s): add a specialization, concentration, or minors 

With you being in two world class programs, you also have the option to enhance one or both of your degrees.

For your BCS degree, you may add a specialization, change your major to BCS Data Science, or add another minor at UW. Please go to the CS Major page, as the process for is identical for DD and CS single degree students. Adding a specialization is NOT a requirement for you to graduate from BBA/BCS. The addition of specialization(s) and/or a minor, or change to the BCS Data Science program, would have further requirements and constraints that may extend the duration of your education. Advanced planning on when to take courses for these plans is strongly advised. 

The BBA degree allows the addition of concentrations and minors at WLU. Please contact the WLU BBA Advisors for more information. 

Academic Progression Requirements

---

As a BBA/BCS student, you must meet academic progression requirements for both the BBA and BCS program. The BBA academic progression requirements tend to have a firmer deadline compared to the UW BCS academic progression. If you fail to meet your progression requirements, then you may be removed from the BBA/BCS program. Below is a summary of academic progression requirements for each year.

Year	UW Policy*	WLU Policy*
First year	You must be in good standing (cumulative average of all courses at UW and WLU must be 60%+) or excellent standing (cumulative average of all courses is 80%+) Complete the Communication Skills list 1 course (60%+) before 2A Ideally, you should complete CS1[134]5, CS116 and/or (CS1[34]6+CS136L), Math 1[34]5, Math 1[34]6, Math 1[234]7, and Math 1[234]8 by the end of your first year	First-year academic progression requirements for DD must be completed by August 31 of your first year (e.g., if you started school September 2023, then you must complete your progression requirements by August 31, 2024) Complete at least 10 distinct courses (5.0 units), with maximum 3 repeats in total and maximum 1 repeat for any course Minimum GPA of 7.0 in BU111 and BU121 Minimum GPA of 5.0 in non-BU courses from both UW and WLU  You must complete BU 111, 121 (first attempts of these courses must be completed by April 30), and EC 120 and 140
Second year	You must be in good standing (cumulative average of all courses at UW and WLU must be 60%+) or excelent standing (cumulative average of all courses is 80%+) Your CS major average must be 60% or higher. See our video on how to calculate your CS major average.  You must not accumulate more than 4 failed courses (2.0 units)	At the end of your second year, you must complete your second year BU courses, STAT 231, CO 250, and 20 (10.0 units) distinct courses by Dec 31 of your second year
Third year		Complete your year three BU courses and 30 (15.0 units) distinct courses by Dec 31 of your third year
Fourth year onwards		Complete your remaining BU courses and 40 (20.0 units) distinct courses by August 31 or Dec 31 of your fourth year (depending on coop). Ensure you are on track to have 52.5 courses to graduate

*If there is a question of interpretation or a discrepancy, the University Calendar for UW and WLU always takes precedence. 

Course Planning

---

WLU courses: Business Core 

For the DD, you must take several WLU and UW courses. The BU courses may sometimes be refered as your business core courses. Your first 6 academic terms, you must take the below 15 courses in "blocks" during the specified terms (*=courses that must be completed in first year; †=courses that must be completed in second year; ‡=courses that must be completed in third year). These WLU courses cannot be rearranged or taken in different terms. Only in special circumstances (e.g., an extended illness), an alternative plan to the above may be taken, but this must be approved by the WLU BBA Advisors. 

Note that BBA/BCS students can NOT take BUS 415 or BUS 486 as BUS electives since these courses are considered anti-requisites with CS 490. Students pursuing a CA (Accounting) certification with their BBA must take BUS 456 instead of CS 490. If you are pursuing this option, please contact the WLU BBA Advisors.

1A (F)	1B (W)	Coop/off (S)	2A (F)	Coop (W)	2B (S)	3A (F)	Coop (W)	3B (S)
BU111* EC120*	BU121* EC140*		BU127† BU283† BU288†		BU231† BU247†	BU352‡ BU354‡ BU393‡		BU362‡ BU375‡ BU398‡

In addition, there are three required BUS/ECON courses that are not listed above; below are suggestions for when to take them:

• EC250 and/or EC260
  • For students starting 22/23 and earlier: EC250 and/or EC260 can be taken any time. One or both may be a prerequisite for many of the BU4XX courses. Laurier recommends you complete one or both courses before 3A, but this is not a requirement. Many students complete EC 2[56]0 as an online course while on co-op.
  • For students starting 23/24 onwards: ECE250 and ECE260 are not required for DD. However many BU electives in finance require ECE250 and/or ECE260 as prerequisites.
• BU481 and BU491 are typically completed in 4A and 4B respectively.

UW courses: Math and CS core 

Generally, the arrangement of your CS/MATH core courses is much more flexible than the BU core. As long as course prerequisites are met, and as you meet your academic progression requirements with WLU, then courses can be taken in any term. The only exception is that CO250 and STAT231 must be completed before the BUS 3A block as they are incorporated into the BBA academic progression requirements. If you fail to meet this requirement, you may be removed from the DD BBA/BCS program. See the examples below on when to take your courses. 

Currently, all of the required CS/MATH courses are offered every term, except for CS490 and CS492 courses, which are only offered in Winter and Spring.

Many upper year courses depend on CS341 or CS350. Depending on which CS electives you want to take, you may wish to take CS350 before CS341 (or vice-versa). Most student try to take CS350 first as this course opens up more upper year courses than CS341. For a visual chart of CS prerequisites, please visit our “prerequisite chain for CS major courses” page.

Your CS electives (CS3XX and CS4XX) might not be offered every term. In general, CS courses are offered in the same terms year-to-year, but there is no guarantee of availability until the term before. You may use the “detailed course descriptions” page to try and plan your future courses.

How to take courses during your work terms and online courses

• Unless you are employed in the Waterloo region and your employer allows flexible hours so that you can attend lectures, only online courses are encouraged during co-op terms. Details regarding online courses are noted below:

  • Most courses are offered in-person only, but some UW courses maybe offered online through the Center for Extended Learning (CEL). For CS courses, only CS115 and CS116 are available online in some terms; otherwise, none of the required CS courses have an online option. Many Math courses are available online (e.g., MATH13x, STAT23x, CO250), but are subject to availability; so check the CEL for when Math courses are available online. 

  • With the exception of EC2[56]0, none of the BUS core courses can be taken online; however, it may be possible to repeat a BUS course online to improve your grade. Talk to the WLU BBA Advisors for more details.

• WLU-based BBA/BCS students can enroll into two courses per co-op term (talk to the WLU Coop Advisors). UW-based BBA/BCS students can enroll in one course per co-op term; however, UW students may be allowed to take a second course during a co-op term with their employer’s consent. Email the UW Coop Math Advisors to request a “load increase” override during a co-op term. 

*=courses that must be completed in first year
†=courses that must be completed in second year
‡=courses that must be completed in third year
§=you must complete your STAT231 and CO250 before your 3A BUS block
‖=required for students who started in the DD program in 22/23 or earlier; optional for students who started in the DD program 23/24 and later

Additional helpful links:

• Full CS prerequisite chart
• Full math ​(for CS) prerequisite chart
• CS course descriptions
• FAQ page