Combined Degree Ivey HBA/Science

General Information and Admission

This is a five-year program leading to an Ivey HBA and an Honours BSc with an Honours Specialization module in science. Please see the Academic Calendar .

The basic structure of the program is:

  • Two years in a science program
  • One year as strictly an Ivey student
  • Two final years as an Ivey and Science student

Students apply for the combined degree program during the HBA 1st year, typically their third year of university. To be eligible for consideration for admission to this program, students must complete: a full first year (5.0 courses), including all the principal courses with the appropriate marks required for admission to an Honours Specialization offered by the Faculty of Science; a second year (5.0 courses) at 深夜福利站, including the appropriate courses of their Honours Specialization module (see below) with a minimum average mark of 70% and no mark less than 60% in these modular courses, and Business Administration 2257 with a minimum mark of 70%. Students who do not take the minimum appropriate courses in year 2 will be considered for the program in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the Dean. Because entrance to the program is competitive and limited, students must achieve a minimum two-year (10.0 course) average of 80%. Demonstrated participation in extracurricular and/or community activities, leadership and work experience are also taken into consideration.

Students applying to the Richard Ivey School of Business Advanced Entry Opportunity (AEO) are also eligible to be considered for the combined degree program. Students directly entering Ivey as transfer from another university are not eligible for the program as transfer credits don’t typically transfer to create this a 5-year program. These students can do a concurrent degree with Science.

Module/Program Information

(See progression sheets for our most popular module combinations)

Year 1

5.0 courses including:

  • all the required courses with the appropriate marks needed for admission to an Honours Specialization offered by the Faculty of Science;
  • 1.0 first year course from Category B*

 *If not taken in first year, students may take the category B requirement in a future summer before year 5.

Year 2

Students must ensure that they will meet progression requirements and are encouraged to speak with a Science Academic Advisor while choosing second year courses if there are any questions.

The combined degree program does not typically leave room for electives unless the module you are pursuing has fewer than 10.0 courses. Before choosing to take an elective in year 2, you should consider whether you will meet the category B and essay requirements. This will help avoid requiring overload/summer courses in your years 4 and 5.

For modules with 10.0 courses:

  • 4.0 courses from an Honours Specialization offered by the Faculty of Science
  • Business Administration 2257

For modules with more than 10.0 courses:

  • 4.0 coursesfrom an Honours Specialization offered by the Faculty of Science
  • Business Administration 2257 (Note that students will need to overload or take summer courses in order to complete all modular courses for modules with more than 10.0 courses.

For modules with 9.5 courses:

  • Minimum 3.5 courses from an Honours Specialization offered by the Faculty of Science
  • 0.5 course from the Honours Specialization module or an elective. You must ensure that you will meet progression requirements for the specific module.
  • Business Administration 2257

For modules with 9.0 courses:

  • 3.0 courses from an Honours Specialization offered by the Faculty of Science
  • 1.0 course from the Honours Specialization module or an elective. You must ensure that you will meet progression requirements for the specific module.
  • Business Administration 2257

Exception: If a module does not have the minimum number of second year courses listed above (eg. HSP Statistics) students should take the required second year courses in the module and the remaining courses may be electives. You must ensure you are meeting progression requirements for the module and consider whether you will need essay or category B courses.

Year 3 (HBA1)

The third year of the undergraduate program in Business Administration consists of an integrated set of courses (7.5 courses) designed to give a basic understanding of the functions and the interrelationships of the major areas of management, as well as to develop problem-solving and action-planning skills. See for details.

Years 4 and 5

  • 5.0 courses* HBA Requirements can be taken over year 4 or 5 - except Business Administration 4569 must be taken in Year 4. See for details.
  • 6.0 courses from an Honours Specialization offered by the Faculty of Science

Note that you will be taking 11.0 courses over years 4/5. If there are any outstanding requirements such as essay courses or breadth requirements, you may need to overload (above the 11.0) or take summer courses to ensure all requirements are met.

*When the Honours Specialization requires fewer than 6.0 courses be taken in years 4 and 5, students will take additional business elective courses to ensure that a total of 11.0 senior level courses are completed in years 4 and 5.

Special Considerations

  • Some modules may already contain a category B course (eg. Computer Science HSP has 0.5 category B writing course).
  • Your degree must contain 11.0 courses offered by the Faculty of Science. For modules with non-science course options such as HSP in Environmental Science, be sure to prioritize science selections.
  • 1.0 category A will be satisfied by Business 2257. 1.0 category B must be taken.
  • 2.0 essay courses must be taken with a maximum of 1.0 being at the first year level. It is recommended that 1.0 essay course be taken in first year for most modules. Check your specific module to see whether you can fulfill essay requirements within the module.
  • Students are encouraged to speak with a Science Academic Advisor to discuss their plan.

Progression

Students in the combined degree program must meet the progression standards of each Faculty or School. Students enrolled in HBA1 (Year 3) must attain a minimum weighted average of at least 78%. In Years 4 and 5, students must attain a minimum weighted average of 75% in their 4000 level HBA courses. They also must attain a minimum average of 70% in their Honours Specialization module and meet all other progression requirements of the Honours Specialization module in which they are enrolled. See for more information.

Science Co-op Program

A Science Co-op may profitably be taken between years 4 and 5 of the combined degree program. For details see the Science Co-op Program website.

International Exchange Programs

Students in the combined degree program may be eligible to participate in academic exchange programs. Interested students should discuss exchange options with the HBA Program Office and with the Faculty of Science. Students wishing to participate in Ivey’s exchange program must have all science requirements completed by the end of the first term of year 5. For programs with full year courses in the final year, exchange may not be possible. Students are encouraged to weigh their options before entering the combined program if exchange is a priority. Please talk to a Science Academic Advisor for more details.