University of British Columbia

The University of British Columbia was established in 1908 and operates two campuses: the main Point Grey campus in Vancouver, and a smaller campus in Kelowna in the Okanagan valley. The two share a name and a degree but run separately, with different programme lists and different admission averages.

UBC is research-intensive across the sciences, with particular international standing in earth and ocean sciences, forestry, sustainability and the life sciences, alongside a well-regarded business school and a large engineering faculty.

The Vancouver campus is unusually self-contained for a city university — it sits on a peninsula with its own gardens, museum, hospital and beaches — which changes what living there feels like compared with a downtown campus.

UBC admits by faculty and looks at the whole application rather than a single average.

• Class 12 results with the subject prerequisites for the intended degree, plus a competitive overall standing.
• A recognised bachelor's degree with a strong final-year standing for graduate admission, usually with a supervisor identified for research programmes.
• English proficiency evidence, unless you completed several years of study in English in an eligible country.
• A personal profile at undergraduate level: a set of written responses about experience and responsibilities, which is read alongside the grades.
• Portfolios, auditions or interviews for the programmes that require them.

UBC charges by programme and by credit in many faculties, so the annual cost depends on the course load you actually take as well as on the subject.

• International and domestic rates differ substantially, with the international rate applying unless you hold Canadian status.
• Several programmes are charged per credit rather than as a flat annual fee, which means a lighter or heavier term changes the bill.
• Professional and graduate programmes are priced separately from undergraduate arts and science.
• Mandatory student fees are additional — society levies, the health and dental plan, and the transit pass.
• Vancouver and Okanagan campuses differ in both fees and living costs.
• Annual increases apply, published in advance, so a multi-year degree costs more in later years.

Work from UBC's tuition and cost estimator for your programme and campus for your specific programme and year of entry — it is the only figure that will be correct for you, and it is republished every year. We will confirm the current cost and what it includes before you commit to an application.

UBC assesses international undergraduate applicants for entrance awards from the admission application itself, and also operates a broader international scholarship programme that considers financial circumstances alongside academic achievement. Graduate funding is handled by the individual departments.

• Automatic entrance consideration — international applicants are assessed for merit awards without a separate form.
• Broader international awards — these weigh circumstance as well as record, and require a separate application.
• Departmental graduate funding — arranged with the department and often tied to a supervisor.
• Faculty awards — narrower criteria, published on the faculty's own pages.

Award deadlines here generally fall earlier than the course deadline, and several close before the admission decision is made. Applying to the programme early is what keeps the funding options open.

The Vancouver campus is a self-contained community on a forested peninsula, which is unusual for a large research university and shapes everything about student life there.

• A campus with its own everything — shops, restaurants, a hospital, gardens, a museum and a beach — bordered by forest and ocean on three sides.
• Extensive outdoor recreation, with skiing, hiking and the coast all reachable within an hour. This is a genuine part of why students choose it.
• Hundreds of clubs, a large athletics and recreation programme, and a very active students' union.
• Well-developed international support — orientation, advising and a dedicated global lounge.
• Guaranteed first-year residence for students who apply by the deadline, which matters because Vancouver has one of the most expensive rental markets in North America.
• The Okanagan campus is much smaller and more intimate, in a warmer, drier inland setting.

Vancouver's housing cost is the single biggest practical factor. Applying for residence by the deadline is worth treating as part of the application, not an afterthought.