Guide to Choosing Electives

Considerations

This page is intended to support you in organizing how you choose your electives. It is not an exhaustive list of courses that can be taken as electives and everyone will approach selection based on different motives and priorities, including the preference/need to:

– maximize specific subject matter or satisfy requirements of a minor (or two)
– learn a language or other widely applicable skill or knowledge base (e.g. writing, finances, culture, business)
– pursue certain professors, teaching styles, class sizes, online vs on campus format
– balance science courses with as much non-science content as possible
– get as much science-specific experience as possible
– fulfill certain admission requirements for desired post-undergraduate pathways

Consider the following when planning for and registering in electives:

– not all courses are offered every term or year
– generally speaking, you must meet the course prerequisites
– course descriptions (including prerequisites and some registration restrictions) are available here.
– some courses have restrictions on them which prioritize or limit registration to certain programs
– all restrictions are displayed in the course description in Carleton Central’s timetable of offerings and you will get a warning when adding them to your worksheet if you do not meet the restriction

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Types of Electives in Neuroscience Programs

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Advanced Science Faculty Elective

Applies only to Neuroscience & Mental Health 20-credit Major & Honours

Must be a 2000-level or above course offered by a Department in the Faculty of Science
Some exceptions apply – see Regulations page for details (more on that below).
Some science-based GEOG or PSYC courses listed in the UG Calendar Regulations (more on that below).
NEUR courses are permitted.
Counts toward Major CGPA and Overall CGPA. Audit pulls in highest grade where possible.

Examples of popular choices:

NEUR 2801, NEUR 4002, NEUR 4900 Independent Study
Any of the options of 3000-level and 4000-level NEUR courses above and beyond program requirements
PSYC 2700 Cognitive Psychology, PSYC 2307 Human Neuropsychology I, PSYC 3307 Human Neuropsychology II
PSYC 3506 Cognitive Development, PSYC 3702 Perception
CHEM 2203 Organic Chemistry I, CHEM 2204 Organic Chemistry II
BIOL 2903 and other BIOL courses, including Anatomy and Physiology. Click here for details
ENSC 2001, PHYS 2401, PHYS 2203, ISAP courses, FOOD, HLTH, ENSC, and more
Some ERTH courses, but be sure to check Regulations in UG Calendar for exemptions

As mentioned, some exceptions apply. Always refer to and consider the following:

Bachelor of Science Regulations listed in the Undergraduate Calendar for your catalogue year, which is the year you began that specific program. This can be found on the upper right-hand corner of your audit. You may need to visit the Calendar’s archives to identify the regulations for your catalogue year.
You can use the planned courses feature on your audit to see where a course will fit, or simply register and run your audit to verify. When in doubt, reach out to the Neuroscience Undergraduate Administrator for advising.

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Science Continuation Courses

Applies only to Neuroscience & Mental Health programs (15-credit, 20-credit, and 20-credit Honours)

Follow the exact same criteria as Advanced Science Faculty Electives except that NEUR courses are not permitted.
Only counts toward Overall CGPA.

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Courses Outside the Faculty of Science & Engineering

Applies to all programs in the Department of Neuroscience

Often referred to as “non-science electives”, these are courses that encourage a breadth of study within a Bachelor of Science degree and therefore cannot be science courses (or engineering) courses.
Allowed to be 1000-level if there is room in audit/program. Click here to read about the 1000-level credit maximum allowance and other aspects of engaging with your audit.
Only counts toward Overall CGPA.
It’s fairly common to find this type of elective course in the Summer term(s).

Choose courses offered by a unit within the:

As mentioned, some exceptions apply. Always refer to and consider the following:

Bachelor of Science Regulations listed in the Undergraduate Calendar for your catalogue year, which is the year you began that specific program. This can be found on the upper right-hand corner of your audit. You may need to visit the Calendar’s archives to identify the regulations for your catalogue year.
Course descriptions that may state if the course is restricted to certain groups of students.
Join a course then run your audit and see what happens, or play around with the hypothetical course add feature. Experiment, observe, draw conclusions, and adjust as needed!

Examples of popular Courses Outside of Science & Engineering

CGSC 1001 Mysteries of the Mind
CGSC 2001 Theories in Cognitive Science
CGSC 3501 Cognitive Neuroscience
PHIL 2408 Bioethics
PHIL 2501 Introduction to Philosophy of Mind
PHIL 2301 Introduction to the Philosophy of Science
PHIL 3501 Philosophy of Cognitive Science
PHIL 3502 Mind and Action
PSYC 1001 Introduction to Psychology I
PSYC 1002 Introduction to Psychology II
Additional PSYC courses (not listed as science-based courses in UG Calendar Regulations)
RELI 2410 Buddhism, RELI 2713 Mystical and Contemplative Traditions, RELI 2732 Death & Afterlife, RELI 2800 Indigenous Traditions
Classical Civilization, Greek & Roman Studies, Humanities, Gender Studies, Sociology, Philosophy, Languages, and so much more, so go see what’s out there!

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Free Electives

Applies only to all Neuroscience & Mental Health programs

This is the least restricted category of electives. They can be any of the courses listed above, from any of the units referred to above.
You have to meet prerequisites and acknowledge reality of registration restrictions.
Allowed to be 1000-level if there is room in audit/program. Click here to read about the 1000-level credit maximum allowance and other aspects of engaging with your audit.
Only counts toward Overall CGPA. When electives share qualities and theoretically can count in more than one category, the audit will always pull courses with more rules to complete that section first, i.e. the Free Electives section is usually satisfied last because it has the least rules around what courses can be used to fulfill it.
Free Electives are the best courses to rely on for summer studies.

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