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The University of British Columbia

Vancouver Campus
2329 West Mall
Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4
Telephone: 604-822-2211

UBC Okanagan Campus
3333 University Way
Kelowna, British Columbia V1V 1V7
Telephone: 250-807-8000

Profile

The University of British Columbia is situated on two major campuses (Vancouver and Kelowna) that include some of the most spectacular natural settings in two of the world’s most livable cities.

More than 4,000 faculty members serve about 45,000 students at the main Vancouver Campus just a few kilometres from the city’s downtown, while more than 5,000 students attend the UBC Okanagan campus in Kelowna, which opened in September 2005.

UBC also has two downtown Vancouver locations, with Executive and Continuing Studies programs conducted at Robson Square (www.robsonsquare.ubc.ca), and digital arts featured on the Great Northern Way Campus, a consortium with three other postsecondary institutions. UBC is Canada’s community service learning leader, with more than 1,000 students participating in community service learning opportunities in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and a new program taking shape in Kelowna. The university opened its Asia Pacific Regional Office in Hong Kong in 2005.

UBC’s strong academic and research programs, high quality faculty, diverse student body and proximity to the Pacific Rim combine to make it one of Canada’s finest universities.

UBC is a research-intensive university. On the Vancouver campus, teaching and research are conducted in 12 faculties and all disciplines, including a wide range of professional programs. Many of its physical and life sciences programs, Asian studies and environmental programs are leaders in their fields. UBC is home to the province’s medical school, which has satellite undergraduate programs in Prince George and Victoria, and, soon, at UBC Okanagan in Kelowna. UBC Okanagan offers a variety of teaching and research opportunities in the following areas: the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences, the College of Graduate Studies and the faculties of creative and critical studies, education, applied science, management, and health and social development.

The university’s outstanding faculty members have helped rank UBC as one of the top global research universities and have been recognized with many national and international research and teaching awards and prizes, including the 1993 Nobel Prize for Chemistry awarded to the late Michael Smith. UBC scholars are among the most highly cited Canadian researchers in the world’s top scientific and technical journals. UBC succeeded in attracting Nobel Physics Laureate Carl Wieman from the University of Colorado in 2007 to head up a $12 million initiative to enhance the teaching in science.

History
Year of incorporation: 1908

Student fees

Canadian student fees  2009 - 2010 *
Undergraduate tuition fees: $4,430
Graduate tuition fees: $4,098

International student fees  2009 - 2010 *
Undergraduate tuition fees: $19,670 - $20,306
Graduate tuition fees: $7,200

* Source: Statistics Canada. Fees for general programs in arts and humanities.

Note: In addition to tuition fees, universities generally charge fees for goods and services supplied to students. This includes areas such as student associations, sports and health. These additional fees vary widely per university and per student and can run from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. Check with the university for details.

Student enrolment

2009 rounded preliminary fall enrolment *
Full-time (undergraduates): 28,430
Full-time (graduates): 8,220
Part-time (undergraduates): 10,900
Part-time (graduates): 1,060

* Source: The University of British Columbia

Programs and degrees

Note: The program information is compiled by AUCC staff in cooperation with staff at member institutions. The programs are classified according to the Classification of Instructional Programs 2000. To search for the programs offered by this institution, please consult the Directory of Canadian Universities’ programs database online at http://www.aucc.ca/can_uni/search/index_e.html.

Student facilities and services

Personal support services
Access and diversity services; disability resource centre; counselling; peer counseling and crisis support; résumé workshops; career fair, job bank; child-care facilities; Asian centre; First Nations House of Learning; Aboriginal support services from faculties; health services; herbarium and botanical garden; performing arts centre; student services centre; wellness education outreach; religious facilities and services; writing centre; museums and art galleries; bookstore; bike-safety program; safewalk; ombudsperson; Pride UBC, for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students.

Personal support services
Academic advising; awards and financial aid; tutoring; international student services; math tutorial centre; Irving K. Barber Learning Centre; study skills workshops and academic peers; Learning Enhancement Academic Partnership (LEAP); UBC Learning Exchange, a community engagement initiative based in the Downtown Eastside area of Vancouver.

First-year student programs
UBC has a two-part orientation program consisting of summer orientation (including tours, academic and campus resource information) and Imagine UBC, an event which groups every first-year student by common faculty and links them with senior students and faculty mentors. A similar program, called Create UBC Okanagan, has been developed for the Kelowna campus. Special academic programs at UBC’s Vancouver campus include Arts One (18-credit integrated, interdisciplinary introduction to the humanities), Science One (21-credit program in chemistry, biology, math and physics), Coordinated Science Program (cohort-based science program involving coordinated group of teaching faculty), and UBC: It’s Yours, which includes student success workshops, science first lectures and residence life program.

Housing
On-campus: Housing is available to single students, couples, and families. UBC’s Vancouver and Kelowna campuses accommodate 9,144 students (8,045 at UBC Vancouver and 1,366 at UBC Okanagan). In Vancouver, space is reserved for first-year students who are offered major entrance scholarships and those admitted directly from high schools outside BC’s Lower Mainland. At UBC Okanagan, space is reserved for first-year students who are offered major entrance scholarships and those admitted directly from high schools outside of BC's Central Okanagan. Rooms are subsequently assigned by student status with most rooms assigned to returning residents and to first-year undergraduate domestic and international students.

UBC offers single student residences (traditional room/board style and shared suite-style; about 45 percent assigned to men and 55 percent to women), unfurnished year-round residences for single students and couples without children, and year-round family rental units in unfurnished apartments and townhouses. Average cost for eight months is $7,251/shared room and $7,978 single room with a regular meal plan; $4,474 shared suite-style apartment; and $1,250/month for family housing townhouses.

Off-campus: Housing is available starting two km from the Vancouver campus. Average metro Vancouver monthly rates are: studio $741; one-bedroom $887; two-bedroom $1,261 (2008). Average Kelowna monthly rates are: studio $582; one-bedroom $734; two-bedroom $881 (2008). Campuses are accessible by public transit. All UBC students in Vancouver are issued a low-cost U-Pass for universal travel on the public transit system. UBC AMS (student government) in Vancouver operates Rentline, an on-line rental listing service.   

Student assistance

Undergraduate: UBC is committed to rewarding academic excellence and to ensuring that no otherwise eligible domestic student will be unable to attend due to financial reasons alone. UBC and its donors annually provide over $19.5 million in scholarships for academic excellence and leadership including 100 Major Entrance Scholarships valued at up to $40,000 and 3,500 President’s Entrance Scholarships valued at up to $4,000. Undergraduate students also receive over $110 million in need-based bursaries, work placements and student loans. There are also resources to aid with financial planning and putting together individually tailored funding packages. UBC also has a number of financial awards for Aboriginal students and students in Aboriginal-focused course work. More details online: www.you.ubc.ca.

Graduate: UBC graduate students annually receive approximately $40 million in merit-based scholarships and fellowships, including substantial federal and provincial funding, entrance scholarships and other awards. In addition, graduate students annually receive more than $15 million in need-based bursaries, work placements and student loans. For the Vancouver campus, visit www.grad.ubc.ca/awards, and for the Okanagan campus, visit www.ubc.ca/okanagan/gradstudies/finance.

International: UBC spends $3 million each year on awards and assistance for international students, including President’s Entrance Scholarships valued at up to $5,000. UBC also honours the achievements of incoming international students through the International Student Humanitarian Award and International Leader of Tomorrow (ILOT) program, which assist outstanding international students with awards valued at up to $34,000.

University research

UBC offers an open and interdisciplinary environment that encourages researchers to pursue fundamental questions about our world and to find solutions to the needs of society. Research is conducted primarily on the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses, and in a number of affiliated hospitals and health research sites throughout British Columbia.

UBC research is internationally renowned in areas as diverse as genomics, clean energy, materials science and anthropology. Recent breakthroughs involving UBC researchers include the first-ever decoding of an entire breast cancer genome, an historic advance in high-temperature superconductors and a promising new drug formulation to treat parasitic disease in the developing world. Our commercialization office is a leader in translating UBC innovations to Canadian society and making them globally accessible and affordable to developing nations.

Research excellence at UBC is fuelled by considerable federal and provincial investments, which have made possible new facilities such as the Beaty Biodiversity Centre and improved existing facilities including the renowned Museum of Anthropology. UBC is among the top three universities in Canada to receive grant funding from federal research councils.

Through its reputation for research excellence, its advanced research infrastructure and its global focus, UBC attracts graduate students and faculty researchers from around the world.

International education

UBC offers undergraduate and graduate students international learning opportunities (study, research and service learning) at home and abroad. International study programs include reciprocal exchange, study abroad, faculty-led group study programs and field schools with a network of 150 partners in over 40 countries in Asia, Africa, Canada, Latin America, Europe and the U.S. Graduate and undergraduate students participate in research projects through an even broader partnership network with a particular focus in Europe, India and China. Students engage in social justice and international community development projects through international service learning programs in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and through student-led volunteer projects around the world. 

In addition, each year UBC welcomes to both the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses students on study and research exchange from partner institutions. UBC has also developed specific international academic programs with Korea University, Tec de Monterrey in Mexico and Ritsumeikan University in Japan and has begun developing joint degree programs in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

More than 6,000 students from more than 143 countries join with Canadians to complete degrees at UBC.  On campus, the domestic and international students share the lead on internationally-focused events and seminars to challenge each other’s global vision. Projects include: International Week, Africa Awareness, student-led credit-bearing courses, student organizations, the Go Beyond Project, the Student Leadership Conference and the Founding Network for the Global Lounge.  

Contact
Ms. Katherine Beaumont, Director
Student Mobility Programs
Telephone: 604-822-0942
E-mail: go.global@ubc.ca

Websites:
www.students.ubc.ca/global 
www.students.ubc.ca/international
www.youlead.org/catalog

Affiliated institutions

UBC is home to the Province of British Columbia’s only medical school, which has satellite undergraduate teaching programs at the University of Victoria, the University of Northern British Columbia and, soon, UBC Okanagan. In addition, most B.C. hospitals and health authorities are affiliated with the UBC Faculty of Medicine for teaching and research purposes.

In addition, a number of theological training institutions are located on the UBC Vancouver campus:

Carey Hall and Carey Theological College
(Residence and theological college/Canadian Baptist Federation)
5920 Iona Drive, Vancouver, BC V6T 1J6
Telephone: 604-224-4308

Regent College
(Autonomous theological college/trans-denominational Evangelical and Biblical in basis)
5800 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC V6T 2E4
Telephone: 604-224-3245

St. Andrew’s Hall
(Residential theological college/Presbyterian)
6040 Iona Drive, Vancouver, BC V6T 2E8
Telephone: 604-822-9720

St. Mark’s College
(Theological college/Roman Catholic)
5935 Iona Drive, Vancouver, BC V6T 1J7
Telephone: 604-822-4463

Vancouver School of Theology
6000 Iona Drive, Vancouver, BC V6T 1L4
Telephone: 604-822-9031
Website: www.vst.edu