If you have been admitted into the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences from a high school system (outside of the Quebec CEGEP system), you will be admitted into the Foundation Year program.
The courses you need to register for depend on your degree, as listed below. These courses are offered on the Macdonald Campus. You will benefit from small class sizes and a dedicated academic advisor. Some of these courses have equivalents offered by the Faculty of Science on the downtown campus. Please note that students admitted into the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Foundation Year program may register for up to a maximum of 8 credits of courses on the downtown campus during their first year (fall and winter terms combined).
New: we are very pleased to announce that a Foundation Year program revision has been approved and will be implemented as of fall 2026. The revised program will offer students more flexibility, a consolidated biology course, and more relevant calculus and physics courses tailored to their program of study. Returning students with missing Foundation Year requirements should contact the Foundation Year academic advisor to go over their options.
Course selection
B.Sc. (Ag.Env.Sc.)
Fall
- AEBI 120 Integrated Life Sciences
- AECH 110 General Chemistry 1
- AEPH 100 Elements of Physics
- one complementary course, to be selected from the list below in consultation with the Foundation Year academic advisor
Winter
- AECH 111 General Chemistry 2
- AEMA 100 Calculus for Life Sciences
- complementary courses, to be selected from the list below in consultation with the Foundation Year academic advisor
Advising Notes
- AEMA 100 can be replaced by the combination of AEMA 101 and AEMA 102. Students intending to pursue the Environment Major with either the Environmetrics, Water Environments and Ecosystems (Biological Stream), or Water Environments and Ecosystems (Physical Stream) Concentration should register in AEMA 101 (fall) and AEMA 102 (winter) instead of AEMA 100.
- AEPH 100 can be replaced by the combination of AEPH 113 and AEPH 115. Students intending to pursue the Environment Major with the Water Environments and Ecosystems (Physical Stream) Concentration should register in AEPH 113 (fall) and AEPH 115 (winter) instead of AEPH 100.
B.Sc. (Ag.Env.Sc.) — Agricultural Economics Major
Fall
- AEBI 120 Integrated Life Sciences
- AECH 110 General Chemistry 1
- AEMA 101 Calculus 1
- one complementary course, to be selected from the list below in consultation with the Foundation Year academic advisor
Winter
- AEMA 102 Calculus 2
- BREE 103 Linear Algebra
- complementary courses, to be selected from the list below in consultation with the Foundation Year academic advisor
B.Sc. (Food Science), B.Sc. (Nutritional Sciences), and Concurrent B.Sc. (Food Science)/B.Sc. (Nutritional Sciences)
Fall
- AEBI 120 Integrated Life Sciences
- AECH 110 General Chemistry 1
- AEPH 100 Elements of Physics
- one complementary course, to be selected from the list below in consultation with the Foundation Year academic advisor
Winter
- AECH 111 General Chemistry 2
- AEMA 100 Calculus for the Life Sciences
- FDSC 230 Organic Chemistry
- one complementary course, to be selected from the list below in consultation with the Foundation Year academic advisor
Advising Notes
- AEMA 100 can be replaced by the combination of AEMA 101 and AEMA 102.
- AEPH 100 can be replaced by the combination of AEPH 113 and AEPH 115.
B.Eng. (Bioresource)
Fall
- AEBI 120 Integrated Life Sciences
- AECH 110 General Chemistry 1
- AEMA 101 Calculus 1
- AEPH 113 Physics 1
Winter
- AECH 111 General Chemistry 2
- AEMA 102 Calculus 2
- AEPH 115 Physics 2
- BREE 103 Linear Algebra
Approved complementary course list
The following courses have been approved as complementary courses for all Foundation Year B.Sc. programs offered by the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Complementary courses completed during the Foundation Year that also appear as part of a student's subsequent program can be replaced by an elective in the subsequent program.
- AEBI 210. Organisms 1.
- AEBI 211. Organisms 2.
- AEBI 212. Evolution and Phylogeny.
- AEIS 230. Indigenous Health and Nutrition.
- AEMA 105. Precalculus Lab.
- AEMA 204. Data Analytics for Biosystems
- AEMA 310. Statistical Methods 1.
- AGEC 200. Principles of Microeconomics.
- AGEC 201. Principles of Macroeconomics.
- AGEC 231. Economic Systems of Agriculture.
- AGRI 215. Agro-Ecosystems Field Course.
- AGRI 340. Principles of Ecological Agriculture.
- ANSC 250. Introduction to Livestock Management
- BREE 103. Linear Algebra. *required for B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.) Agricultural Economics Major; complementary in all other B.Sc. programs
- BREE 217. Hydrology and Water Resources.
- BREE 314. Agri-Food Buildings.
- BREE 322. Management of Organic Residue
- ENTO 330. Insect Biology.
- ENVB 210. The Biophysical Environment.
- ENVB 222. St. Lawrence Ecosystems.
- ENVR 200. The Global Environment.
- ENVR 201. Society, Environment and Sustainability.
- ENVR 202. The Evolving Earth.
- ENVR 203. Knowledge, Ethics and Environment.
- FDSC 200. Introduction to Food Science.
- FDSC 230. Organic Chemistry. *complementary for B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.) only; required in all other B.Sc. programs
- LSCI 202. Molecular Cell Biology.
- LSCI 207. One Health Fundamentals.
- LSCI 230. Introductory Microbiology.
- NRSC 221. Environment and Health.
- NUTR 342. Applied Human Resources.
- NUTR 343. Financial Management and Accounting.
- PLNT 200. Introduction to Crop Science
- PLNT 310. Plant Propagation.
- PLNT 312. Urban Horticulture.
- PLNT 322. Greenhouse Management.
- WILD 307. Natural History of Vertebrates.