Registration in first year can be stressful – but it doesn’t have to be. We have developed resources to provide you with all the information you’ll need to successfully register for your courses at Queen’s. Need support? We have a team of dedicated academic and peer advisors who are here to help you every step of the way. We are currently working on an updated 2024 Registration Guide for incoming students.
These program-specific sessions will walk you through the steps to register, how to build a timetable, how to choose and add classes in SOLUS. It will also provide some information on the academic cycle, what happens in first year and when (December exams, mid-year grades, final grades, Plan selection, other important dates), next steps, future years, and where to go for information and advice as a first-year student.
Find all these webinar recordings at the Student Experience Office’s website:
Registration for winter courses is underway. If you haven’t yet registered, we encourage you to enrol in classes as soon as possible. Our January start webinar introduces degree planning for your major, course registration, and an introduction to the supports and resources on campus.
Step 1: Review Recommended Courses by Plan
Most Arts and Science first-year students are admitted to a Degree Program that doesn’t yet have a Plan specified. While you indicated a major of interest in your application, you do not have to stick that that plan and are encouraged to explore all your interests. After first year, you will be required to select a Plan that will shape your Degree completion, and there are hundreds of potential options for you to aim for. We have compiled a list that allows you to choose what courses to take in first year so you can maximize your Plan selection options, and you’ll have confidence that you’ve got the courses you need for the Plans you’re considering.
If you are in a direct entry Program, you will hear from your Department or School on course enrolment for your Plan. Skip to step 2.
Pick the Right Courses For Your Plan
Step 2: Rounding out your schedule with Electives
If you still have room in your course load once you’ve chosen courses that leave all your preferred doors open for Plan options, review our Courses for First Year Students webpage in the Academic Calendar to determine what electives you want to fill your schedule with. However, it is important to know that any courses that will not be used to fill requirements for your major after first year, will be counted toward your elective credits.
Step 3: Course Enrolment
Load your courses onto your Shopping Cart on SOLUS and complete your enrolment during the registration period. For more information on how to enrol, review our FAQ dropdown below.
Not sure which Math, Physics, or Computing course to choose? We've developed a guide with descriptions of each course and who should take them, to help make your course selection as simple as possible.
| Course Code | Description | Requirements |
| PHYS 104 Fundamental Physics | Mechanics, including systems of particles and rigid body motion; gravitation; fluids; electricity and magnetism; oscillatory motion and waves; topics in modern physics. The material is presented at a more fundamental level appropriate for students who are seeking a deeper appreciation of physics, and who may be considering a concentration in Physics. | Prerequisites
Exclusions
Corequisites
Recommended
|
| PHYS 106 General Physics | Mechanics, including systems of particles and rigid body motion; fluids; electricity and magnetism; oscillatory motion and waves; heat, light and sound; topics in modern physics. Aspects of physics useful for further work in other sciences will be emphasized. | Prerequisites
Exclusions
Corequisites
Recommended
|
| PHYS 115 Introduction to Physics I | An algebra-based course dealing with basic physics concepts, including dynamics, fluids, and basic thermodynamics. | Prerequisites
Exclusions
|
| PHYS 116 Introduction to Physics II | An algebra-based course dealing with basic physics concepts, including waves, electromagnetism, and basic optics. | Prerequisites
Exclusions
|
| Course Code | Description | Requirements |
| CISC 101 Introduction to Computer Programming | Introduction to algorithms: their definition, design, coding, and execution on computers. Intended for students who have no programming experience. | Prerequisites
Exclusions
|
| CISC 110 Creative Computing | Introduction to fundamental programming concepts in the context of visual, interactive media. Students may develop applications in any domain (e.g., fine art, education, commerce, physical or social sciences) while learning about algorithms, program design, logic, program control flow, functions, testing, etc. No computing or art background required. | Prerequisites
Exclusions
|
| CISC 102 Discrete Structures I | Introduction to mathematical discourse and proof methods with a focus on discrete structures. Sets, sequences, and relations, properties of the integers, induction. Counting with permutations and combinations, pigeonhole principle, principle of inclusion-exclusion. Introduction to graphs and graph terminology. | Prerequisites
|
| CISC 121 Introduction to Computing Science I | Introduction to design, analysis, and implementation of algorithms. Recursion, backtracking, and exits. Linear data structures (stacks and queues). Elementary searching and sorting. Order-of-magnitude complexity. Documentation, iterative program development, translating natural language to code, testing and debugging. | Prerequisites
Exclusions
Corequisites
Recommended
|
| CISC 124 Introduction to Computing Science II | Introduction to software design and development with the object-oriented paradigm, and its effect on abstraction and component re-use. Working in groups using incremental development and version management. Test driven development. Numerical computation. | Prerequisites
Corequisites
|
| CISC 151 Elements of Computing with Data Analytics | Introduction to algorithms: their definition, design, coding, and execution on computers, with applications drawn from data analytics, including simple prediction and clustering. Intended for students who have no programming experience. | Prerequisites
Exclusions
|
| Course Code | Description | Requirements |
| MATH 110 Linear Algebra | Intended for students who plan to pursue a Major or Joint Honours Plan in Mathematics or Statistics. Provides a thorough introduction to linear algebra up to and including eigenvalues and eigenvectors | Prerequisites
Exclusions
Recommended
|
| MATH 112 Introduction to Linear Algebra | A brief introduction to matrix algebra, linear algebra, and applications. Topics include systems of linear equations, matric algebra, determinants, the vector spaces Rn and their subspaces, bases, co-ordinates, orthogonalization, linear transformations, eigenvectors, diagonalization of symmetric matrices, quadratic forms. | Prerequisites
Exclusions
Recommended
|
| MATH 121 Differential and Integral Calculus | Differentiation and integration with applications to biology, physics, chemistry, economics, and social sciences; differential equations; multivariable differential calculus. This course is intended for students who wish to pursue a Major or Joint Honours Plan in a subject other than Mathematics or Statistics. | Prerequisites
Exclusions
Recommended
|
| MATH 126 Differential and Integral Calculus | Differentiation and integration of the elementary functions with applications to the social sciences and economics; Taylor polynomials, multivariable differential calculus. This course is primarily intended for students in the BAH program. | Prerequisites
Exclusions
|
Check out some example timetables for Arts, Science or Computing students:
Meet Jake.
Choosing Jake’s courses:
Jake is interested in the humanities but is not quite sure of which specific area he would like to explore. After reviewing our Recommended Course by Plan, Jake knows he needs to take gateway courses in order to have the possibility open to multiple major plans. Jake is interested in perhaps pursuing English, Global Development Studies, Gender Studies Economics, and Philosophy.
Here are Jake’s course choices:
Building Jake’s timetable:
Jake finds his courses in the Arts and Science course timetable and downloads our timetable template.
He checks for any courses that only have one option available for the course’s lecture section. Courses with only one lecture section should be set in the timetable first to minimize conflicts that can lead to backtracking and re-sorting the whole schedule.
Next, he adds in lecture section options for courses that have multiple lecture sections in different time slots, finding some that can be scheduled to work around his other courses.
Jake looks to see which courses also have tutorial sections and adds these to his timetable as well.
On Solus, he adds all his courses to his Shopping Cart, and clicks the “Validate” button to confirm that all course requirements and prerequisites have been met. Once his enrolment appointment arrives, he can complete his enrolment in the courses he has chosen.
Meet Lydia. Lydia wants to go to Med School.
Choosing Lydia’s courses:
Lydia is interested in medical school or pursuing research in the sciences. Her favourite subject in high school was Biology – because of this she is considering a major in Biology.
She looks at the Recommended Courses by Plan resource to see what courses will keep her on track with Biology Major Plan requirements and set herself up for placement in that Plan at the end of her first year.
Based on this, she knows she will take:
She notices that although a Physics course is not required for Biology, it would be a required if Lydia were to choose a Plan in Chemistry instead of Biology, so she decides to take PHYS 115/3.0 in the Fall and PHYS 116/3.0 in the Winter to keep these options open.
For her final 6.0 units, Lydia refers to the Courses for First Year Students webpage and decides to take PSYC 100/6.0 as her elective. She sees that this also keeps the door open for a Psychology Major, and she’s glad that she has a good variety of Plan options with her course choices.
Building Lydia’s timetable:
Lydia knows that she will need to choose lectures, labs, and tutorials that all fit together, and that are located closely enough on campus that she can get from class to class in good time.
Lydia is worried about back-to-back classes and labs, and she isn’t sure if this is a scheduling conflict. But as she reads through the FAQ section for first-year students, she learns that all classes end with 10 minutes allotted before the next class starts, so a lecture from 1:30-2:30 will end at 2:20, in time for her to get to a 2:30 lab.
Lydia uses the Science Planner to help her determine which sections for lectures, labs, and tutorials will work well together with her course choices, and she adds everything to her Shopping Cart on SOLUS. She clicks the "Validate" button to confirm that all course requirements and prerequisites have been met.
Once her Enrolment Appointment arrives, she can complete her enrolment in her classes, and she feels confident in her course choices.
Meet Sam. Sam has computing experience.
Choosing Sam’s courses:
Sam is interested in software development and artificial intelligence. He has taken computing courses in high school and does have previous experience coding. After looking at the Recommended Courses by Plan, he sees the Degree Plans for Computing. Sam is relieved to see that he doesn’t have to decide right now which of those two streams within Computing he wishes to end up in. He sees that these courses are key first-year Computing Plan requirements:
Sam refers to the Courses For First-Year Students webpage, reads through some course descriptions, and decides to take these additional courses to keep other Plan options open and to serve as electives:
Since Sam has previous computing/coding experience, he doesn’t need to take the beginning-level course, CISC 101/3.0.
Building Sam's timetable:
Sam finds his courses in the Arts and Science course timetable and grabs a sheet of paper to draft his weekly timetable.
He checks for any courses that only have one option available for the course’s lecture section. (Courses with only one lecture section should be set in the timetable first to minimize conflicts that can lead to backtracking and re-sorting the whole schedule.)
Next, he pencils in lecture section options for courses that have multiple lecture sections in different time slots, finding some that can be scheduled to work around other courses.
Sam looks to see which courses also have tutorial or laboratory sections and add these to his timetables as well.
On SOLUS, he adds all their courses to their Shopping Carts, and clicks the “Validate” button to confirm that all course requirements and prerequisites have been met. Once his enrolment appointments arrive, they can complete their enrolment in the courses they’ve chosen.
The SOLUS Student Centre is designed to provide you with the tools to manage all of your academic, financial, contact, and admission details during - and after - your academic career at Queen's.
Important: SOLUS has recently been updated to provide a more user-friendly experience for students. Updated screenshots and tutorials reflecting these changes will be provided prior to registration.
What is a Program?
You have been admitted to the Faculty of Arts and Science to one of the following Degree Programs:
Bachelor of Science (Honours) - BSCH
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - BAH
Bachelor of Science (Honours) Specialization in Kinesiology – BSCH KINE
Bachelor of Science (Honours) Major in Life Science and Biochemistry – BSCH LISC BCHM
Bachelor of Music (Honours) - BMUS
Bachelor of Computing (Honours) - BCMPH
What is a Term?
There are three terms: Fall (September-December), Winter (January-April), Summer (May-August). Summer is an optional term.
What is a Unit?
Each course has a unit weighting, which indicates how many units it is contributing towards your degree. Overall, Honours degrees require 120.0 units in total (except for BMUS, which requires 126.0). Most Arts and Science courses are either 3.0 units or 6.0 units. Usually a single-term course is 3.0 units and a full-year course that spans both the Fall and Winter terms is 6.0 units.
How many units do I take if I’m a full-time student?
A full-time student normally takes five courses in the Fall term and in the Winter term, to a total of 30.0 units.
Students in the Bachelor of Music program will usually take more than 36.0 units because of the unit weight of their ensemble participation.
Students who are in a Concurrent Bachelor of Education degree along with their Arts and Science Honours degree will take five courses each term (30.0 units) for their Arts and Science degree, plus the EXLR and PROF courses for their Education degree.
If you have questions about choosing a reduced course load and what that would mean, please contact an academic advisor to consider your options.
What is a Plan?
Whether it's a Major, a Major/Minor combination, Joint Honours (similar to a "double Major), or a Specialization, your Plan will be the main academic focus in your Degree program. Most students will request their Plan once their first year of studies at Queen's is finished.
Even if you feel pretty sure before your first year begins that you know what Plan you'd prefer, you should choose your courses to keep multiple options or "gateways" open for Plan Selection, as many students find that over the course of their first year, they change their ideas about what Plan options would be ideal for them.
What are Electives?
Electives are free-choice courses in your Degree program, which are necessary for your Degree completion overall, but are not part of your Plan requirements.
The number of electives you need for your Degree depends on the Plan you choose - for example, a student completing a Major in Political Studies will have more room in their Degree for electives than a student completing a Major in Political Studies with a Minor in Psychology.
There are some courses open to first year students which are called "terminal courses", because they do not provide any gateway options for potential Plan eligibility. These courses are fine as electives, but we strongly encourage you to limit the number of terminal courses that you take in first year, so that your range of Plan options will be maximized.
For more information on the best courses for you, check the section in this guide called Choosing Your Courses. If you have questions about whether your course selections are leaving plenty of Plan options open for you or not, please contact us for help.
I have been admitted to Arts and want to take Science courses (or vice versa); can I do this?
Yes! One of the great advantages of being in a Faculty of Arts and Science is that students may choose from a wide variety of courses. Course options in Arts and Science range from humanities to social sciences, from languages to physical and natural sciences, and even interdisciplinary courses that cross over the “traditional” academic categories. The majority of courses offered by Arts and Science are open to any student in the Faculty, as long as the student has any academic prerequisite required by the course.
However, the Faculty also must ensure that all students have priority access to the courses that they need for their Degree or Plan. For this reason, we reserve seats in some classes during the first part of registration. BAH/BMUS students receive priority access to Arts courses, and BSCH/BCMPH students receive priority access to Science and Computing courses. Beginning at 12:00 pm (noon) EST on July 29, reserves on first year courses will be removed.
I’m planning on taking lots of Science courses – are there specific sections of each course I need to take?
Yes, it is very important for students to who are taking 3-4 of BIOL 102/103, PHYS 115/116, CHEM 112, MATH 121 to take morning lectures at Duncan MacArthur Hall and labs in the afternoons on main campus. This will ensure that there are no timing conflicts to get from one area of campus to another between classes, as well that you are in the correct math course for science students.
Who do I talk to about transfer credits? Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), A-Level, Cambridge Pre-U or French Baccalaureate credits?
If the course was taken before you became a Queen's student, you may apply for the transfer credit on SOLUS. This includes AP, IB, A-Level, Cambridge Pre-U, French Baccalaureate courses completed in high school.
I want to get into a class but it is full – What can I do?
We know how disappointing it can be when this happens, but here are a couple of suggestions. If the class is full, you can opt to go on the wait list. If the class you want doesn’t have a wait list, or the wait list is full, keep trying. Students make lots of class changes throughout the registration period, and it could happen that someone drops the class you want to add. Keep checking for openings - perseverance pays off!
It’s wise to prepare some backup course choices, especially for elective courses. Review the courses available to first-year students, browse the department websites, or look through the Academic Calendar to see all courses offered by Queen’s.
What if my classes are scheduled back to back? Isn't that a conflict?
Classes, labs, and tutorials will all end 10 minutes earlier than you see on the schedule - e.g., a class that is scheduled from 1:30-2:30 pm will actually end at 2:20. That 10 minute window will give you plenty of time to make it from any one building on main campus to another.
The exception to watch for is if a class located at Duncan-McArthur Hall is scheduled back-to-back with a class at a building on main campus. Duncan-McArthur Hall is on west campus, which is about a 15-20 minute walk from main campus. At least a half-hour gap should be scheduled between classes on west campus and classes on main campus.
What can I study?
It's really up to you! As a first-year student, you are not yet in a specific Plan (unless you were admitted to a Direct Entry program), so this year is all about exploring different areas of study to find out what your academic interests are.
We encourage you to take a variety of courses from different disciplines, and to explore the range of subjects available to you. Please follow the advice above as well on ensuring that the courses you choose will give you a range of Plan options to select from at the end of your first year, and that you don't take too many "terminal courses" that will limit those options.
Don't forget - even after this year, you'll still have more years of study! If you're keen to take a particular elective that you don't end up having room for this year, you'll have plenty of other opportunities to take it as an upper-year student.
How do I know I picked the right courses?
Before picking your first-year courses for Fall term and Winter term, it’s a good idea to review your list and ask yourself these questions below. If you have chosen courses that lead to many possible Plans, and you have the required courses you need to be on track for second year then you have indeed picked the right courses.
Have I left myself many options for choosing a Major/Plan at the end of first year?
It’s important to choose courses that could lead to a potential Plan in that subject – that way at the end of first year you will have lots to choose from. Make sure you read through our Recommended Courses by Plan and take the courses that are labelled [GATEWAY] – those highlighted courses are the ones required to request a Major/Minor/Joint Honours/Specialization in that concentration. Even if you have a firm idea of what you would like to major in now, many students change their minds at the end of first year so it’s always wise to have a solid back-up plan in place.
Have I added too many elective courses?
The courses listed as “Elective Courses” on the Courses for First Year Students webpage are all great and we do want you to take them, but remember you have plenty of time! These courses do not provide a pathway for a future Plan in that subject so it’s best to keep the number of elective courses you take in first year to a minimum.
