Best option courses

By Vipasha Paul, September 14 2022—

You have your entire academic journey ahead of you, a big part of it being the option courses you probably scoured the internet to find. It’s a maze of confusion and hopelessness, like looking for a needle in a schedule builder. Well, not anymore — designed through personal trial and error, here is your guide to some of the best University of Calgary option courses with no prerequisites, open to any major!

ANTH 363 – Magic, Witchcraft and Gods: Anthropology of Religion 

A fall course delving into divination, magic, beliefs and ritual within various world religions, held during the spookiest time of the year. This course is truly enlightening and respectful to the way other cultures and religions use magic and witchcraft to understand the world around them. 

GLGY 209 – Introduction to Geology

More famously known as “Rocks for Jocks,” this course is a non-science major’s key to tackling the two-science-course minimum. Although this one is a little less fun than the rest, it is the go-to class for its more relaxed curriculum, mainly consisting of tests based on memorization. Offensive nickname or not, you have to fill up graduation requirements somehow. 

PHIL 259 – Sex, Love and Death

The name speaks for itself — the study of sexual relations, the afterlife and what love is as philosophized by dead white guys. This course still teaches you some basics in philosophy, but under very intriguing themes. It’s also comforting to know that the instructors are very welcoming and open to students who are worried about triggering concepts. Plus, it’s the only university class where you can learn about perverse topics without seeming like a creep. 

ENGL 322 – Comics

No textbooks, just comics. This class analyzes comic books and graphic novels and their significance in society. If you are a comic book geek or have an interest in the subject, then this is the course for you. If you care for neither of those things but want to ditch reading for staring at pictures all day, then this course is for you too. 

PSYC 203 – Psychology for Everyday Life

Simple, captivating and created for non-psychology majors — this class is rated E for everyone. It takes a look at everyday issues in personal and professional settings, and provides key methods and theories on how to help with them. If you have a lot of problems, here’s a solution right at your fingertips. Therapy is also recommended.