Environment (Bachelor of Arts): International Year One (ELC Pathway Entry)

Before you debate climate policy or interpret an ancient site, you need confident English. ELC Entry starts with a full-time, 16-week English Language Course stage and then carries you forward to three terms of Environment (Arts) study in FIC’s International Year One (UTP Stage II), beside SFU in Burnaby. Allow around sixteen months in all.

During the English stage, lessons centre on real conversation and genuine texts, and progression depends on passing FIC’s own language assessment. In UTP Stage II your courses include GEOG100 Our World, REM100 Global Change, PHIL105 Critical Thinking, INDG101 Introduction to Indigenous Studies, ARCH131 Human Origins or EVSC100, and a writing course such as ENGL112 or WL101. ARCH100 and GEOG104 complete the core, linking past societies with present questions about water and climate.

Everything you study at FIC is designed by SFU and taught by SFU-approved staff. The progression rule is simple: finish ten courses with at least 30 units, pass each with C- or better and hold a 2.50 GPA. You then continue at second-year level in an SFU Arts or Environment degree, choosing majors such as Archaeology or joint Archaeology and Anthropology. SFU runs co-op for environment students.

Environment and geography graduates find work as urban planning assistants, environmental monitoring technicians, museum and heritage workers, sustainability analysts, Indigenous relations coordinators or research assistants. ELC Entry suits students who need more English preparation than FIC’s support terms offer and who want a complete language foundation first, entering the credit year with English already secure. It is the longest of the four routes, but also the most gradual.