BSc Human Ecology - Clothing, Textiles and Material Culture Approved Program Electives (APE)

Guidelines

Approved Program Electives (APEs) allow students to gain specialized knowledge in an area of interest as part of their degree. Students are encouraged to be thoughtful in their course selection to take advantage of this opportunity. Specialization is a way to distinguish your degree and to develop a specific expertise beyond your major area of study.

Examples

There are a variety of ways to specialize, for instance, you might specialize your program through taking additional courses in Human Ecology (see catalogue) and/or in Math, Chemistry or Physics (see examples below), or in other areas, such as Business (e.g., Marketing), an area of practice (e.g., Product Design, Urban Planning, Costume for Theatre), an academic discipline (e.g., Social History, History of Art & Design, Sociology, Social Geography, Anthropology), or a theme of interest (e.g., Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion).

For example, if you are interested in Textile Science you might combine a major requirement with your APEs:

  • Major Requirement (3 Units):
    •  CHEM 101 – Introductory University Chemistry I
  • APEs (12 Units):
    • CHEM 261 – Organic Chemistry I
    • HECOL 470 – Advanced Materials for Protective Clothing
    • HECOL 474 – Introduction to Nanotechnologies and Smart Textiles
    • HECOL 476 – Textile Analysis and Care

If you are interested in the practice of Design you might want to take:

  • Major Requirement (3 Units):
    • ART 134 – Art Fundamentals
  • APEs (12 Units):
    • DES 135 – Design Fundamentals
    • DES 300 – Foundations of Industrial Design I
    • DES 301 – Foundations of Industrial Design II
    • DES 302 – Introduction to Visual Presentation I
If you are interested in Marketing you might want to take:
  • APEs (12 Units):
    • MARK 301 - Introduction to Marketing
    • MARK 320 - Consumer Behaviour
    • MARK 455 - Sustainability and Responsible Marketing     
    • MARK 472 - Branding and Marketing Strategy

In Sociology, you might want to take:

  • Major Requirements (3 Units):
    • SOC 100 - Introductory Sociology
  • APEs (12 Units):
    • SOC 241 - Social Psychology
    • SOC 346 - Media and the Production of Culture
    • SOC 444 - Critical Media Studies
    • SOC 477 - Media and Cultural Globalization

 By design, there is a great deal of flexibility in the APEs. It is a good idea to work with an academic or student advisor when planning your APEs to gain maximum value from this piece of your program. 

 

Approved Program Electives (APE) must be selected according to the following directions:

  • The total 100 and 200 level APEs cannot be greater than 2 courses (*6). 
  • Any courses on this list that have already been taken/granted credit for as required program courses cannot be used as an APE.
  • Students need to carefully consider prerequisites when planning their APEs. The purpose of a prerequisite is to provide foundational knowledge necessary to be successful for more advanced study. Some courses allow students to enroll without the prerequisites with consent of the instructor, but it is recommended students take all prerequisites when possible.
  • Not all courses are offered every year. Students must take this into account when planning their programs.
  • If you see a course of interest not on this list, meet with a student advisor to discuss how it could fit with your other APEs to develop a specialization of interest.
  • Always refer to Bear Tracks for the most up to date course information.

Approved Subjects

  • ART – Any Course in Art
  • ANTHR – Any Course in Anthropology
  • DES – Any Course in Design (some DES courses may not be available to HECOL students)
  • EXRI – Any Course in Residential Interiors (please check with a student advisor which courses
    count as 2XX and 3XX level courses)
  • HADVC – Any Course in History of Art, Design, and Visual Culture
  • HECOL – Any Course in Human Ecology
  • HIST – Any Course in History
  • MARK – Any Course in Marketing
  • NS – Any Course in Native Studies
  • SOC – Any Course in Sociology
  • T DES – Any Course in Theatre Design
  • WGS – Any Course in Women and Gender Studies

Approved Courses

Sustainability

Any course from the University of Alberta Sustainability certificate program. For more information, see their website.

Other

Any course from the Community Service Learning certificate program. For more information, see their website. 

 Any course from the Certificate in Interdisciplinary Leadership Studies certificate program. For more information, see their website.