Information for Prospective Students

Admission Requirements (for all modules)

Six Grade 12U or M-level credits, including:

  • Grade 12U English (ENG4U)
  • Grade 12U Biology (SBI4U)

Strongly Recommended

  • Students wishing to pursue the BSc in Honors Kinesiology and/or careers in medicine and dentistry should include Grade 12U Chemistry in their high school course selection.
  • Grade 11U Physics (SPH3U) or Grade 12U Physics (SPH4U) is also strongly recommended.
  • Students interested in the BSc program are encouraged to select one Grade 12U-level Math course. Advanced Functions (MHF4U) is strongly recommended.

Western's Degree Structure

Degrees can either be three-year or four-year degrees. Three-year degrees are 15 credits (5 credits per year x 3 years). Four-year degrees are 20 credits (5 credits per year x 4 years). Four-year degrees are now the norm and required for most graduate schools.

Modules are specializations, majors and minors. At Western they represent the majority of your 20 credits you take in one subject area. A specialization in Kinesiology means you take 10.5 Kinesiology credits. A major in Kinesiology is only 7.5 Kinesiology credits, leaving you more space to take credits from other subject areas. You can combine modules together. For example; A specialization in Kinesiology with a minor in Psychology.

Term and Credit System

Each academic year is divided into 2 terms. Term 1 runs September to December and Term 2 runs January to April. A full course load for the academic year is 5.0 credits. Some courses you will earn 0.5 credits as they are only 1 term long. Some courses are 1.0 credits as they run through both terms.

0.5 credit courses are marked by having an “A” (first term) or “B” (second term) following the course number, ie. Kin 1088A. If there is no letter following the course number, it means it’s a 1.0 credit course, and runs right through both terms, ie. Psychology 1000.

Every student needs to complete 2.0 credits worth of Essay designated courses by the time they graduate. An essay designated course means that there will be a written word component to the course; this may be a written report or an essay. 0.5 credit essay courses are marked with an “F” (first term essay course) or “G” (second term essay course), i.e. Anthropology 1025F. A 1.0 essay course has a capital “E” after the course number, i.e. Sociology 1021E.

Modules Offered

Honors Degree

Honors Limited Enrolment (15 spaces in each)

Honors Combined Degrees

Non-Honors Programs

Each of the specializations requires 10.5 Kinesiology credits. The majority of students end up choosing the Honors Specialization in Kinesiology - BA. The second most pursued program is the  Honors Specialization in Kinesiology - BSc.

The Honors BA offers the most flexibility with Kinesiology course selection; allowing a student to tailor their course selection to what their strengths are.

The BSc also consists of 10.5 Kinesiology credits, but there are mandatory Kin science classes (i.e. biomechanical analysis of human locomotion, physiology of fitness appraisal, muscle metabolism, etc). These courses are open to BA students but are not mandatory. As well, for senior level electives the BSc has 2.0 electives of your choice with 3.0 mandatory science credits. Comparatively, the BA has 5.0 electives of whatever you like. You can take science courses if you would like, but it is not mandatory. (See below for a chart showing the difference between the Honors BSc Kin Specialization & Honors BA Kin Specialization)

The Physical Education for Teachers, Fitness and Exercise Prescription and Sport Management specialization also require 10.5 Kin credits, but the course selection is more specific. Many of the courses from these modules are available to students in other Kinesiology modules.

Hons. BA Kin vs. Hons. BSC Kin Specializations


SIMILARITIES
  • 10.5 Kinesiology credits total
  • Must take 0.5 credits in Statistics

Curriculum includes: Anatomy, exercise physiology, biomechanics, athletic injuries, sport and exercise psychology, ethics, sport

DIFFERENCES

BA BSc
Anatomy Difference
  • 0.5 Anatomy
  • 1.0 Cadaver Anatomy
Kin Science Courses vs. Optional Kin Courses
  • 3.5 Kinesiology Electives (Kin socio-cultural, Kin science, etc.)
  • 2.5 Kinesiology Sciences (exercise physiology, biomechanics)
  • 1.5 Kinesiology Electives (Kin socio-cultural, Kin science, etc.)
Socio-Cultural Credit Differences
  • 2.0 Socio-cultural credits (Sport Psychology, Sport History, Ethics, etc.)
  • 1.0 Socio-cultural credits (Sport Psychology, Sport History, Ethics, etc.)
External Course Differences (courses you need to take outside of Kinesiology)
  • 5.0 Electives (These can be any courses, including Sciences courses)
  • 3.0 Senior-level Science credits
  • 2.0 Electives (These can be any courses)

First Year Course Comparison


BA - Kinesiology BSc - Kinesiology BA - Sport Management BA - Fitness & Exercise Prescription BA - Physical Education for Teaching
1.0 Physiology 1021
1.0 Physiology 1021
1.0 Physiology 1021
1.0 Physiology 1021
1.0 Physiology 1021
0.5 Kin 1088A (Sport Psychology)
0.5 Kin 1088A (Sport Psychology)
0.5 Kin 1088A (Sport Psychology)
0.5 Kin 1088A (Sport Psychology)
0.5 Kin 1088A (Sport Psychology)
0.5 Kin 1080B (Psychomotor Behaviour)
0.5 Kin 1080B (Psychomotor Behaviour)
0.5 Kin 1080B (Psychomotor Behaviour)
0.5 Kin 1080B (Psychomotor Behaviour)
0.5 Kin 1080B (Psychomotor Behaviour)
3.0 Electives at the 1000 level
2.0 Science courses (Biology, Chemistry, Math, Physics or Comp Sci.)
1.0 Sociology 1020 or 1021E
3.0 Electives at the 1000 level
3.0 Electives at the 1000 level

1.0 Elective at the 1000 level
1.0 Business 1220 (Business Administration)
Experience profile reflecting on leadership and training skills
Experience profile reflecting on leadership and training skills


1.0 Elective at the 1000 level

One letter of recommendation that supports a background in sport games, dance and/or exercise

Additional Requirements

  • 1.0 credit of Category B (Arts and Humanities) - complete by graduation
  • 2.0 Essay– complete by graduation
  • Standard First Aid and Level C CPR—complete by end of year 2
  • Swim - complete by end of year 3. Take one of our swim classes, a swim test, or submit report card showing you have completed a higher level swim class externally. See Kin office for the accepted levels for different external swim programs.

Should I be in the BSc Program?

When deciding whether or not you should be pursuing the BSc program, ask yourself the following questions;

  1. How many science courses have you taken at one time? How challenging was the work load for you? You will take 3 in first year if you want to pursue the BSc.
  2. Are you interested in taking biology, chemistry and physics? Do you want to take them through out your degree?
  3. Did you ever need to repeat any of your science courses?

Remember, you can still take Kin science and science courses as a BA student, but you have more control over how much science.

What you should know about Graduate Schools

  • Professional programs such as Medicine, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy do not give priority to students with a particular degree (BSc or otherwise).
  • The admission average of many of these programs range from mid to high 80’s. It is important you choose courses that you are interested in and therefore will do well in as opposed to pursuing a program that may not be a good fit for you. This will help you get the grades you need to be competitive.

Western provides the best student experience among Canada's leading research-intensive universities.