Course Registration

Things to Remember When Registering for Courses

1. Refer to Your Academic Calendar

This is the most important tool for guiding yourself in what you are required to take to fulfill the requirements for your degree. You will generally use the Calendar from the year you started at STU.

The Calendar has all university rules and regulations, policies, application procedures, degree requirements, departmental program information, academic standing, and scholarships. The following two parts are most important to you right now:

Section Two: Programs – Bachelor of Arts, Applied Arts, Certificate Programs

General degree requirements
A breakdown of everything that makes up the A, B, C/D group distribution requirement

Section Six: Course Descriptions

Program requirements for all academic departments
Details for minor/major/honours for each department
Catalogue of courses each department offers on a cyclical basis

2. The "Right" Mixture of Courses After Your First Year

Identify any additional introductory level courses

There is no "right" mixture of courses for all students, as this is different for everyone. Start by considering whether you are satisfied with all the introductory level courses you have taken. Identify if there are any additional introductory courses you would like to take (you can have a maximum of 48 credit hours at the 1000 level). If there are still subjects you wish to try, and you are below the maximum, you are able to do so.

However, when you are building your schedule, it is best to organize your upper level courses first and then choose the sections of intro courses that fit best for a balanced schedule. There are fewer sections of courses in the upper year course offerings, so it is important to prioritize those in your time table.

Familiarize yourself with the overall degree requirements, and requirements for majors and minors.

If you are happy with what you have taken in your first year, you may wish to begin specializing in particular subjects by taking higher level courses from those departments. Revisit the Academic Calendar to ensure you are taking courses relevant to minor/major/honours requirements for the subject area in which you are considering a focus. We do recommend taking the required courses, or category requirements before taking a lot of the general interest courses in your major.

Using Section Two of the Calendar, make sure you are clear on the group distribution requirement (Bachelor of Arts).

3. Browse course offerings for Semester 1 and Semester 2

Spend time looking for the courses you have identified for your requirements and try to prioritize those. Then, look for the courses you are interested in taking as elective credits outside of your requirements.

4. Review video on how to register on STU Self Service

You will be using STU Self Service to register for your courses. Reference the Course Registration Video for help with this system.

5. Build your class schedule for both semesters

Plan your course schedule in advance of course registration by looking through the available courses and working them into a calendar. Note that some courses may require professor permission to enrol, or you may need to acquire permission to take a course. Professors granting permission to add you to a course must give written permission to the Registrar’s Office and then you will be added.

Words of advice: build a balanced schedule! Do not pile all your courses on the same days. It makes for a difficult semester. Space your courses out throughout your week. It's also a good idea to space out required courses so you are not taking them all in one semester.

Do not load up on courses from a single discipline. You should never be registered in more than 18 credit hours from one subject per year—and you cannot have more than 60 credits in one subject during the course of your degree.

Review your course schedule. You can visualize your course schedule by writing it out. This will allow you to see how your courses work together to form your week and help you see if there are any conflicts or issues with your schedule that need to be resolved before registration opens.

A special note for criminology majors: Students planning a major in Criminology can expect to take most of their Criminology courses during their third and fourth years. If you are planning a major in Criminology as well as another subject, you should concentrate more on the other subject during your second year. You can also concentrate on getting your group distribution requirements finished before focusing more on your Criminology requirements in third and fourth years.

6. Department Chairs and Directors

Find the current Department Chair or Director to connect with the head of the department in which you are pursuing a major or honours for specific departmental advising if necessary. This can be found on each department's page under "Contact Us." Go to https://www.stu.ca/bachelorofarts/ to find the list of departments.

Early Course Registration Schedule 2025

Course Delivery for 2025-26 Academic Year