University of British Columbia

Undergraduate admission

Requirements depend on where the applicant attended high school, the campus and the degree. Applicants must meet UBC's general admission requirements and the degree-specific requirements, and demonstrate English competency. Separate requirement pages exist for Canadian high schools, international high schools (including Ghana), International Baccalaureate Diploma students and Advanced Placement students; AP grades may be combined with an approved high school curriculum. Some degrees need a supplemental application, portfolio, interview or audition, for example Bachelor of Commerce (video interview in the personal profile), Computer Science, Nursing, Education, Music, Fine Arts and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

English Language Admission Standard (ELAS), Vancouver

There are nine ways to meet the standard, including four or more consecutive years of full-time English-medium education immediately before UBC, six credits of first-year university English, IB English A grade 5 or higher, AP English grade 4 or higher, or an accepted test. Minimums, achieved in a single sitting: IELTS Academic overall 6.5 with no part below 6.0 (IELTS General, Indicator and One Skill Retake not accepted); TOEFL iBT overall 90 with Reading 22, Listening 22, Writing 21, Speaking 21 (institution code 0965); PTE Academic overall 65 with 60 in each skill; Duolingo English Test overall 125 with Reading 115, Listening 115, Writing 120, Speaking 120; CAEL overall 70; Cambridge English 180. Test scores must be from January 1, 2025 onwards for 2027/2028 Winter Session. Documents are due February 15. A waiver request process exists, and academic English pathways include UBC Vantage College and the UBC Conditional Admission Program.

Transfer students

Applicants must have completed high school, meet ELAS, hold an admission average of at least C (60%, where 50% is a pass) or 2.0 on a 4.0 scale, typically on the most recent 30 credits, and have credits: ideally 30 for second-year entry and 54 to 60 for third-year entry. Applicants with fewer than 24 credits are also assessed on final secondary grades.

Mature students

Applicants must have been out of full-time education for at least four years and have no previous undergraduate degree, and may apply only to listed degrees at each campus (for example Arts, Fine Arts, Music, Kinesiology, Media Studies and Applied Biology at Vancouver, and Arts, Fine Arts, Management, Media Studies, Nursing, Science and Sustainability at Okanagan). Missing prerequisites must be completed by April 30.

Graduate admission

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies sets minimum requirements by country of prior study, and individual programs may add their own requirements and deadlines. Applications include official transcripts, a minimum of two references and, for most programs, a statement of interest. Applicants from universities outside Canada where English is not the primary language of instruction must provide a test taken within the last 24 months: TOEFL iBT 90 overall with minimum 22 (reading, listening) and 21 (writing, speaking) for tests taken before January 21, 2026, or 4.5 overall on the 1-6 scale (5 listening, 4.5 reading and writing, 4 speaking) for later tests; IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with 6.0 in each component; Duolingo 125 overall (115 reading, 115 listening, 120 writing, 120 speaking). Some programs require higher scores.

Application dates, fee and method

The online application opens in early October 2026 for Winter Session 2027/28 and Summer Session 2027. The application deadline is January 15, 2027 (11:59 p.m. PST). International applicants who want to be considered for the International Scholars Program must apply by November 15, 2026. Admission decisions for high school applicants are made on a continuous basis from November to June, and most students must accept their offer by May 1 or June 1, 2027. Applications are made through the EducationPlannerBC website. The non-refundable application fee is $78.50 for Canadian citizens and permanent residents and $173.25 for international students who require a study permit (Canadian dollars). Out-of-country high school applicants must submit documents by March 15, 2027, and post-secondary applicants from outside Canada and the United States by May 31, 2027. International applicants should apply for a study permit as soon as they accept their offer.

• Vancouver campus (6200 University Blvd, Vancouver): the main campus, with 49,165 undergraduate and 11,144 graduate students. Facilities include UBC Library branches, the TRIUMF subatomic physics laboratory, the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, the Museum of Anthropology, the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, the UBC Botanical Garden, the UBC Farm and the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. Fifteen residences house more than 13,000 students.
• Okanagan campus (3333 University Way, Kelowna): opened in 2005 in the territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation, teaching arts and social sciences, creative and critical studies, education, engineering, health and social development, management, science and the Southern Medical Program. It has 12 primary buildings, a library with 566 seats and 113 computer stations, ten residences with 2,120 beds, Pritchard Dining Hall, a 7,140 sq.m. turf field and a 1,560 sq.m. gymnasium, and 12 varsity Heat teams.
• UBC Robson Square (downtown Vancouver): a learning and conference centre for adult learners, with programs in business, the arts, digital media, communications and languages.
• Centre for Digital Media (Vancouver): a partnership of UBC, Simon Fraser University, BCIT and Emily Carr University of Art and Design, home to a Master's program.
• Faculty of Medicine across BC: four academic and eleven clinical academic campuses, 17 affiliated regional centres and more than 65 community education and rural or remote sites; clinical teaching takes place at over 80 sites across the province.
• Regional bases in Hong Kong and India support partnerships in research, learning and capacity development.