Associate of Science Degree

Admission Requirements

There are currently no formal admission requirements for the general Associate of Science degree. However, please be advised that some courses within this program require the completion of a prerequisite(s).

Effective 2026 Fall, Admission Requirements will be:

1. C in English 12 or equivalent or successful English assessment
     or
   IELTS 6.0 or equivalent
     or ENG 104  

Note(s):

• Some courses within the program have prerequisites that will also need to be met.
• Students interested in Biology courses should have a C in Chemistry 11 or CHE 051 ; and C in one of Life Sciences 11, Biology 11, Anatomy and Physiology 12, Biology 12, BIO 060  or BIO 110 .
• Students interested in Math, Physics or Chemistry courses should have C+ in Pre-Calculus 12 or equivalent or successful Math assessment . It is recommended that students intending to take Chemistry or Physics in their first year also have a C+ in Chemistry 12 or Physics 12, respectively. 
• Students can take any needed upgrading courses to achieve course prerequisites before or after admission into the Associate of Science Degree. 

Course Requirements

The following overview describes the general requirements for an Associate of Science degree. However, choosing the right combination of courses will depend on a number of factors. NIC’s educational advisors will work with you to personalize these general requirements to meet your goals.

Completion Requirements

• Students must achieve an overall average grade of C (cumulative GPA of 2.00) calculated on all courses counting toward the associate degree. 
• Must be completed within 5 years. 
• A minimum 50% of the program must be completed at North Island College. 
• No course may be used to meet more than one of the specific associate degree requirements.
• Courses used to complete the credential must have transfer credit to at least one B.C. research university (UBC, UVIC, SFU, or UNBC).

Associate Degree Course Options

University transfer courses in the following subject areas may be eligible for credit toward completion of the Associate of Science degree.  Courses must be at the 100 level or higher and must transfer to one of the following Universities: University of British Columbia (UBC), University of Victoria (UVIC), Simon Fraser University (SFU), University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC). Confirm transferabilty on the BC Transfer Guide.  

For a complete list of courses and their details enter the subject area’s three-letter “Prefix” in Course Descriptions . 

Arts (includes both Humanities and Social Sciences)

Humanities

• Indigenous Leadership (ABG) 
• Chinese (CHN) 
• English (ENG)
• Fine Arts (FIN) 
• French (FRE)
• Global Studies (GLS)
• History (HIS)
• Indigenous Language Fluency (ILF)
• Liberal Studies (LIB)
• Philosophy: (PHI)
• Spanish (SPN)

Social Sciences

• Anthropology (ANT)
• Criminology (CRM)
• Digital Design & Development (DGL)
• Economics (ECO)
• Education (EDU)
• First Nations Studies (FNS)
• Geography (GEO)
• Human Services (HSW)
• Political Science (POL)
• Psychology (PSY)
• Sociology (SOC)
• Social Service (SSW)
• Women’s Studies (WST)

Sciences

• Biology (BIO)
• Chemistry (CHE)
• Computer Science (CPS)
• Digital Design & Development (DGL)
• Mathematics (MAT)
• Physics (PHY)
• Space Science and Astronomy (SSA)
• Statistics (STA)

Other Areas

• Indigenous Leadership (ABG) 
• Business (BUS)