Double DEC in Science + Arts, Literature and Communication (ALC)
St. Lawrence students will have the opportunity to register in a program that will allow them to earn two complete DECs in three years.
OUR PROGRAM
Double DEC in Science + Arts, Literature and Communication (200.16)
The Double DEC in Science + Arts, Literature and Communication (ALC) is designed for students who want to explore both fields. General education courses (English, French, Humanities and Physical Education) count for both programs, and concentration courses for one program function as complementary courses for the other. In addition, in your last semester, you will complete the comprehensive assessments for each program.
This Double DEC satisfies the pre-requisites for many university programs and gives you extra time and experience to choose a career. Other advantages include the fact that the 200.16 program has an average of fewer courses per semester than the ALC Program and fewer science and math courses per semester than the Science Program (two rather than three). A reduced course load gives the possibility of earning a higher R-score. In addition, you have an extra year to study in English before university.
McGill normally expects students who are seeking admission to medicine and dentistry to complete CEGEP in four semesters, but you are exempted if you take six courses per semester and complete a Double DEC in six semesters.
PROGRESSION STARTING FALL 2024
Starting in Fall 2024, there will be three parallel course sequences for each program and profile.
If you are eligible to attend English school under the Charter of the French language and are in possession of a certificate granted by the Ministry of Education, you are considered a Certificate Holder. Your course sequence will then be determined by your results in the high school French course (1-2 or 3-4). For more information about Certificates, please consult the Ministry of Education’s website.
If you are not eligible, you must follow the course sequence that prepares students for l'Épreuve uniforme de français (EUF - French minesterial language evalution).
For a brief overview of the changes to course sequences following Law 14, consult this document.
Click here to consult full course sequences for the Science + ALC Double DEC Program.
If you started your studies at St. Lawrence in Fall 2023 or earlier, please consult the course sequences below.
OUR PROFILES
You can tailor your choice of upper-level Science courses to fit your university plans, much as students choose between the Health Science and Pure & Applied Science Profiles in the regular Science Program. For your language courses, the Languages Option that we offer allows you to study in English, French Spanish and German. Our two profiles are based on whether you are ready for Spanish I or Spanish II. Course credit beyond Spanish II may also be given, depending on our assessment of your level (as explained below).
The following descriptions and course sequences are only correct if you began your studies in Fall 2023 or earlier. The same profiles continue to be offered, but course sequences will differ slightly starting in Fall 2024. Please see the first section on this page for more information and full course sequences for Fall 2024 and beyond.
Profile L1: Consult courses (L1)
This profile takes you through college-level courses I, II and III in both Spanish and German.
Profile L2 - Prior Spanish: Consult courses (L2)
This profile takes you through college-level courses II, III and IV in Spanish, and through college-level courses I, II and III in German.
Students who have prior knowledge of German or Spanish can request an equivalency. Each request will be processed for a fee of $25. The procedure for equivalencies is as follows:
- Fill in a Request for Equivalency Form and send it to Betty Ableson at bettya@slc.qc.ca with your payment of $25 per language. You will be sent a placement test to complete at home and return.
- Based on the results of the placement test, you may be invited to write a more complete test for credit during the Welcome Days in the week before the semester starts.
- Once the College has your results, they will be transmitted to you and you will be placed in the level indicated in your test for credit. You will be given credit for the prior courses.
- If you have any questions, please contact the Academic Advisor.
For more detailed information about either the Science Program or the ALC Program, you may visit their program pages.
OUR GRADUATES
All college programs in Québec have a graduate profile. This describes their graduates' competencies. In addition, there is a comprehensive assessment (CA) which evaluates whether students have met the expectations of the graduate profile. In some programs, the comprehensive assessment is linked to a course with an integrative activity (IA), building on what was learned in past courses.
In this Double DEC, you will complete the CA/IA requirements for both the Science and ALC Programs in the sixth semester.
St. Lawrence Science Program graduates must be able to
- Apply the scientific method
- Take a systematic approach to problem solving
- Use the appropriate information technologies
- Reason logically
- Communicate effectively
- Learn in an autonomous manner
- Work as members of a team
- Make connections between science, technology and social progress
- Identify their system of values
- Become familiar with the context in which scientific concepts are discovered and developed
- Develop attitudes appropriate for scientific work
- Apply what they have learned to new situations.
These goals are not assigned to specific disciplines. All the courses in the program contribute to the development and evaluation of one or more these skills
Graduates of the St. Lawrence Arts, Literature and Communication Program shall be knowledgeable about the arts, grounded in literature and equipped to communicate in four languages. Graduates shall be able to
- Approach questions of literary and aesthetic culture with the help of an understanding of Western classics and of English Canadian and Québec cultural contributions
- Demonstrate intellectual curiosity and rigour in planning and conducting research activities, such as identifying appropriate sources and techniques, reading critically and presenting the results of critical reflection in oral and written form
- Give expression to the creative process
- Function with native-level proficiency in English, a high level of proficiency in French and a degree of independence in Spanish and German, supported by an understanding of grammatical structure and phonetics
- Use appropriate information technology
- Assess decisions with consideration for one's own health and wellbeing and for the effect on others and the environment
What will be assessed?
The comprehensive assessment will be completed in the CA/IA option course that you take in your last semester of study. See the CA/IA course descriptions in either of the profiles of the Science Program.
The comprehensive assessment is based on a CA portfolio you produce during the CA/IA course. The portfolio must demonstrate that you have attained the 12 program goals of the graduate profile. It may contain work (tests, assignments, papers and such) completed during any of the courses that you have taken to fulfill the requirements of the Science Program and documents produced for the exercise on ethical issues, as well as the written report for the integrative activity. Alternatively, the portfolio may be made up of a self-reflective essay that evaluates how you have attained the goals and objectives of the Science Program, citing specific examples of what was done to achieve these goals.
The table below shows how the elements of the graduate profile are tied to the CA/IA course objectives or competencies defined by the government.
Graduate Profile |
Integration Objective (00UU) To apply acquired knowledge to the study of one or more subjects in the sciences |
Science Option Objective (00UV) |
| 1. Apply the scientific method
2. Take a systematic approach to problem solving 12.Apply what they have learned to new situations |
To apply the experimental method
To solve problems |
To apply techniques of experimentation or validation specific to science To solve problems using a method proper to science To represent various situations, drawing upon relevant concepts, laws and principles of science |
| 3. Use the appropriate information technologies | To use data-processing technologies | |
| 4. Reason logically | To reason logically | |
| 5. Communicate effectively | To communicate effectively | |
| 6. Learn in an autonomous manner 10.Become familiar with the context in which scientific concepts are discovered and developed |
To show evidence of independent learning in their choice of documentation or laboratory instruments | |
| 7. Work as members of a team | To work as members of a team | |
| 8. Make connections between science, technology and social progress |
To make connections between science, technology and social progress |
|
| 9. Identify their system of values |
||
| 11.Develop attitudes appropriate for scientific work |
How will it be assessed?
The CA portfolio will be prepared individually by you and handed in for evaluation. The teacher of the CA/IA course will ascertain with a pass/fail grade the attainment of the program skills using the criteria listed in the graduate profile.
What will be assessed?
The comprehensive assessment is linked to three courses that involve analytical and creative work in the various languages of the program: Pop Fiction, Projet créatif and Exploring Cultural Diversity. The comprehensive assessment has two components of equal weight.
1) The first component is a portfolio. Your portfolio will include the following elements:
a) The Pop Fiction final essay in English
b) The Projet créatif course project in French
c) The final summative project(s) from the Exploring Cultural Diversity course in Spanish and German
d) A 400-word essay on the role of English, French, Humanities, and Physical Education general education courses in a college education, written in English, to demonstrate attainment of the General Education Graduate Profile
The instructions for structure and content of the 400-word essay are below.
- In your introductory paragraph, explain how the general education objectives reflect what you have done in the program. What have you learned about yourself in general education courses?
- In the second paragraph, explain what you have learned about each General Education Graduate Profile element. Do you feel that the general education courses at St. Lawrence have helped you attain each of those elements?
- In the third paragraph, describe specific examples that demonstrate that you have achieved the General Education Graduate Profile objectives. You may wish to provide samples of your work.
- Your conclusion should assess how your knowledge will affect you in the future, in terms of your university studies or your career choice.
The 400-word assignment will be submitted to the Pop Fiction teacher during the last week of classes.
2) The second component is an interview on the contents of the portfolio. You will be asked to explain your portfolio to a panel of teachers who are able to assess it collectively and discuss the contents with you in each teacher’s discipline language. You will be invited to focus on a project of your choice from the Pop Fiction, Projet créatif, or Exploring Cultural Diversity courses. You will also be expected use the four languages to answer questions about how you have met the expectations in the ALC Graduate Profile and the General Education Graduate Profile.
Your explanation of the portfolio should show evidence of reflection. This self-reflection may include answers to such questions as:
- What have I learned from my projects and my program?
- Have I changed since I started studying at St. Lawrence and in what way?
- How does my learning relate to my future goals?
The interview will take place during the final exam period at the end of the semester. If done individually, the interview will last 30 minutes. You will also have the option of giving your individual explanations concurrently in the presence of another student. If done concurrently, the interview will last 60 minutes.
How will it be assessed?
The comprehensive assessment will be assessed as pass or fail by a panel of teachers based on the correspondence you have established between the portfolio and the elements of the ALC Graduate Profile and the General Education Graduate Profile. If there is disagreement among panel members, each member shall mark the two components individually out of 100. You will pass if the average of the members’ marks is at least 60% for each component. Otherwise, you will be required to address the component(s) below 60% for reassessment based on the panel’s feedback.
Is your portfolio complete?
Ask yourself whether your portfolio
- Approaches questions of literary and aesthetic culture with the help of an understanding of Western classics and of English Canadian and Québec cultural contributions
- Demonstrates your intellectual curiosity and rigor in planning and conducting research activities, such as identifying appropriate sources and techniques
- Presents the results of critical reading and reflection in oral and written form
- Gives expression to the creative process
- Shows you function with native-level proficiency in English
- Shows you function with a high level of proficiency in French
- Shows you function with a degree of independence in Spanish and German
- Demonstrates your understanding of grammatical structure and phonetics (French, Spanish, and German)
- Includes the use appropriate information technology
- Demonstrates that you assess decisions with consideration for your own health and well-being and for the effect on others and the environment
YOUR FUTURE
Your studies can lead to a wide range of careers, such as those below. Be sure to check university pre-requisites, since they vary. St. Lawrence students can see the Guidance Counsellor to discuss these options further. If you complete the Double DEC in Science + ALC, you have a particularly wide variety of university programs open to you.
The DEC in Science allows admission to science programs at Québec universities, and by taking Organic Chemistry and General Biology II as Science option courses, you can be eligible for admission to all health-related university programs at Québec universities.
- The DEC in Science can lead to further studies in health fields such as audiology, dentistry, kinesiology, medicine, microbiology, nursing, nutrition, occupational therapy, optometry, pharmacy, physiotherapy and veterinary medicine.
- The DEC in Science can lead to further studies in pure and applied fields such as actuarial sciences, architecture, biochemistry, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, geology, geomatics, mathematics and physics.
The DEC in Arts, Literature and Communication can lead to further studies in fields such as classical and ancient studies, communication studies, creative writing, English studies, French studies, German studies, Hispanic studies, international relations, journalism and broadcast media, linguistics and languages, literature, professional writing, public relations, teaching at the elementary or secondary levels, teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) and translation.
APPLYING
Students applying for the Double DEC must satisfy the college general admission requirements and have the following pre-requisites:
- Math TS 5 or SN 5
- Chemistry 534 or equivalent
- Physics 534 or equivalent
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