Adventure Studies Menu
Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies
With the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies, you can design a curriculum customized to your interests and goals. Do you want to study adventure therapy? Expedition leadership? Community development? Outdoor education? Sport performance? Another adventure-related topic? You decide, then work with a faculty member to build your own program. Incorporate TRU courses, distance learning courses, independent studies courses, and field work courses (practicums, field schools or co-op placements).
Possible concentrations
For students interested in areas other than the concentrations listed above, the following list is intended to help generate ideas about other possibilities. If you have another idea, work it out and propose it.
- International development
- Adventure risk management
- Adventure journalism
- Adventure sport coaching
- Outdoor recreation programming
- International guiding
- First Nations adventure tourism
- Emergency management
- Sustainable development
- Adventure entrepreneurship
- Adventure sport psychology
- Sport management
- Adventure and sport marketing
- Guiding operations management
- Backcountry facility management
Program structure
The idea of the BIS-Adventure Studies degree is to study a specific adventure-related topic from the perspectives of a variety of different areas of study (disciplines). The student's program must incorporate a number of different disciplines (for example, adventure, geography, sociology, psychology, economics, business, tourism, physical education, anthropology, science, etc.).
Program entry policies
- The BIS is intended as a two-year add-on (60 credits) to any 60 credits of lower level credits a student brings into the program.
- Students can apply to the BIS during their second year of study if they will have 48-60 credits completed prior to admission.
- A minimum of 60 credits must be taken from TRU or TRU, Open Learning and at least 48 credits must be upper level.
- Students with two-year diplomas (with a minimum GPA of 2.5) from other institutions are able to ladder seamlessly into the BIS degree and receive block transfer. All credits taken at other approved institutions are transferable to the BIS.
- While students are completing their 60 lower-level credits, consideration should be given to meeting any prerequisites for upper-level courses they may take in future years.
- Admission requires proof of English proficiency: English 12 with a minimum of 73% (within the last 5 years); or Language Proficiency Index Level 4 (within the last 2 years); or completion of ENGL 0600; or completion of EASL 0570 and 0580 with a grade of C+ or better.
- Returning adult professionals with diplomas and work experience relevant to the degree may receive credit for workplace learning.
Program requirements
- Students must complete 15 credits of Required Courses. These include IDIS 3000-Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies, IDIS 4980-Research Project, IDIS 4990-Graduating Essay, Research Methods course (see the approved list below), and Critical Thinking course (see the approved list below).
- 18 credits of Concentration Courses. These are courses that make up the specialization and must be from at least two different disciplines.
- 6 credits of Writing Intensive Courses. These are approved courses that include extensive written work.
- 9 credits of Breadth Courses. These are three courses that are from three different disciplines different from those that make up your Concentration. They do not have to be related to your concentration.
- 12 credits of Elective Courses. May be prerequisite courses or other courses and may be Upper- or Lower-Level courses.
- BIS graduation requires a minimum of 120 completed credits.
Approved research methods courses
The following are approved BIS research methods courses. Students may identify other suitable courses from outside TRU.
- Communications: 3000
- Tourism: 3050
Approved critical thinking courses
The following are approved BIS critical thinking courses. Students may identify other suitable courses from outside TRU.
- Adventure: ADVG 4030, or ADVG 4220
- Anthropology: 3050, or 4030, or 4150, or 4600
- Economics: 3100, or 3110, or 3190, or 3320, or 3890, or 4510
- History: 3000, or 3520
- Journalism: 3010
- Philosophy: (all UL courses)
- Psychology: 3200, or 3210, or 3240
- Sociology: 3200, or 3210, or 3210, or 3220, or 4640, or 4750
- Theatre: 4300
- Visual Arts: 3130
