The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
research university
A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...
with campuses near
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
and in
Kelowna
Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki ...
, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
's oldest university. The university ranks among the top three universities in Canada.
With an annual research budget of $759million, UBC funds over 8,000 projects a year.
The Vancouver campus is situated adjacent to the
University Endowment Lands
The University Endowment Lands (UEL) is an unincorporated area that lies to the west of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and adjacent to the University of British Columbia and the lands associated with that campus. Pacific S ...
located about west of
downtown Vancouver
Downtown Vancouver is the central business district and the city centre neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada, on the northwestern shore of the Burrard Peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. It occupies most of the north sh ...
.
UBC is home to
TRIUMF
TRIUMF is Canada's national particle accelerator centre. It is considered Canada's premier physics laboratory, and consistently regarded as one of the world's leading subatomic physics research centers. Owned and operated by a consortium of uni ...
, Canada's national laboratory for
particle
In the Outline of physical science, physical sciences, a particle (or corpuscule in older texts) is a small wikt:local, localized physical body, object which can be described by several physical property, physical or chemical property, chemical ...
and
nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter.
Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...
, which houses the world's largest
cyclotron
A cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator invented by Ernest O. Lawrence in 1929–1930 at the University of California, Berkeley, and patented in 1932. Lawrence, Ernest O. ''Method and apparatus for the acceleration of ions'', filed: Janu ...
. In addition to the
Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies
The Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies was founded in 1991 and is the senior research institute at the University of British Columbia. It supports basic research through collaborative, interdisciplinary initiatives. The institute brings toge ...
and Stuart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute, UBC and the
Max Planck Society
The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (german: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e. V.; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. ...
collectively established the first
Max Planck Institute
Max or MAX may refer to:
Animals
* Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog
* Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE)
* Max (gorilla) (1 ...
in North America, specializing in
quantum materials
Quantum materials is an umbrella term in condensed matter physics that encompasses all materials whose essential properties cannot be described in terms of semiclassical particles and low-level quantum mechanics. These are materials that present s ...
. One of the largest
research libraries
A research library is a library which contains an in-depth collection of material on one or several subjects.(Young, 1983; p. 188) A research library will generally include an in-depth selection of materials on a particular topic or set of to ...
in Canada, the
UBC Library
The University of British Columbia Library is the library system of the University of British Columbia (UBC). The library is one of the 124 members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). In 2017, UBC Library ranked 29th among members of t ...
system has over 9.9million volumes among its 21 branches. The
Okanagan campus, acquired in 2005, is located in Kelowna, British Columbia.
Eight Nobel laureates, 74
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
scholars, 65
Olympians garnering medals, ten fellows in both
American Academy of Arts & Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States of America, United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bow ...
and the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
, and 273 fellows to the
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...
have been affiliated with UBC.
Three
Canadian prime ministers, including Canada's first female prime minister,
Kim Campbell
Avril Phaedra Douglas "Kim" Campbell (born March 10, 1947) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, lawyer, and writer who served as the 19th prime minister of Canada from June 25 to November 4, 1993. Campbell is the first and so far only female p ...
, and current prime minister,
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
, have been educated at UBC.
History
Foundation and early years
![Sharp and Thompson proposed plan for the UBC Point Grey campus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Sharp_and_Thompson_proposed_plan_for_the_UBC_Point_Grey_campus.jpg)
In 1877, six years after British Columbia joined Canada, the Superintendent of Education, John Jessop, submitted a proposal for the formation of a provincial University. The provincial legislature passed ''An Act Respecting the University of British Columbia'' in 1890, but disagreements arose over whether to build the university on
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
or the mainland.
The
British Columbia University Act
The University Act was enacted by the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia to establish degree-granting universities for British Columbia. The first University Act was passed in 1890, which act continues in force and defines the first Convocat ...
of 1908 formally called a provincial University into being, although its location was not specified.
The governance was modelled on the provincial University of Toronto Act of 1906 which created a bicameral system of university government consisting of a senate (faculty), responsible for academic policy, and a board of governors (citizens) exercising exclusive control over financial policy and having formal authority in all other matters. The president, appointed by the board, was to provide a link between the two bodies and to perform institutional leadership.
The Act constituted a twenty-one member senate with Francis Carter-Cotton of Vancouver as chancellor.
Before the University Act, there had been several attempts at creating a degree-granting university with help from the universities of
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
and
McGill McGill is a surname of Scottish and Irish origin, from which the names of many places and organizations are derived. It may refer to:
People
* McGill (surname) (including a list of individuals with the surname)
* McGill family (Monrovia), a promin ...
. Columbian College in New Westminster, through its affiliation with
Victoria College of the University of Toronto, began to offer university-level credit at the turn-of-the-century, but McGill came to dominate higher education in the early 1900s.
Building on a successful affiliation between Vancouver and Victoria high schools with McGill University,
Henry Marshall Tory
Henry Marshall Tory (January 11, 1864 – February 6, 1947) was the first president of the University of Alberta (1908–1928), the first president of the Khaki University, the first president of the National Research Council (1928–1935), and t ...
["]Henry Marshall Tory
Henry Marshall Tory (January 11, 1864 – February 6, 1947) was the first president of the University of Alberta (1908–1928), the first president of the Khaki University, the first president of the National Research Council (1928–1935), and t ...
, A Biography", originally published 1954, current edition January 1992, E.A. Corbett, Toronto: Ryerson Press, helped establish the McGill University College of British Columbia. From 1906 to 1915, McGill BC (as it was called) operated as a private institution providing the first few years toward a degree at McGill University or elsewhere. The Henry Marshall Tory Medal was established in 1941 by Tory, founding president of the University of Alberta and of the National Research Council of Canada, and a co-founder of Carleton University.
![Carleton pres Tory](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Carleton_pres_Tory.jpg)
In the meantime, appeals were made to the government to revive the earlier legislation for a provincial institution, leading to the University Endowment Act in 1907, and the University Act in 1908. In 1910 the Point Grey site was chosen, and the government appointed Dr.
Frank Fairchild Wesbrook as president in 1913, and
Leonard Klinck
Leonard Sylvanus Klinck (January 20, 1877 – March 27, 1969) was the second president of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from 1919 to 1940.
Biography
Leonard Klinck was born in Victoria Square, Ontario i ...
as dean of Agriculture in 1914. A declining economy and the outbreak of war in August 1914 compelled the university to postpone plans for building at Point Grey, and instead the former McGill University College site at
Fairview became home to the university until 1925. On the first day of lectures, September 30, 1915, the new independent university absorbed McGill University College. The University of British Columbia awarded its first degrees in 1916,
and Klinck became the second president in 1919, serving until 1944.
In 1917
Evlyn Fenwick Farris Evlyn Fenwick Farris (21 August 1878 – 5 November 1971) was a scholar and advocate for continuing education and women's rights. She was the founder of the first University Women's Club of Vancouver, and was elected to the Senate of the University ...
became the first woman in Canada to be appointed to the board of governors of a university — a founding governor of UBC. She was also the first woman to be appointed to the UBC Senate.
Active in its formation, the University Women's Club of Vancouver considered UBC as its "godchild".
Move to Point Grey
World War I dominated campus life and the student body was "decimated" by enlistments for active service, with three hundred male UBC students in Company "D" alone. By the war's end 697 male members of the university had enlisted. 109 students graduated in the three war-time congregations, all but one in the Faculty of Arts and Science.
By 1920, the university had only three faculties: Arts, Applied Science, and Agriculture (with Departments of
Agronomy
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...
,
Animal Husbandry
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...
,
Dairying
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a ...
, Horticulture and Poultry). It only awarded the degrees of Bachelor of Arts (BA),
Bachelor of Applied Science
The Bachelor of Applied Science, often abbreviated as B.AS., BAS, BSAS, BASc, B.A.Sc., or BAppSc, is an undergraduate degree. There are also ''Bachelor of Arts and Science'' and ''Bachelor of Administration Science'' undergraduate degrees, also a ...
(BASc), and Bachelor of Science in agriculture (BSA). There were 576 male students and 386 female students in the 1920–21 winter session, but only 64 academic staff, including 6 women.
In the early part of the 20th century, professional education expanded beyond the traditional fields of theology, law and medicine. Although UBC did not offer degrees in these fields, it began to offer degrees in new professional areas such as engineering, agriculture, nursing and school teaching. It also introduced graduate training based on the German-inspired American model of specialized course work and the completion of a research thesis, with students completing M.A. degrees in natural sciences, social sciences and humanities.
![UBC Great Trek at Granville and Georgia streets](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/UBC_Great_Trek_at_Granville_and_Georgia_streets.gif)
In 1922, the twelve-hundred-strong student body embarked on a "Build the University" campaign. Students marched through the streets of Vancouver to draw attention to their plight, enlist popular support, and embarrass the government. Fifty-six thousand signatures were presented at legislature in support of the campaign, which was ultimately successful. On September 22, 1925, lectures began at the new Point Grey campus. Except for the library, Science and Power House buildings, all the campus buildings were temporary constructions. Students built two playing fields, but the university had no dormitories and no social centre. Still, the university continued to grow steadily.
Soon, however, the effects of the
depression began to be felt. The provincial government, upon which the university depended heavily, cut the annual grant severely. In 1932–33, salaries were cut by up to 23%. Posts remained vacant, and a few faculty lost their jobs. Most graduate courses were dropped. In 1935, the university established the Department of Extension. Just as things began to improve, World War II began and Canada declared war on September 10, 1939. Soon afterwards, University President Klinck wrote:
From the day of the declaration of war, the University has been prepared to put at the disposal of the Government all possible assistance by way of laboratories, equipment and trained personnel, insofar as such action is consistent with the maintenance of reasonably efficient instructional standards. To do less would be unthinkable.
Heavy rains and melting snowfall eroded a deep ravine across the north end of the campus, in the Grand Campus Washout of 1935. The campus did not have
storm drain
A storm drain, storm sewer (United Kingdom, United States, U.S. and Canada), surface water drain/sewer (United Kingdom), or stormwater drain (Australia and New Zealand) is infrastructure designed to Drainage, drain excess rain and ground water ...
s, and
surface runoff
Surface runoff (also known as overland flow) is the flow of water occurring on the ground surface when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil. This can occur when th ...
went down a ravine to the beach. When the university carved a ditch to drain flooding on University Avenue, the rush of water steepened the ravine and eroded it back as fast as per hour. The resulting gully eventually consumed , two bridges, and buildings near
Graham House. The university was closed for 4 and a half days. Afterwards, the gully was filled with debris from a nearby landslide, and only traces are visible today.
[ Includes several contemporary photos of the Washout.]
Military training
Military education and training is a process which intends to establish and improve the capabilities of military personnel in their respective roles. Military training may be voluntary or compulsory duty. It begins with recruit training, proceed ...
on the campus became popular, then mandatory. WWII marked the first provision of money from the
federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
to the university for research purposes. This laid a foundation for future research grants from the federal government of Canada.
Postwar years
By the end of World War II, Point Grey's facilities could not meet the influx of veterans returning to their studies. The university needed new staff, courses, faculties, and buildings for teaching and accommodation. The student population rose from 2,974 in 1944–45 to 9,374 in 1947–48. Surplus
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
and
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
camps were used for both classrooms and accommodation. The university took over fifteen complete camps during the 1945–46 session, with a sixteenth camp on
Little Mountain, in Vancouver, converted into suites for married students. Most of the camps were dismantled and carried by barge or truck to the university where the huts were scattered across the campus.
Student numbers hit 9,374 in 1948; more than 53% of the students were
war veterans
A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military.
A military vete ...
in 1947–67. Between 1947 and 1951, the university built twenty new permanent buildings, including the War Memorial Gym, built with money raised primarily by the students, was dedicated on October 26, 1951.
![Raven-and-the-first-men](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Raven-and-the-first-men.jpg)
The single-University policy in the West was changed as existing colleges of the provincial Universities gained autonomy as Universities – the
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...
was established in 1963.
On February 10, 1964, Harvey Reginald MacMillan donated $8.2million for postgraduate education to the university.
Recent history
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau announced the creation of the
Museum of Anthropology at UBC
The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is renowned for its displays of world arts and cultures, in particular works by First Nations of the Pacific Northwest. As well as ...
on July 1, 1971. At a construction cost of $2.5million the museum building, designed by
Arthur Erickson
Arthur Charles Erickson (June 14, 1924 – May 20, 2009) was a Canadian architect and urban planner. He studied Engineering at the University of British Columbia and, in 1950, received his B.Arch. (Honours) from McGill University. He is known ...
, opened in 1976.
That same year, the university launched a
normal school
A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...
program under the direction of
Sally Rogow
Sally Rogow (May 9, 1930 – December 21, 2012) was an American educator who developed programs to assist other teachers in schooling the visually impaired. After completing her education with a bachelor's and two master's degrees in the United St ...
to train educators methods to teach students with multiple disabilities or were visually impaired.
In 1993 UBC concluded its "World of Opportunity" capital campaign that started in 1988. In total the university raised $262 million for the campaign. An additional $72 million in "non-campaign fundraising" was also raised. During the administration of President Strangway, UBC abandoned its previous design and planning process and private donors started to have more influence on building design.
In 2015 UBC concluded its "Start an Evolution" capital campaign. The campaign's quiet phase started in April 2008 and it launched publicly in September 2011. The initial goal was to raise $1.5 billion. The campaign surpassed that goal and raised 1.624 billion.
UBC's 15th president was Professor
Santa J. Ono
Santa Jeremy Ono ( ja, 小野 三太; born November 23, 1962) is a Canadian-American immunologist and academic administrator, currently serving as the 15th president of the University of Michigan since October 2022. Ono previously served as th ...
. He assumed the presidency on August 15, 2016. He served previously as the 28th president of the
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...
. Dr.
Martha Piper
Martha C. Piper is a Canadian academic and administrator who was the president and vice-chancellor of the University of British Columbia (UBC) from 1997 until 2006. She was the 11th person and the first woman to serve as president of UBC. Having ...
– who served as the 11th president of the university – served as interim president from September 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016, following the resignation of Dr.
Arvind Gupta
Arvind Gupta is an Indian toy inventor, author, translator and scientist. He got the civilian award " Padma Shree" on the eve of Republic Day, 2018.
Career
A graduate from IIT Kanpur (1975 batch), Arvind Kumar Gupta took a year's study leav ...
.
In early May 2020, UBC announced it would be holding a virtual graduation for the class of 2020 amid concerns over the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The university received $419,248 from the
Government of Canada
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
to promote uptake of
COVID-19 vaccines
A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19).
Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an est ...
among public health leaders, community figures,
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
, and leadership in municipal government.
On October 3, 2022, Dr. Deborah Buszard was appointed interim President and Vice-Chancellor of UBC.
Campuses
Vancouver
The main campus is located at
Point Grey
Point Grey ( Squamish: Elḵsn) is a headland marking the southern entrance to English Bay and Burrard Inlet. The headland is the site of Wreck Beach, Tower Beach, Point Grey Beach and most notably, since 1925, on its top is the Point Grey Campu ...
, approximately from downtown Vancouver. It lies on unceded territory of the
Musqueam people. It is near several beaches and has views of the
North Shore mountains
The North Shore Mountains are a mountain range overlooking Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. Their southernmost peaks are visible from most areas in Vancouver and form a distinctive backdrop for the city.
The steep southern slopes of the No ...
. The
Pacific Spirit Regional Park
Pacific Spirit Regional Park is a http://www.spdf2013.com/program/Docs/BogsCreeks-PacificSpirit.pdf park located in the University Endowment Lands, on Point Grey to the west of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia. It surrounds the endowment la ...
serves as a green-belt between the campus and the city. Buildings on the Vancouver campus occupy gross on of maintained land. The campus street plan is mostly in a grid of malls (some of which are pedestrian-only). Lower Mall and West Mall are in the southwestern part of the peninsula, with Main, East, and Wesbrook Malls northeast of them.
The campus is not within Vancouver's city limits, and therefore UBC is policed by the
RCMP
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...
rather than the
Vancouver Police Department
The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) (french: Service de police de Vancouver) is the police force for the City of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several police departments within the Metro Vancouver Area and is the second ...
. However, the
Vancouver Fire Department provides service to UBC under a contract. In addition to UBC RCMP, there is also the UBC Campus Security that patrols the campus. Postage sent to any building on campus includes Vancouver in the address.
UBC Vancouver also has two satellite campuses within the City of Vancouver: at
Vancouver General Hospital
Vancouver General Hospital (locally known as VGH, or Vancouver General) is a medical facility located in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the largest facility in the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre (VHHSC) group of medical faciliti ...
, for the medical sciences, and at
Robson Square
Robson Square is a landmark civic centre and public plaza, located in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the site of the Provincial Law Courts, UBC Robson Square, government office buildings, and public space connecting the newer de ...
in downtown Vancouver, for part-time credit and non-credit programmes. UBC is also a partner in the consortium backing
Great Northern Way Campus Ltd
Great Northern Way Campus Ltd (GNWC) is a private limited company and educational enterprise located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is the offspring of a consortium of four local academic institutions (the University of British Columbi ...
, and is affiliated with a group of adjacent theological colleges, which include the
Vancouver School of Theology
The Vancouver School of Theology is a ecumenical divinity school located on the campus of and formally affiliated with the University of British Columbia. VST is called to educate and form thoughtful, engaged and generous Christian leaders.
Fac ...
,
Regent College
Regent College is an interdenominational evangelical Christian College of Christian studies, and an affiliated college of the University of British Columbia, located next to the university's campus in the University Endowment Lands west of Van ...
,
Carey Theological College
Carey Theological College is Baptist theological institute based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is affiliated with the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada.
History
The Carey Theological College was founded in 1959 as Carey Hall by the Canadia ...
and
Corpus Christi College.
![Vancouver school of theology (UBC-2009)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Vancouver_school_of_theology_%28UBC-2009%29.JPG)
The campus is home to numerous gardens. The
UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research
UBC Botanical Garden, at the University of British Columbia, was established in 1916 under the directorship of John Davidson (botanist), John Davidson, British Columbia's first provincial botanist. It is the oldest botanical garden at a university ...
, the first UBC department, holds a collection of over 8000 different kinds of plants used for research, conservation and education. The UBC botanical garden's original site was at the "Old Arboretum". All that remains of it today are trees planted in 1916 by
John Davidson. The old arboretum is now home to many buildings including the First Nations House of Learning. The
Nitobe Memorial Garden
The Nitobe Memorial Garden is a -acre (one hectare) traditional Japanese garden located at the University of British Columbia, just outside the city limits of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the UBC Botanical Garden.
Backgrou ...
, built to honour Japanese scholar
Inazo Nitobe, the garden has been the subject of more than fifteen years' study by a UBC professor, who believes its construction hides a number of impressive features, including references to Japanese philosophy and mythology, shadow bridges visible only at certain times of year, and positioning of a lantern filled with light at the exact date and time of Nitobe's death each year. The garden is behind the university's Asian Centre, which was built using steel girders from Japan's exhibit at
Osaka Expo.
The campus also features the
Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts is located on the campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is situated within the natural landscape of the campus and is surrounded by evergreens and rhododendro ...
: a
performing arts
The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...
centre containing the
Chan Shun Concert Hall
The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts is located on the campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is situated within the natural landscape of the campus and is surrounded by evergreens and rhododendr ...
, Telus Studio Theatre and the Royal Bank Cinema. It is often the site of convocation ceremonies and the filming location for the
4400 Center on the television show ''
The 4400
''The 4400'' (pronounced "the forty-four hundred") is a science fiction television series produced by CBS Paramount Network Television in association with BSkyB, Renegade 83, and American Zoetrope for USA Network in the United States and Sky ...
'', as well as the Madacorp entrance set on ''
Kyle XY
''Kyle XY'' is an American science fiction television series produced by ABC Family. The central character is a teenage boy (Matt Dallas) who awakens naked in a forest outside Seattle, Washington, with no more knowledge or abilities than a newb ...
''. It has also been featured as the Cloud 9 Ballroom in the re-imagined ''
Battlestar Galactica
''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...
'' (Season 1, Episode 11: ''Colonial Day'').
Since the mid-1980s UBC has worked with property developers to build several large residential developments throughout UBC's campus. Such developments include: Chancellor Place, Hampton Place, Hawthorn Place and Wesbrook Village.
Okanagan
![Engineering Management and Education (UBC Okanagan)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Engineering_Management_and_Education_%28UBC_Okanagan%29.jpg)
The
Okanagan Campus was established in 2005 on what was previously the North
Kelowna
Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki ...
Campus of
Okanagan University College
Okanagan University College (OUC) was a public, post-secondary educational institution (c. 1990 to 30 June 2005) based in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. It evolved from Okanagan College (1965 to c. 1990), and the college's predecessor, the B ...
, next to
Kelowna International Airport
Kelowna International Airport is a Canadian airport located approximately 10 minutes or northeast of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, on Highway 97.
The single runway airport operates scheduled air service to Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, E ...
. It was founded in partnership with the
Syilx
The ''Syilx'' () people, also known as the Okanagan, Okanogan or Okinagan people, are a First Nations and Native American people whose traditional territory spans the Canada–US boundary in Washington state and British Columbia in the Okanagan C ...
Okanagan Nation and it lies on their ancestral and unceded territory.
The campus had a 2019 enrolment of 10,708 undergraduate and graduate students, and has its own academic Senate. UBC Okanagan offers 62 undergraduate and 19 graduate programs in a diversity of disciplines including Arts, Science, Fine Arts, Engineering, Nursing, Human Kinetics, Education, Management, Social Work and Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies. UBC's Faculty of Medicine delivers medical doctor training through the Southern Medical Program with facilities at UBC Okanagan and a clinical academic campus at Kelowna General Hospital.
From 2005 through 2012, the Okanagan campus completed a $450million CDN expansion with construction of several residential, teaching and research buildings. The expansion included the Charles E. Fipke Centre for Innovative Research, University Centre, the Engineering Management and Education building, the Arts and Sciences Centre, Reichwald Health Sciences Centre, and several new student residence buildings. The Commons building was opened in 2019, and in 2020 construction is underway on two additional student housing facilities—Nechako and Skeena residences.
In 2010, UBC Okanagan campus grew from 105 ha. to 208.6 ha. Like the Point Grey campus, the Okanagan campus attracts Canadian and international students.
UBC Okanagan campus plans to expand its campus in 2022 in downtown Kelowna. There will be three towers included in the project that stretches over two lots. The first tower will have underground parking for 260 vehicles, a ground floor that features an atrium, cafe and medical clinic, an eight-storey ‘academic podium’ with a larger footprint that acts as a stage for 24 storeys of student housing on top. Approximately 352 units of student housing will be available. The tower will be 34 storeys in total.
Libraries, archives and galleries
The UBC Library, which has 7.8million volumes, 2.1million e-books, more than 370,000 e-journals, and more than 700,000 items in locally produced digital collections, is Canada's second largest academic library.
From 2014 to 2015, there were more than 3.8million on-campus visits and over 9.5million visits to its website.
The library has fifteen branches and divisions across the UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan campuses.
The former Main Library underwent construction and was renamed the
Irving K. Barber Learning Centre
The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre (IKBLC) is a facility at the Vancouver campus of the University of British Columbia. The Learning Centre is built around the refurbished core of the 1925 UBC Main Library. The Centre is named for Irving. K. Ba ...
. Opened in April 2008, the Learning Centre incorporates the centre heritage block of the old Main Library with two new expansion wings and features an
automated storage and retrieval system
An automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS or AS/RS) consists of a variety of computer-controlled systems for automatically placing and retrieving loads from defined storage locations. Automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) are ty ...
(ASRS), the first of its kind in Canada.
UBC has a number of different collections that have been donated and acquired. Major General
Victor Odlum
Victor Wentworth Odlum, CB, CMG, DSO (21 October 1880 – 4 April 1971) was a Canadian journalist, soldier, and diplomat. He was a prominent member of the business and political elite of Vancouver, British Columbia from the 1920s until his deat ...
CB, CMG, DSO, VD donated his library of 10,000 books, which has been housed in "the Rockwoods Centre Library" of the UBC Library since 1963. After Videomatica's 2011 closure, UBC and SFU acquired their $1.7-million collection. UBC received about 28,000 movie DVDs, 4,000 VHS titles and 900 Blu-ray discs which are housed at UBC Library's Koerner branch on the Vancouver campus. In 2014, renowned art collector and antiques specialist, Uno Langmann, donated the Uno Langmann Family Collection of B.C. Photographs, which consists of more than 18,000 rare and unique early photographs from the 1850s to the 1970s. It is considered the premiere private collection of early provincial photos, and an important illustrated history of early photographic methods. In 2016, the library acquired one of the world's most rare and extraordinary books, the
Kelmscott ''Chaucer'' from 1896. The book was printed in a limited edition of only 438 copies, but there are only 48 copies in the world with its particular type of binding.
The
Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery
The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery is a contemporary art gallery in Vancouver, British Columbia, on the campus of the University of British Columbia. The gallery is housed in an award-winning building designed by architect Peter Cardew and o ...
at UBC is mandated to research, exhibit, collect, publish, educate and develop programs in the field of contemporary art and in contemporary approaches to the practice of art history and criticism. The Belkin maintains and manages the university's art collection of over 5,000 objects, including the Outdoor Art Collection, and an archive of over 30,000 items. Works from the permanent collection and archives, with an emphasis on recent acquisitions, are exhibited on an annual basis and are also used by other institutions for research and loans. The Belkin has an active publication program and participates in programming that includes lectures, tours, concerts and symposia related to art history, criticism and curating.
Sustainability
UBC has been ranked in the
Corporate Knights
Corporate Knights is a media and research company based in Toronto, Canada, focused on advancing a sustainable economy. The company publishes an award-winning magazine, ''Corporate Knights'', and produces global rankings, research reports, a ...
school rankings, which ranks universities based on how well they integrate sustainability into the learning experience. The rankings adopt a broad definition of sustainability which encompasses both environmental and social concerns. In the 2011 rankings, UBC was ranked second in the category: top 5 teaching programs.
UBC's law school ranked fifth among Canadian law schools.
The Sauder School of Business' MBA programs were ranked fourth in Canada. The same rankings placed the business school 11th in Canada for its undergraduate business program.
The Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) building has been called North America's most sustainable, innovative, and high performance building.
The CIRS building was first proposed in 2000
and was the brainchild of John Robinson, a sustainable development research initiative professor. Robinson worked with faculty members from Emily Carr, Simon Fraser University, and British Columbia Institute of Technology as well as head architect Peter Busby to design the building.
It cost 23million dollars to complete the 65,000 square foot building.
The CIRS building exhibits regenerative sustainability, which means the building improves the surrounding environment.
[Archived a]
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
For example, it uses energy it obtains from the neighbouring Earth and Ocean Sciences (EOSC) Building to heat itself. The EOSC building uses roughly 1600 megawatts of heat and goes through ten air changes every hour, which wastes around 900 megawatts.
The engineers who built the CIRS building saw this as an opportunity; the building takes the heat the EOSC building expels and uses 300 megawatts to heat itself before returning 600 megawatts to the EOSC building. In this way, the CIRS building restores its surrounding environment.
The CIRS building is designed to be net positive in four ways environmentally, meaning the processes or products that leave the building are more environmentally friendly than those that go into it.
The best example of the building's net positivity is the building's wood holds nearly 600 tons of carbon – more carbon than the building's construction and maintenance created.
[Archived a]
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
Other sustainable features of the CIRS building include:
* A water supply obtained entirely from rainwater
* An on-site sewage treatment facility that converts all waste created in the building to reusable water and compost
* The building's wood comes from trees killed by the pine beetle, thus, little logging was needed for construction
* Relies on mainly solar energy for electricity
* All areas of the building use natural lighting during the day.
The building integrates 'green' sustainable and humane features, i.e. not only does it have a small ecological footprint, it also serves as an environment for occupants to be happy, healthy, and productive.
This is the direction the University of British Columbia is moving towards to continue their ideas of sustainable development.
Following the success of the CIRS, UBC's new Student Union Building, which opened in summer 2015, was also designed to adhere to the most stringent sustainability requirements. It achieves the
LEED Platinum
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a
green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...
standard – with features that include triple glazing, solar-powered cooling, solar water heaters, radiant heating and cooling in floors,
green roof
A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...
technology, water-efficient landscaping that uses
greywater
Greywater (or grey water, sullage, also spelled gray water in the United States) refers to domestic wastewater generated in households or office buildings from streams without fecal contamination, i.e., all streams except for the wastewater from ...
, natural air ventilation, and a
composting
Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting m ...
facility that processes up to 30 tonnes of organic waste each year.
Water Action Plan
As of 2019, UBC consumed about four billion litres of water a year, which could fill 1,600 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
To reduce this consumption, the UBC sustainability team created an initiative to conserve called the Water Action Plan in 2011 to reduce and recycle water on campus. Two landmarks for creating water sustainability are the CIRS and the C. K. Choi Building. The Centre for Interactive Sustainability (CIRS) building features a closed-loop water system where water is recycled and reused. On the other hand, the C. K. Choi Building for the Institute of Asian Research, consists of
composting toilet
A composting toilet is a type of dry toilet that treats human waste by a biological process called composting. This process leads to the decomposition of organic matter and turns human waste into compost-like material. Composting is carried ou ...
s, which reduce domestic water consumption. These toilets use an alternative other than using water for flushing and produce fertilizer that can be used for growing plants. Conclusively, these toilets allow for the conservation of water, landfill space, energy, and also the production of quality fertilizer.
Water conservation initiatives
For over 20 years, UBC has been implementing change and water consumption policies through two initiatives, ECOTrek and UBC Renew:
*ECOTrek
*:ECOTrek is Canada's largest sustainability project which undertook an enormous water and energy saving initiative. This project included rebuilding almost 300 academic buildings in UBC. This project achieved a World Clean Energy nomination, which are honourable awards for successful projects in energy efficiency and renewable energy realm. The water management involved conducting changes to toilets, urinals, basins and water-cooled equipment to reduce the amount of water on campus. In addition, steam and water meters were installed on campus to quantify the water consumption to provide a clear depiction of the water use in each building.
*UBC Renew
*:UBC Renew project involves renovating aging institutional buildings, instead of demolishing and building new buildings which can have negative impacts on the environment.
Demolition
Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...
can have major environmental impacts as it can pollute the soil, increase air pollutants, and increase water consumption. Renovating old buildings can save large volumes of water and save energy costs.
Community efforts
Beyond the UBC sustainability team, a student-driven initiative is taking place in making a bottled-water free campus in hopes of reducing
bottled water
Bottled water is drinking water (e.g., well water, distilled water, mineral water, or spring water) packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not. Sizes range from small single serving bottles to large car ...
on campus and to encourage students to engage in environmentally friendly behaviours. Production of bottled water puts strain on the environment and increases landfill space. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature 2001 report, about 1.5million tons of plastic is used for bottling 89billion litres of water each year.
Governance and academics
![Koerner Library UBC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Koerner_Library_UBC.jpg)
UBC's administration, as mandated by the University Act, is composed of a chancellor, convocation, board, senate, and faculties of the university.
The board of governors manages property and revenue, while the senate manages the university's academic operation. Both are composed of faculty and students who are elected to the position. Degrees and diplomas are conferred by the convocation, which is composed of alumni, administrators, and faculty, with a quorum of twenty members. UBC also has a president, who is the university's chief executive officer and a member of the senate, board of governors, convocation, and also serves as vice chancellor. The president of the university is responsible for managing the academic operation of the university, including recommending appointments, calling meetings of faculties, and establishing committees.
Faculties and schools
![UBC Law at Allard Hall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/UBC_Law_at_Allard_Hall.JPG)
UBC's academic activity is organized into "faculties" and "schools". UBC has twelve faculties at its Vancouver campus and seven at its Okanagan campus.
UBC Vancouver has two academic colleges: Interdisciplinary Studies and Health Disciplines, while UBC Okanagan has a College of Graduate Studies. At the Vancouver campus, the Faculty of Arts, which dates back to the 1915 Fairview Campus, is the largest faculty with twenty departments and schools. With the split of the Faculty of Arts and Science in 1964, the Faculty of Science is the second largest faculty with nine departments. The
Sauder School of Business
The UBC Sauder School of Business is a faculty at the University of British Columbia. The faculty is located in Vancouver on UBC's Point Grey campus and has a secondary teaching facility at UBC Robson Square downtown. UBC Sauder is accredited by A ...
is UBC's Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration. The School of Architecture offers a program accredited by the Canadian Architectural Certification Board at the bachelor level (B.Arch.) and the master's level (M.Arch.). , a new school was created:
UBC Vancouver School of Economics
The Vancouver School of Economics (also known as VSE ) is a school of the University of British Columbia located in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The school ranks as one of the top 25 in the world and top in Canada. The school exhibits high research ...
in conjunction with the Sauder School of Business. The university's first inter-faculty school, the School of Biomedical Engineering, was established in 2017 as a partnership between the Faculties of Applied Science and Medicine.
In 2014, UBC created a new "International Programs" designation separate from the traditional definition of a faculty. To accompany this designation, the university created Vantage College to allow international students who do not meet the English language requirements for general admission to enter the university's transition program.
Dual undergraduate degree with Sciences Po
The dual degree program is a highly selective program in which undergraduate students earn two Bachelor of Arts degrees from both
Sciences Po
, motto_lang = fr
, mottoeng = Roots of the Future
, type = Public university, Public research university''Grande école''
, established =
, founder = Émile Boutmy
, a ...
in France and UBC in four years. Previously, students could earn one Bachelor of Arts and one Bachelor of Commerce (Sauder School of Business); however, this program was discontinued with the last student intake occurring in September 2017. Currently, students in the dual degree program can only earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from UBC, along with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Sciences Po, which can both be in different majors pertaining to the social sciences. Students spend two years at one of three Sciences Po regional campuses in France (Le Havre, Menton, or Reims), each of which is devoted to a particular region of the world. After two years, students matriculate at UBC. Graduates are guaranteed admission to a Sciences Po graduate program within one-year of graduation.
Reputation
The University of British Columbia has ranked in a number of
post-secondary rankings. In the 2022 ''
Academic Ranking of World Universities
The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong University ...
'' rankings, the university ranked 44th in the world and second in Canada.
The 2023 ''
QS World University Rankings
''QS World University Rankings'' is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for the ...
'' ranked the University 47th in the world, and third in Canada.
The 2023 ''
Times Higher Education World University Rankings
The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'' (often referred to as the THE Rankings) is an annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' (THE) magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli ...
'' ranked the University 40th in the world, and second in Canada.
In the 2022–23 ''
U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking'', the university ranked 35th in the world and second in Canada.
The Canadian-based ''
Maclean's
''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...
'' magazine ranked the University of British Columbia third in their 2023 Canadian Medical Doctoral University category, and in their 2023 reputation survey.
The university was ranked in spite of having opted out – along with several other universities in Canada – of participating in ''Maclean's'' graduate survey since 2006. In ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
''s 2011 global university rankings, the university was ranked eighth among institutions outside the United States and second in Canada (after the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
).
Along with academic and research-based rankings, the university has also been ranked by publications that evaluate the employment prospects of its graduates. In the ''Times Higher Education's'' 2022 global employability ranking, the university ranked 36th in the world and third in Canada .
International partnerships
UBC students can study abroad for a semester or a year at over 200 partner institutions such as
ETH Zürich
(colloquially)
, former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule
, image = ETHZ.JPG
, image_size =
, established =
, type = Public
, budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021)
, rector = Günther Dissertori
, president = Joël Mesot
, ac ...
,
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...
,
UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...
,
Imperial College London
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
,
HEC Paris
HEC Paris (french: École des hautes études commerciales de Paris) is a business school, and one of the most prestigious and selective grandes écoles, located in Jouy-en-Josas, France. HEC offers Master in Management, MSc International Fi ...
,
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University (; abbreviation, abbr. THU) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Minis ...
,
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
,
Seoul National University
Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...
,
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
,
IIT Delhi
The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi is a public institute of technology located in New Delhi, India. It is one of the 23 IITs created to be Centres of Excellence for training, research and development in science, engineering and technolo ...
,
National Taiwan University
National Taiwan University (NTU; ) is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan.
The university was founded in 1928 during Japanese rule as the seventh of the Imperial Universities. It was named Taihoku Imperial University and served d ...
and many others.
Enrolment
The mean admission average in 2013 for domestic first-year students was 89.5 percent. The acceptance rate for domestic applications in 2013 was 50.4 percent, of which 57.1 percent enrolled. In 2014/15, UBC employed 3,270 full-time
Faculty members, 10,942 non-faculty members, and 8,031 students. It reported 871 unpaid employees.
Vancouver enrolment
Research
![Chan centre performing arts concert tessler](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Chan_centre_performing_arts_concert_tessler.jpg)
The University of British Columbia is a member of
Universitas 21
Universitas 21 (U21) is an international network of research-intensive universities. Founded in Melbourne, Australia in 1997 with 11 members, it has grown to include twenty-eight member universities in nineteen countries and territories.
The uni ...
, an international association of research-led institutions and the only Canadian member of the
, a consortium of 42 leading research universities in the Pacific Rim.
In 2017, the University of British Columbia had the second-largest sponsored research income (external sources of funding) out of any Canadian university, totalling
C$577 million.
In the same year, the university's faculty averaged a sponsored research income of $249,900, the eighth highest in the country, while graduate students averaged a sponsored research income of $55,200.
[
The university has been ranked on several ]bibliometric
Bibliometrics is the use of statistical methods to analyse books, articles and other publications, especially in regard with scientific contents. Bibliometric methods are frequently used in the field of library and information science. Bibliom ...
university rankings, which uses citation analysis
Citation analysis is the examination of the frequency, patterns, and graphs of citations in documents. It uses the directed graph of citations — links from one document to another document — to reveal properties of the documents. A ty ...
to evaluate the impact
Impact may refer to:
* Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period
* Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US
Science and technology
* Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event
* Impact ...
a university has on academic publications. In 2019, the ranked UBC 27th in the world and second in Canada. The University Ranking by Academic Performance
The University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP) is a university ranking developed by the Informatics Institute of Middle East Technical University. Since 2010, it has been publishing annual national and global college and university rankin ...
2018–19 rankings placed the university 27th in the world and second in Canada.
The university operates and manages a number of research centres:
* In 1972, a consortium of the University of British Columbia and four other universities from Alberta and British Columbia established the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre
Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre (formerly the Bamfield Marine Station) is a marine research station established in 1972, located in Bamfield, Barkley Sound, British Columbia and run by the University of Victoria, the University of British Colu ...
. Located on Vancouver Island, the centre provides year-round research facilities and technical assistance for biologists, ecologists and oceanographers.
* The Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies
The Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies was founded in 1991 and is the senior research institute at the University of British Columbia. It supports basic research through collaborative, interdisciplinary initiatives. The institute brings toge ...
is an interdisciplinary research institute for fundamental research in the Sciences, Social Sciences, and Humanities.
* The UBC Farm
The UBC Farm is a 24-hectare farm, and forest system, on the southern end of the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The farm is operated by the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, which is par ...
is a learning and research farm in UBC's South Campus area. It features Saturday Farm Markets from early June until early October, selling organic produce and eggs to the community.
* TRIUMF
TRIUMF is Canada's national particle accelerator centre. It is considered Canada's premier physics laboratory, and consistently regarded as one of the world's leading subatomic physics research centers. Owned and operated by a consortium of uni ...
, a laboratory specializing in particle
In the Outline of physical science, physical sciences, a particle (or corpuscule in older texts) is a small wikt:local, localized physical body, object which can be described by several physical property, physical or chemical property, chemical ...
and nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter.
Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...
, is also situated at the university. The name was formerly an acronym for Tri-University Meson Facility, but TRIUMF is now owned and operated by a consortium of eleven Canadian universities. The consortium runs TRIUMF through a contribution of funds from the National Research Council of Canada
The National Research Council Canada (NRC; french: Conseil national de recherches Canada) is the primary national agency of the Government of Canada dedicated to science and technology research & development. It is the largest federal research ...
and makes TRIUMF's facilities available to Canadian scientists and to scientists from around the world.
* BC Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) and UBC have established ''Professorships in Cannabis Science'' in 2018 following Canada's legalization of cannabis
The legality of cannabis for medical and recreational use varies by country, in terms of its possession, distribution, and cultivation, and (in regards to medical) how it can be consumed and what medical conditions it can be used for. These ...
.
* The Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions is a research institute for the teaching and study of innovation in democratic practice and institutions. Established in 2002, the centre conducts research and teaching in cooperation with scholars, public officials, NGOs and students. The centre is formally housed in the UBC School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA), and operates in association with faculty in the UBC Department of Political Science. It was initially funded from the Merilees Chair through a donation by Gail and Stephen Jarislowsky.
*The Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute
Stewart may refer to:
People
*Stewart (name), Scottish surname and given name
*Clan Stewart, a Scottish clan
*Clan Stewart of Appin, a Scottish clan
Places
Canada
* Stewart, British Columbia
*Stewart Township, Nipissing District, Ontario (histo ...
, one of three Canadian research institutes focused on quantum materials and technology research, was established in 2015 with the support of th
Canada First Excellence Research Fund
and a donation from Stewart Blusson
Stewart Lynn "Stu" Blusson, (born 1939) is a Canadian geologist, helicopter pilot, businessman and philanthropist. He co-discovered billion-dollar Ekati Diamond Mine, 300 kilometres from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. He is President ...
.
In 2017, UBC inked a $3 million research agreement with Huawei
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology corporation headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It designs, develops, produces and sells telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics and various smar ...
for big data and fuel cell technology. The university refused to release the agreement without an access to information request.
Indigenous
UBC's Longhouse is the university's centre for Indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
activities. The university has an associate dean of Indigenous Education, and has developed governing board and senate policies as well as Aboriginal governed councils within the university structure. UBC offers degrees in First Nations and Indigenous Studies through a program in the Arts Faculty, and a Chinook Diploma Program in the Sauder School of Business; it also runs the Chinook Summer Biz Camp, to foster entrepreneurship among First Nations and Métis high school students. It hosts a Bridge Through Sport Program, Summer Science Program, Native Youth Program, and Cedar Day Camp and Afterschool Program. Its First Nations Forestry Initiatives were developed in partnership with specific Aboriginal communities to meet needs in their more remote areas.
Finances
In 2012–13, UBC's budget exceeded $2billion, and the university posted balanced financial results for the fourth consecutive year through strategic revenue diversification, careful management of assets, and a continued focus on fundraising for projects across the university. Government grants account for approximately 45% of total revenues. Annual fundraising has nearly doubled in 5 years to reach $213million.
Tuition
Tuition fees
Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spen ...
vary significantly between Canadian citizens (and permanent residents) and international students. In addition, for both undergraduate and graduate programs, tuition rates vary among the university's faculties. Students must also pay for various living expenses such as housing, food and health care. , these expenses were estimated at around $13,000 CAD per academic year.
Undergraduate tuition
UBC tuition for 2012 was $4,700 before adding other mandatory administrative fees for a Canadian student in a basic 30-unit program, though various programs cost from $3,406 to $9,640. Tuition for international students is significantly higher (2.3–4.6 times higher than domestic students). In 2012, tuition for international students ranged from $16,245 CAD to $25,721 CAD.
In 2001–02, UBC had one of the lowest undergraduate tuition rates in Canada, at an average of $2,181 CAD per year for a full-time programme due to a government-instituted tuition freeze.
In 2001, the BC Liberal party defeated the NDP in British Columbia and lifted the tuition freeze. In 2002–03 undergraduate and graduate tuition rose by an average of 30%, and up to 40% in some faculties. This has led to better facilities, but also to student unrest
Campus protest or student protest is a form of student activism that takes the form of protest at university campuses. Such protests encompass a wide range of activities that indicate student dissatisfaction with a given political or academi ...
and contributed to a teaching assistant union strike
Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Labor (economics), work. A strike usually takes place in response to grievance (labour), employee grievance ...
.
UBC again increased tuition by 30% in the 2003–04 year, again by approximately 15% in the 2004–05 season, and 2% in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 years. Increases were lower than expected because, in the 2005 Speech from the Throne
A speech from the throne, or throne speech, is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign, or a representative thereof, reads a prepared speech to members of the nation's legislature when a session is opened, outlining th ...
, the government announced tuition increases would be capped to inflation. In 2006–07, the Canadian average undergraduate tuition fee was $4,347 and the BC average was $4,960. In 2014, the board of governors passed a one-time 10% tuition increase for all new incoming international students. In December 2015, UBC's board of governors passed a motion increasing international tuition by more than 46.8% for the academic years 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–2019. This announcement was met with indignation by many of the university's students as this was the second major increase in international tuition in less than a year, taking total international student tuition fee increases to above 60% within 4 years (minimum international tuition will be benchmarked at $35,071 CAD in the year 2018–19).
Graduate tuition
In the academic year 2019/2020, graduate programs assess tuition fees that vary significantly, depending on the program and the student's citizenship. International students without external funding that meet the general eligibility criteria will be supported with guaranteed funding of up to $3,200 per year. Tuition for professional Master's programs varies.
Student life
Student representation
The Alma Mater Society of the University of British Columbia
The Alma Mater Society of the University of British Columbia Vancouver, otherwise referred to as the Alma Mater Society or the AMS, is the student society of UBC Vancouver and represents more than 58,000 undergraduate and graduate students at UB ...
, or AMS, represents UBC undergraduate students within the Vancouver campus. The society's mandate is to improve the quality of educational, social, and personal lives of UBC students. The AMS lobbies the UBC administration on behalf of the student body, provides services such as the AMS/GSS Health and Dental Plan, supports and administers student clubs, and maintains the Student Union Building (aka SUB) and the services it houses. A constituency (undergraduate society) exists within each school and faculty of the university and acts as the subsidiary of the AMS within those schools and faculties.
The Graduate Student Society (GSS), which operates as an independent entity, represents graduate students. A council representing each graduate program and an executive elected by graduate students as a whole governs the GSS.
The university also has elected student representatives sitting on, as voting members, the board of governors (three student representatives) and the academic senate (18 student representatives), as laid out in the British Columbia University Act. Although the university is the official body that elects the students, the university delegates these representative elections to the AMS.
On the Okanagan Campus, the Students' Union Okanagan, or UBCSUO, is the elected representation of the student body. Composed of a board of directors and executive team, the UBCSUO lobbies the administration and provincial government on behalf of the student body, manages the student health and dental plan, as well as hosts social programming throughout the year. The Student Union Offices are located within the University Centre Building. In the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the SUO initiated the Emergency Bursary Program which supported UBC students with nearly $1,000,000 in emergency funding.
Student demographics
In the 2020–21 academic year, females made up 57 per cent of UBC Vancouver's student body, and 53 per cent of UBC Okanagan's student body.
Student facilities
The heart of student activity at UBC Vancouver is the centrally located Student Union Building (SUB), which houses offices of many AMS student clubs, over a dozen restaurants and cafés, a pub ("The Gallery"), a nightclub ("The Pit"), the 425-seat Norman Bouchard Memorial Theatre ("The Norm Theatre"), several shops, and a post office. The AMS runs the majority of the SUB's outlets and shops; however, UBC Food Services' recent addition of major corporate outlets has generated controversy. The SUB Art Gallery contains mostly students' works. An underground bus loop to replace the "Grassy Knoll" beside the SUB did not receive funding by Translink Translink (or TransLink) may refer to:
* TransLink (British Columbia), the public transport operator in Vancouver, Canada
* Translink (Northern Ireland)
Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), a ...
.
As a result, the administration has cancelled the bus loop project, although the rest of the renovations of the University Boulevard Neighbourhood are still under consideration.
In June 2015, the new Student Union Building—called the AMS Student Nest or simply the "Nest"—opened to students, largely replacing and extending the old SUB in functionality. The Nest, built for $107million, is much larger than its predecessor, and has numerous amenities including a performance centre, an art exhibition space, a large ballroom, a three-storey climbing wall, radio broadcast facilities, a daycare, and a 10,740 square foot rooftop garden and public space with a water feature and outdoor seating. Many of the restaurants as well as the Pit Pub have moved to the Nest under their original name or with new names.
Other student facilities on campus include the Ladha Science Student Centre (funded through a donation from Abdul Ladha, a levy on Science undergraduate students, the VP Students, and the dean of Science) and the Meekison Arts Student Space in the Faculty of Art's Buchanan D building. The UBC Bookstore's locations on the Vancouver campus: the main store at 6200 University Boulevard and a store at Sauder School of Business
The UBC Sauder School of Business is a faculty at the University of British Columbia. The faculty is located in Vancouver on UBC's Point Grey campus and has a secondary teaching facility at UBC Robson Square downtown. UBC Sauder is accredited by A ...
join the stores at the Okanagan and Robson Square Campuses in offering a variety of products and services. The bookstores return a dividend to UBC each year, which is re-invested in the campus or in student and community organizations.
Greek organizations
While UBC's Greek system is somewhat smaller than its counterparts in the United States, UBC's 19 Greek organizations make up Canada's largest and most active Greek system. The Alma Mater Society recognizes an InterFraternal Council (IFC) as a club, and weekly meetings of the fraternities under IFC take place at their respective fraternity houses. Greek life has its own division within UBC REC and intense competition between the nine Fraternities for the title of top Athletic Fraternity occur.
There are eleven international fraternities on campus, the first of which was Zeta Psi
Zeta Psi () is a collegiate fraternity. It was founded in June 1, 1847 at New York University. The organization now comprises fifty-three active chapters and thirty-four inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand members, and is a f ...
, in January 1926. Although its disputed, Alpha Delta Phi
Alpha Delta Phi (), commonly known as Alpha Delt, ADPhi, A-Delt, or ADP, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. Alpha Delta Phi was originally founded as a literary society by Samuel Eells in 1832 at Hamilton College in Cli ...
soon came to campus and chartered 3 months later. However, Zeta Psi and Alpha Delta Phi were preceded by several local fraternities on campus. Other fraternities include Alpha Epsilon Pi
Alpha Epsilon Pi (), commonly known as AEPi, is a college fraternity founded at New York University in 1913 by Charles C. Moskowitz and ten other men. The fraternity has more than 150 active chapters across the United States, Canada, United Kingdo ...
, Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fifteen ...
, Psi Upsilon
Psi Upsilon (), commonly known as Psi U, is a North American fraternity,''Psi Upsilon Tablet'' founded at Union College on November 24, 1833. The fraternity reports 50 chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America, some of which ...
, Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more tha ...
, Beta Theta Pi
Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, as of 2022 it consists of 144 active chapters in the Unite ...
, Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...
, Phi Gamma Delta
Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Fiji, is a social fraternity with more than 144 active chapters and 10 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848. Along with Phi Kappa Psi, Phi ...
, Kappa Sigma
Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and colo ...
, Zeta Psi, and the newly added Phi Kappa Sigma
Phi Kappa Sigma () is an international all-male college secret society and social fraternities and sororities, fraternity. While nicknames differ from institution to institution, the most common nicknames for the fraternity are Skulls, Skullhous ...
.
The National Panhellenic Conference
The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) is an umbrella organization for 26 (inter)national women's Fraternities and sororities, sororities throughout the United States and Canada. Each member group is autonomous as a social, Greek alphabet#Use ...
(NPC) member organizations (sororities) on campus are overseen by the Panhellenic Council. All sororities have a chapter room in the Panhellenic House on Wesbrook Mall; the building also offers housing for 72 college women, with preference given to sorority members.
The eight sororities on the Vancouver campus include Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Delta Pi (), commonly known as ADPi (pronounced "ay-dee-pye"), is an International Panhellenic sorority founded on May 15, 1851, at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. It is the oldest secret society for women.
Alpha Delta Pi is a mem ...
, Alpha Gamma Delta
Alpha Gamma Delta (), also known as Alpha Gam, is an international women's fraternity and social organization. It was founded on May 30, 1904, by eleven female students at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, making it the youngest member ...
, Alpha Omicron Pi
Alpha Omicron Pi (, AOII, Alpha O) is an international women's fraternity founded on January 2, 1897, at Barnard College on the campus of Columbia University in New York City. The main archive URL iThe Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage
"AOI ...
, Alpha Phi
Alpha Phi International Women's Fraternity (, also known as APhi) is an international sorority with 172 active chapters and over 250,000 initiated members.
Founded at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York on September 18, 1872, it is the fou ...
, Delta Gamma
Delta Gamma (), commonly known as DG, is a women's fraternity in the United States and Canada with over 250,000 initiated members. It has 150 collegiate chapters and more than 200 alumnae groups. The organization's executive office is in Columbus ...
, Gamma Phi Beta
Gamma Phi Beta (, also known as GPhi or Gamma Phi) is an international college sorority. It was founded in Syracuse University in 1874, and was the first of the Greek organizations to call itself a sorority. The main archive URL iThe Baird's Man ...
, Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta (), also known simply as Theta, is an international women’s fraternity founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established for women. The main arch ...
, and Kappa Kappa Gamma
Kappa Kappa Gamma (), also known simply as Kappa or KKG, is a collegiate sorority founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, United States.
It has a membership of more than 260,000 women, with 140 collegiate chapters in the United States a ...
. The current Panhellenic total is 104. Chapter meetings are held in the chapter's respective rooms each week or in classrooms and Greek-wide or campus-wide events are attended by members of all the sororities and fraternities. Formal recruitment for the sororities begins during the third week of September and is a five-day process consisting of: tours (first two days), invitationals (third and fourth days) and preference. The formal recruitment process ends with Bid Day, where membership bids from each sorority are distributed to prospective members.
Phrateres
Phrateres ( ) is a philanthropic-social organization for female college students.
History
Phrateres was founded at UCLA in 1924 by the dean of women, Helen Matthewson Laughlin. has traditionally been affiliated with the Greek system since its installation at UBC in 1935. Historical records indicate that for many years, members identified themselves, and were recognized as Greek. Members interacted with fraternities on a similar basis as the sororities, and participated in many Greek events, such as Songfest and exchanges. However, they presently operate as a self-governing organization under the Alma Mater Society with the closure of their international headquarters in 2001.
Both campuses also have chapters of Sigma Phi Delta
Sigma Phi Delta () is an international professional-social fraternity of engineers. As "The Premier International Fraternity of Engineers", the organization is the only fraternity of its kind that draws its membership exclusively from male enginee ...
and Alpha Omega Epsilon
Alpha Omega Epsilon () is a social and professional sorority for women in engineering and technical sciences. The sorority was founded by twenty-seven female engineering students at Marquette University on November 13, 1983, and four months late ...
, a professional engineering fraternity and sorority respectively. None of the four chapters are affiliated with the other Greek organizations on campus.
Alpha Kappa Psi
Alpha Kappa Psi (, often stylized as AKPsi) is the oldest and largest business fraternity to current date. Also known as "AKPsi", the fraternity was founded on October 5, 1904, at New York University and was incorporated on May 20, 1905. It is cu ...
(professional business fraternity) too has an active chapter at UBC since 2009. It consists of students from all faculty. They do not have a house and are not affiliated with any other Greek organization on campus.
Alpha Phi Omega
Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a coeducational service fraternity. It is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of over 25,0 ...
(Community service fraternity) founded its first chapter in Canada at UBC in 2015.
Moreover, UBC was ranked among Canada's top party schools
The term party school is used to refer to a college or university (usually in the United States) that has a reputation for heavy alcohol and drug use or a general culture of licentiousness at the expense of educational credibility and integrit ...
by the website ''Ask Men''. UBC was ranked eighth.
Residences
The UBC Point Grey campus has a resident population of about 10,041 students who live in an unincorporated area
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
, outside the City of Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...
known as Electoral Area A within and partly administered by Metro Vancouver
The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...
. Neighbouring the University Endowment Lands
The University Endowment Lands (UEL) is an unincorporated area that lies to the west of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and adjacent to the University of British Columbia and the lands associated with that campus. Pacific S ...
, on-campus residential services are provided by the Province of BC and by UBC. Emergency Planning is administered by Metro Vancouver
The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...
. Because UBC is not in a municipality, there is no mayor, council, or other democratic municipal representation for on-campus residents, although residents can vote for the director of Electoral Area A. British Columbia's Residential Tenancy Act does not protect UBC residents because university accommodations for students and employees are exempt.
UBC has forecast the need for 6,400 new on-campus beds between 2008 and 2028 "to maintain the current availability of student housing choices in the face of on-going pressures in the Vancouver rental market". From 2009 to 2014, UBC added 1,471 beds for student residents. In 2015, UBC plans to increase the cost of on-campus student housing by 20%, with the exception of year-round residences.
, there are three dormitory
A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...
style residences on campus, primarily for first and second-year students: Totem Park, Place Vanier, and Orchard Commons.
Totem Park, housing about 2,129 students, consists of nine dormitory buildings (Nootka, Dene, Haida, Salish, Kwakiutl, Shuswap, həm̓ləsəm̓, q̓ələχən, c̓əsnaʔəm), and a Commons Block (Coquihalla). All houses, except Shuswap and c̓əsnaʔəm, are co-ed, with alternating men's and women's floors; Shuswap and c̓əsnaʔəm have co-ed floors. The həm̓ləsəm̓ and q̓ələχən houses were opened to Totem Park residents in September 2011 and have single rooms with semi-private or private washrooms in contrast to the other houses' communal floor washrooms. c̓əsnaʔəm was opened to Totem Park residents in September 2017 and has single rooms with communal bathrooms.
Place Vanier, housing 1,370 people, consists of 12 blocks constructed in 1959 (Robson House), 1960 (Okanagan, Sherwood Lett, Mackenzie, Ross, Hamber, and Mawdsley Houses), 1961 (Kootenay House), 1968 (Cariboo and Tweedsmuir Houses), 2002 (Korea-UBC House) and 2003 (Tec de Monterrey-UBC House). The buildings vary from male and female only, to alternating gender floors, as well as fully mixed floors. The residences have single and double rooms, and each floor has a lounge and communal bathrooms.
Orchard Commons consists of two apartment style buildings, Braeburn house and Bartlett house, with the latter containing a common dining hall and reception area. Orchard Commons houses 1,047 students, with the majority staying in connected single rooms on mixed gender floors, where two same-gender residents share a washroom connecting their adjacent rooms.
Students nineteen and older have suite-style residence options on the Point Grey campus. The Gage
Gage may refer to:
Measurement
* Gage is a variant spelling of the word ''gauge''
*Stream gauge, aka Stream gage, a site along a stream where flow measurements are made
People
* Gage (surname)
*Gage Golightly (born 1993), American actress
Plac ...
Towers consist of three 17-floor towers (North, South and East) primarily for second, third, and fourth-year undergraduate students. It consists of three interconnected towers (North, South, and East) as well as single student housing (both studio, and apartment) in a building. The towers are composed of "quads": four separate pods, each consisting of six individual bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen-dining area.
Acadia Park and University Apartments are for student families and couples (where one is a UBC student) and are administered on a year-round basis.
Next to the Acadia Park residence area on the east part of campus is Fairview Crescent, a residence primarily for second- and third-year undergraduate students and many graduate students. The residence consists of an L-shaped pedestrian-only street lined with 4, 5 and six-student (a mix of single-sex and co-ed) townhouses. The Beanery coffee shop is in the middle of the residence. Within a 5-minute walk from Fairview Crescent is the Fraser Hall residence which houses approximately 200 students. Fairview Crescent and Fraser Hall are both governed by the Fairview and Fraser Residence Association.
The Thunderbird residences are primarily for graduate students and fourth-year undergraduate students; they are at the academic core campus' southern edge. The Ritsumeikan-UBC House is a residence with a Japanese cultural setting, named for Ritsumeikan University
is a private university in Kyoto, Japan, that traces its origin to 1869. With the Kinugasa Campus (KIC) in Kyoto, and Kyoto Prefecture, the university also has a satellite called Biwako-Kusatsu Campus (BKC) and Osaka-Ibaraki Campus (OIC).
Tod ...
. It houses Japanese exchange students and Canadian students, who participate in unique inter-cultural programmes. UBC's Urasenke
is one of the main schools of Japanese tea ceremony. Along with and , it is one of the three lines of the family descending from , which together are known as the - or the "three houses/families" ().
The name , literally meaning "rear hous ...
Japanese tea ceremony
The Japanese tea ceremony (known as or ) is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of , powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called . While in the West it is known as "tea ceremony", it is se ...
club uses the residence's tatami
A is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Tatamis are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about 0.9 m by 1.8 m depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are the floor used for traini ...
room for practice sessions. Two Canadian students are typically paired with two Japanese exchange students.
Marine Drive Residence is on the west side of campus, slightly south of Place Vanier. The first phase, consisting of Building 1 (an 18-floor tower) and Building 2 (a five-floor building commonly called the "Podium") opened in fall 2005. In February 2006, the board of governors approved plans for Marine Drive's second phase, putting an end to the debacle caused by concerns over the view of Wreck Beach
Wreck Beach ( Squamish: Ts'at'lhm) is a clothing-optional beach located in Pacific Spirit Regional Park, which is in turn part of the University Endowment Lands just west of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The clothing-optional section ...
(Phase I's Building 1 was reduced from 20 floors to 18). Additionally, building 1 contains the Simon K.Y. Lee Global Lounge and Resource Centre. Phase II consists of Buildings 4 through 6 (two towers and another "Podium", respectively), and also the Commonsblock. Buildings 4 through 6 were all open to students . A separate Commonsblock was completed in summer 2009, and has similar services to the Commonsblock of other residences, such as exercise, game, and study rooms. Construction at Marine Drive was completed in February 2010, with the opening of The Point Grill restaurant in Building 4.
The Ponderosa Commons and Orchard Commons residences, completed in 2016, and Brock Commons, opened in the Summer of 2017. The Ponderosa Commons is a multi-purpose building designed for student housing but is also a place for students to gather, study, or eat. The Ponderosa Commons house a Mercante, a popular pizzeria, and Harvest, a popular small-sized grocery shop.
The university has two colleges to accommodate graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and visiting scholars: St. John's College and Green College.
Brock Commons Tallwood House
Brock Commons Tallwood House is an 18-storey student residence at the Point Grey Campus of the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada. At the time it was opened, it was the tallest mass timber structure in the world.
It is the first p ...
opened in 2017, becoming the tallest mass timber building in the world.
Athletics
The University of British Columbia's sports teams are called the Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds participate in the U Sports
U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Ca ...
Canada West Universities Athletic Association
Canada West is a regional membership association for universities in Western Canada which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, results, and releases abo ...
for most varsity sports. However, several varsity teams at UBC compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...
. , UBC considered joining the NCAA Division II
NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...
. With a long history of competing in sports, the Thunderbirds have garnered a number of championships. In particular, the women swimmers who had represented UBC had brought back 22 conference championships and 16 national championships.
The University of British Columbia has a number of athletic facilities open to both their varsity teams as well as to their students. The stadium with the largest seating capacity at UBC is the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. The Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre is home to the varsity ice hockey teams and was also used as a venue for the 2010 Winter Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
. Other facilities at UBC include Thunderbird Stadium
Thunderbird Stadium is an outdoor stadium on the University Endowment Lands in British Columbia, Canada. It is located west of Vancouver's city limits, and is primarily used for soccer and football by the UBC Thunderbirds. It seats 3,500 in the ...
, home to the university's football and soccer varsity teams, UBC Aquatic Centre, home to the university's swimming teams, the War Memorial Gymnasium, home to the university's basketball and volleyball varsity teams and Thunderbird Park, home to the university's many other outdoor varsity teams.
The university has also had a long history of sending a number of students to represent their countries at the Olympics. Since having its first athlete sent to the Olympics in 1928, a total of 231 individuals from UBC have represented their respective countries at the Olympics. The total number of individual medals athletes from UBC had won was 61, with 19 gold, 21 silver and 24 bronze. The majority of these medals won had come from the sport of rowing.
Marching band
UBC's marching band, the Thunderbird Marching Band, was founded in September 2012 and is entirely student-run. The band performs at various Thunderbirds football, basketball, rugby, and hockey games, as well as other campus events. It is the only university-level marching band in Western Canada.
Fight songs
Notable among a number of songs commonly played and sung at various events such as commencement and convocation
A convocation (from the Latin ''wikt:convocare, convocare'' meaning "to call/come together", a translation of the Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:ἐκκλησία, ἐκκλησία ''ekklēsia'') is a group of people formally assembled for a speci ...
, and athletic games are: "Hail, U.B.C" with words and music by Harold King, "High on Olympus" with words by D. C. Morton and music by J. C. F. Haeffner. and "Hail, UBC!" (2009) with words and music by Steve Chatman.
Campus events
A small number of large-scale, campus-wide events occur annually at UBC which are organized by university institutions, the AMS, and student constituencies of various faculties and departments. Additionally, a number of unofficial traditions exist at UBC: jumping from the Aquatic Centre's 10-metre diving board late at night and repainting the Engineering cairn
A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ).
Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...
so as to advertise other clubs.
Several group athletic events take place at UBC every year. Storm the Wall is an intramural
Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, or a set geographic region. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the Latin words ''intra muros'' meaning " ...
relay race put on by UBC Recreation in April, culminating in the climbing of a wall. Day of the Longboat is an intramural
Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, or a set geographic region. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the Latin words ''intra muros'' meaning " ...
event put on at the end of September/early October by UBC Recreation. It is a major voyageur canoe race with teams competing in a 2 km paddle around the waters of Jericho Sailing Centre. The program is operated by over 120 volunteer students and staff who are responsible for operating every aspect of this program. UBC Recreation's student administrators fill various roles including event planning, sport officiating, public relations and building supervision.
Faculty constituencies, such as the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) and Science Undergraduate Society (SUS), hold events annually. Many of the major constituencies, such as for Arts, Science, and Engineering, hold their own faculty weeks to celebrate their faculties. The events may include keynote speeches, merchandise sales, and dances. Arts County Fair was an annual concert and party on the last day of classes in April, put on by the AUS and occurring at Thunderbird Stadium. Past headliners have included Sam Roberts, The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock band, formed in 1997 in Vancouver. Presented as a musical collective of singer-songwriters and musicians from multiple projects, the band has released eight studio albums to critical acclaim for th ...
, and Metric
Metric or metrical may refer to:
* Metric system, an internationally adopted decimal system of measurement
* An adjective indicating relation to measurement in general, or a noun describing a specific type of measurement
Mathematics
In mathema ...
. Due to increasing financial difficulties (mostly resulting from mounting security and related costs) the AUS announced they would not continue the event in 2008. In its place, the Alma Mater Society of UBC hosted the AMS Block Party to celebrate the end of classes.
During the Spring exam season, the Ski & Board Club organizes the Undie Run, a charity event that encourages people to donate their clothes to the Big Brothers & Sisters organization in Vancouver. Students meet at the Student Union Building, remove the clothes they are going to donate, and then run around campus in their underwear. Students run through places like the Irvin K. Barber Centre and Place Vanier Residence before ending at the Martha Piper Plaza fountain.
To celebrate the beginning of classes, UBC Orientations organizes several events for first-year students, such as Imagine UBC, GALA, and UBC Jump Start. Imagine UBC is an orientation day and pep rally
A pep rally or pep assembly is a gathering of people, typically students of middle school, high school, and college age, before a sports event. The purpose of such a gathering is to encourage school spirit and to support members of the team. It ...
for first-year undergraduate students that replaces the first day of class after Labour Day at UBC Vancouver.
Model United Nations
In March 2012, UBC was the partner Host University of the Harvard World Model United Nations
The Harvard World Model United Nations (WorldMUN) is an annual traveling model United Nations conference that is run by Harvard University and a local university team from a host city. WorldMUN moves to a new city each year and is regarded as one ...
Conference (WorldMUN 2012 Vancouver). As the world's largest student-organized Model UN conference, this was also the largest student conference to have ever been organized by UBC and the largest student conference on Canadian soil. There were 2,200 student delegates and nearly 200 faculty advisors from 270 universities from over 60 countries. The organizing committee amassed over 500 student volunteers from across the UBC campus and the local student community to execute the week-long event.
Notable people
File:Justin Trudeau in Lima, Peru - 2018 (41507133581) (cropped).jpg, Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
, BEd. 1998, Canada's 23rd and current prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
File:Kim Campbell.jpg, Kim Campbell
Avril Phaedra Douglas "Kim" Campbell (born March 10, 1947) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, lawyer, and writer who served as the 19th prime minister of Canada from June 25 to November 4, 1993. Campbell is the first and so far only female p ...
, BA 1969, LLB 1986, Canada's 19th Prime Minister, and the first woman to serve in the office
File:John Turner 1968.jpg, John Turner
John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of t ...
, BA 1949, Canada's 17th prime minister
File:Rmundell.jpg, Robert Mundell
Robert Alexander Mundell (October 24, 1932 – April 4, 2021) was a Canadian economist. He was a professor of economics at Columbia University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
He received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences i ...
, BA 1953, Nobel Laureate
The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make out ...
in Economics. Involved in the creation of the Euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
File:Bertram Brockhouse.jpg, Bertram Brockhouse
Bertram Neville Brockhouse, (July 15, 1918 – October 13, 2003) was a Canadian physicist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics (1994, shared with Clifford Shull) "for pioneering contributions to the development of neutron scattering te ...
, BA 1947, Nobel Laureate in Physics
, George Volkoff
George Michael Volkoff, (February 23, 1914 – April 24, 2000) was a Russian-Canadian physicist and academic who helped, with J. Robert Oppenheimer, predict the existence of neutron stars before they were discovered.
Early life
He was born ...
, MA 1936, predicted existence of neutron stars
A neutron star is the collapsed core of a massive supergiant star, which had a total mass of between 10 and 25 solar masses, possibly more if the star was especially metal-rich. Except for black holes and some hypothetical objects (e.g. white ...
and collaborator of J. Robert Oppenheimer
J. Robert Oppenheimer (; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist. A professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, Oppenheimer was the wartime head of the Los Alamos Laboratory and is often ...
File:Scylla- a book of the dead.jpg, William Gibson
William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ...
, BA 1977, author of Neuromancer
''Neuromancer'' is a 1984 science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer William Gibson. Considered one of the earliest and best-known works in the cyberpunk genre, it is the only novel to win the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and ...
, important figure in the Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyber ...
literary movement
File:Jeff Wall in 2014.jpg, Jeff Wall
Jeffrey Wall, Order of Canada, OC, Royal Society of Canada, RSA (born September 29, 1946) is a Canadian artist best known for his large-scale back-lit Cibachrome photographs and art history writing. Early in his career, he helped define the Van ...
, MA 1970, prominent Canadian artist, and most prominent figure of the Vancouver School
The Vancouver School of Conceptual art, conceptual or post-conceptual photography (often referred to as photoconceptualismSarah Milroy "Is Arden our next greatest photographer?" ''Globe and Mail'' (October 27, 2007): R1.) is a loose term applied t ...
File:Right Livelihood Award 2009-press conference-6.jpg, David Suzuki
David Takayoshi Suzuki (born March 24, 1936) is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster, and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a PhD in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department at th ...
, professor emeritus of genetics. Influential academic, broadcaster, and environmentalist.
File:Beverley McLachlin (crop).jpg, Beverley McLachlin
Beverley Marian McLachlin (born September 7, 1943) is a Canadian jurist and author who served as the 17th chief justice of Canada from 2000 to 2017. She is the longest-serving chief justice in Canadian history and the first woman to hold the p ...
, 17th Chief Justice of Canada.
File:Bjarni Tryggvason.jpg, Bjarni Tryggvason
Bjarni Valdimar Tryggvason (September 21, 1945 – April 5, 2022) was an Icelandic-born Canadian engineer and a NRC/CSA astronaut. He served as a Payload Specialist on Space Shuttle mission STS-85 in 1997, a 12-day mission to study changes in ...
B.ASc 1972, Icelandic-Canadian astronaut and academic who participated in NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
mission STS-85
STS-85 was a Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' mission to perform multiple space science packages. It was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 7 August 1997.
A major experiment was the CRISTA-SPAS free-flyer which had various telescopes on ...
.
Throughout UBC's history, faculty, alumni, and former students have played prominent roles in many different fields. Many UBC alumni and faculty have gone on to win awards including eight Nobel Prizes
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfre ...
and 74 Rhodes Scholarships
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom.
Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...
.
Former alumni have won Nobel Prizes: Robert Mundell
Robert Alexander Mundell (October 24, 1932 – April 4, 2021) was a Canadian economist. He was a professor of economics at Columbia University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
He received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences i ...
(Economic Sciences) who graduated from the UBC Department of Economics
The Vancouver School of Economics (also known as VSE ) is a school of the University of British Columbia located in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The school ranks as one of the top 25 in the world and top in Canada. The school exhibits high research ...
and Bertram Brockhouse
Bertram Neville Brockhouse, (July 15, 1918 – October 13, 2003) was a Canadian physicist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics (1994, shared with Clifford Shull) "for pioneering contributions to the development of neutron scattering te ...
(Physics). Five former faculty members of the UBC have also received a Nobel Prize: Michael Smith (Chemistry), Har Gobind Khorana
Har Gobind Khorana (9 January 1922 – 9 November 2011) was an Indian American biochemist. While on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he shared the 1968 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Marshall W. Nirenberg and ...
(Physiology or Medicine), Daniel Kahneman
Daniel Kahneman (; he, דניאל כהנמן; born March 5, 1934) is an Israeli-American psychologist and economist notable for his work on the psychology of judgment and decision-making, as well as behavioral economics, for which he was award ...
(Economics), Hans G. Dehmelt
Hans Georg Dehmelt (; 9 September 1922 – 7 March 2017) was a German and American physicist, who was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1989, for co-developing the ion trap technique (Penning trap) with Wolfgang Paul, for which they shared one- ...
(Physics), and Carl Wieman
Carl Edwin Wieman (born March 26, 1951) is an American physicist and educationist at Stanford University, and currently the A.D White Professor at Large at Cornell University. In 1995, while at the University of Colorado Boulder, he and Eric All ...
(Physics).
Many former students have gained local and national prominence in government. The university has produced three Canadian Prime Ministers: John Turner
John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of t ...
, Kim Campbell
Avril Phaedra Douglas "Kim" Campbell (born March 10, 1947) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, lawyer, and writer who served as the 19th prime minister of Canada from June 25 to November 4, 1993. Campbell is the first and so far only female p ...
, and Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
. The leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...
, Member of Parliament and the 23rd Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
completed his BEd. at UBC in 1998. Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark
Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980.
Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...
briefly attended UBC law. George Stanley
Colonel George Francis Gillman Stanley (July 6, 1907September 13, 2002) was a Canadian historian, author, soldier, teacher, public servant, and designer of the Canadian flag.
Early life and education
George F.G. Stanley was born in Calgary, Alb ...
, the Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
The lieutenant governor of New Brunswick (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the viceregal representative in New Brunswick of the , who operates distinctly wit ...
and creator of the Canadian flag
The national flag of Canada (french: le Drapeau national du Canada), often simply referred to as the Canadian flag or, unofficially, as the Maple Leaf or ' (; ), consists of a red field with a white square at its centre in the ratio of , in ...
had also served as faculty. Alumni Mike Harcourt
Michael Franklin Harcourt, OC (born January 6, 1943) served as the 30th premier of British Columbia from 1991 to 1996, and before that as the 34th mayor of Vancouver, BC's largest city, from 1980 to 1986.
Early life and education
Harcourt was ...
, Glen Clark
Glen David Clark (born November 22, 1957) is a Canadian business executive and former politician who served as the 31st premier of British Columbia from 1996 to 1999.
Early life and education
Clark attended independent Roman Catholic schools, n ...
and Ujjal Dosanjh
Ujjal Dev Dosanjh ( pa, ਉੱਜਲ ਦੇਵ ਦੁਸਾਂਝ) (), (born September 9, 1947) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the 33rd premier of British Columbia from 2000 to 2001 and as a Liberal Party of Canada member of ...
have been premiers of British Columbia:, People of UBC Law have also served on the Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
: former faculty member Beverley McLachlin
Beverley Marian McLachlin (born September 7, 1943) is a Canadian jurist and author who served as the 17th chief justice of Canada from 2000 to 2017. She is the longest-serving chief justice in Canadian history and the first woman to hold the p ...
and alumnus Frank Iacobucci
Frank Iacobucci (born June 29, 1937) is a former Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1991 until his retirement from the bench in 2004. He was the first Italian-Canadian, allophone judge on the court. Iacobucci was also the fir ...
.
Other examples include:
* Canadian academic, science broadcaster and environmental activist David Suzuki
David Takayoshi Suzuki (born March 24, 1936) is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster, and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a PhD in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department at th ...
was a professor in UBC's genetics department from 1963 until his retirement in 2001.
* Joel Bakan
Joel Conrad Bakan (born 1959) is an American-Canadian writer, jazz musician, filmmaker, and professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia.
Born in Lansing, Michigan, and raised for most of his childhood in ...
, author of The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, is a professor at the Faculty of Law.
* Psychologist Albert Bandura
Albert Bandura (; December 4, 1925 – July 26, 2021) was a Canadian-American psychologist who was the David Starr Jordan Professor in Psychology at Stanford University.
Bandura was responsible for contributions to the field of education and to ...
is an alumnus of UBC.
* Actress Evangeline Lilly
Nicole Evangeline Lilly (born 3 August 1979) is a Canadian actress and author. She is the recipient of various accolades including a Screen Actors Guild Award and an MTV Movie Award. She has also received nominations for a Golden Globe Award, ...
attended UBC and earned her degree in international relations.
* Singer/songwriter Dan Mangan
Daniel Mangan (born April 28, 1983) is a Canadian musician. He has won two Juno awards and has toured extensively throughout North America, Europe and Australia, having released 5 studio LPs and numerous EPs and singles. He has scored for feature ...
attended UBC, earning a BA in English Literature.
* Author and historian Pierre Berton
Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton, CC, O.Ont. (July 12, 1920 – November 30, 2004) was a Canadian writer, journalist and broadcaster. Berton wrote 50 best-selling books, mainly about Canadiana, Canadian history and popular culture. He also wr ...
majored in history at UBC.
* Man-in-Motion Rick Hansen
Richard Marvin Hansen (born August 26, 1957) is a Canadian track and field athlete (Paralympic Games), activist, and philanthropist for people with disabilities. Following a pickup truck crash at the age of 15, Hansen sustained a spinal cord ...
was the first student with a physical disability to graduate in physical education
Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...
from UBC.
* Director of Artificial Intelligence at Tesla Andrej Karpathy
Andrej Karpathy (born 23 October 1986) is a Slovakian-Canadian computer scientist who served as the director of artificial intelligence and Tesla Autopilot, Autopilot Vision at Tesla, Inc., Tesla. He specializes in deep learning and computer vis ...
graduated from UBC in 2011 with a MSc in computer science.
* Opera singers Judith Forst
Judith Doris Forst (''née'' Lumb) (born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian mezzo-soprano.
Born in New Westminster, British Columbia, she received a Bachelor of Music from the University of British Columbia in 1964. She is the sister-in-law of lon ...
, Ben Heppner
Thomas Bernard Heppner (born January 14, 1956) is a Canadian tenor and broadcaster, now retired from singing, who specialized in opera and other classical works for voice.
Early life and career
Heppner, of Mennonite descent, was born in Mur ...
and Lance Ryan
Lance Ryan (born 1 May 1971) is a Canadian operatic tenor, who has worked from Germany since 2005. He is known for singing Siegfried in Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'', which he performed at opera houses in Europe including the Bayreuth Fest ...
studied music at UBC.
* David Cheriton
David Ross Cheriton (born March 29, 1951) is a Canadian computer scientist, mathematician, billionaire businessman, philanthropist, and venture capitalist. He is a computer science professor at Stanford University, where he founded and leads the ...
, who graduated from UBC in 1973, is a Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
founding investor and computer science professor at Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
.
* Science fiction writer William Gibson
William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ...
, who coined the term "cyberspace
Cyberspace is a concept describing a widespread interconnected digital technology. "The expression dates back from the first decade of the diffusion of the internet. It refers to the online world as a world 'apart', as distinct from everyday rea ...
", earned his bachelor's degree in English at UBC.
*Actor Manny Jacinto
Manuel Luis Jacinto ( ; born August 19, 1987) is a Canadian actor born in the Philippines. After several small roles on television, his breakout role came starring as Jason Mendoza on the NBC sitcom ''The Good Place'' (2016–2020). He has appea ...
graduated with a degree in civil engineering.
*Clint Hocking
Clint Hocking (born 18 September 1972) is a Canadian video game designer and director. He has primarily worked at the Canadian divisions of Ubisoft, where he developed three titles, and briefly worked at LucasArts, Valve, and Amazon Game Studi ...
, creative director of ''Far Cry 2
''Far Cry 2'' is a 2008 first-person shooter developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. A top-down shooter version for mobile phones was developed and published by Gameloft. It is th ...
'' and '' Watch Dogs: Legion'', graduated received a Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.)
is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...
in creative writing at UBC.
*Gabor Maté
Gabor Maté (born January 6, 1944) is a Hungarian-Canadian physician and author. He has a background in family practice and a special interest in childhood development, trauma and potential lifelong impacts on physical and mental health includin ...
, an expert in childhood development and trauma, earned his BA at UBC.
* Kiril Petkov
Kiril Petkov Petkov ( bg, Кирил Петков Петков; born 17 April 1980) is a Bulgarian politician, economist, and entrepreneur, who served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria from December 2021 to August 2022. He is the co-leader of We ...
, 17th Prime Minister of Bulgaria
The prime minister of Bulgaria ( bg, Министър-председател, Ministar-predsedatel) is the head of government of Bulgaria. They are the leader of a political coalition in the Bulgarian parliament – known as the National Assemb ...
, and the first alumnus to become a head of government outside of Canada
UBC alumni have also held important positions in the academia. Notable examples are:
* Indira Samarasekera
Indira Vasanti Samarasekera (née Arulpragasam; April 11, 1952) is the former president and former vice-chancellor of the University of Alberta. She has been a member of the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments, which advises on ...
, twelfth president of the University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...
;
* Amit Chakma
Amit Chakma (born 25 April 1959) is a university administrator who was appointed vice-chancellor of the University of Western Australia in July 2020. Previously he served as the 10th president and vice-chancellor of the University of Western Onta ...
, president of the University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...
;
* Muriel Kennett Wales
Muriel Kennett Wales (9 Jun 1913 – 8 August 2009) was an Irish-Canadian mathematician, and is believed to have been the first Irish-born woman to earn a PhD in pure mathematics.
Life
She was born Muriel Kennett on 9 June 1913 in Belfast. In 19 ...
, believed to have been the first Irish-born woman to earn a PhD in pure mathematics.
* John H. McArthur
John Hector McArthur (March 31, 1934 – August 20, 2019) was a Canadian-American organizational theorist. He served as Professor of Business Administration and the 7th Dean of the Harvard Business School (1980–1995).
Personal life
McArthur ...
, dean emeritus of the Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...
;
* Thomas Franck (lawyer) Thomas Martin Franck (July 14, 1931 – May 27, 2009) was a lawyer, law professor, and expert on international law. Franck was the Murry and Ida Becker Professor of Law at New York University and advised many nations on legal matters, even hel ...
, who was the Murry and Ida Becker Professor of Law at New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
and former editor-in-chief of the American Journal of International Law
''The American Journal of International Law'' is an English-language scholarly journal focusing on international law and international relations. It is published quarterly since 1907 by the American Society of International Law (ASIL).
The ''Jo ...
;
* David H. Turpin
David Howard Turpin (born 14 July 1956) is a Canadian scholar and the former university president. Turpin was the president and vice-chancellor of the University of Alberta (2015–2020) and the University of Victoria (2000 to 2013).
In 2010 ...
, sixth president of the University of Victoria
The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...
and thirteenth president of the University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...
;
* Nemkumar Banthia
Nemkumar Banthia FRSC, (born 1959) is an Indian-born Canadian engineer and professor of civil engineering at the University of British Columbia and the CEO of IC-IMPACTS. He is best known for his research in the fields of cement-based and polym ...
, a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...
and CEO of IC-IMPACTS.
* Michiel Horn
Michiel Steven Daniel Horn (born 1939) is a Canadian historian who serves as a professor emeritus at Glendon College, York University.
Life and career
Horn was born on September 3, 1939, in Baarn, Netherlands. orn, Michiel, Becoming Canadian: Me ...
, member of the Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...
and professor emeritus of history at York University
York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
;
* Monica Lam
Monica Sin-Ling Lam is an American computer scientist. She is a professor in the Computer Science Department at Stanford University.
Professional biography
Monica Lam received a B.Sc. from University of British Columbia in 1980 and a Ph.D. in C ...
, a computer science professor at Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
and founder of Moka5
Moka5 (also called MokaFive) was a desktop virtualization company founded in 2005. It ceased operation in 2015 after an apparent bankruptcy. The company's software began as a lab experiment at Stanford University and founders include professor Mon ...
;
* Frank Iacobucci
Frank Iacobucci (born June 29, 1937) is a former Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1991 until his retirement from the bench in 2004. He was the first Italian-Canadian, allophone judge on the court. Iacobucci was also the fir ...
, a Puisne Justice
A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use
The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...
on the Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
.
* Alison Mountz
Alison Mountz is an American political geographer. She is a full professor and Canada Research Chair at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. In 2016, Mountz was elected a member of the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars, ...
, Canada Research Chair
Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program.
Program goals
The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...
in Global Migration at Wilfrid Laurier University
Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...
and member of the Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...
's College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists.
* Amalendu Chandra
Amalendu Chandra (born 1963) is an Indian theoretical physical chemist, a professor and the head of the Department of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He is known for his microscopic theories and simulations on liquids, i ...
, Indian theoretical physical chemist, professor of chemistry at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) Hindi: भारतीय प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान कानपुर) is a public institute of technology located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was ...
, fellow of the IAS IAS may refer to:
Science
* Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States
* Image Analysis & Stereology, the official journal of the International Society for Stereology & Image Analysis.
* Iowa Archeological Society, Uni ...
, and INSA
The Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) is a non-profit, nonpartisan 501(c)(6) professional organization based in Arlington Virginia for public and private sector members of the United States Intelligence Community.
History
...
, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology
The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (SSB) is a science award in India given annually by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for notable and outstanding research, Applied science, applied or Fundamenta ...
awardee.
Arms
See also
* CITR-FM
CiTR-FM, is a Canadian FM radio station based out of the University of British Columbia's Student Union Building in the University Endowment Lands, just west of the city limits of Vancouver, British Columbia. Its transmitter is also located on ...
* UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research
UBC Botanical Garden, at the University of British Columbia, was established in 1916 under the directorship of John Davidson (botanist), John Davidson, British Columbia's first provincial botanist. It is the oldest botanical garden at a university ...
* UBC Library
The University of British Columbia Library is the library system of the University of British Columbia (UBC). The library is one of the 124 members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). In 2017, UBC Library ranked 29th among members of t ...
* UBC Okanagan
The UBC's Okanagan Campus (commonly referred to as UBC Okanagan and UBCO) is University of British Columbia's campus located in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.
The campus is the research and innovation hub in the province's southern interior ...
* List of Canadian universities by endowment
This list of Canadian universities by endowment groups the universities in Canada according to their endowments. As of the end of the 2021/2022 fiscal year, the total value of endowments at Canadian universities was nearly $21 billion. Some uni ...
* Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act (British Columbia)
The Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act (SBC 2016, c. 23) is a provincial law in British Columbia, Canada, requiring publicly-funded post-secondary institutions in the province to implement a policy addressing campus sexual violence and sexu ...
Notes
References
Further reading
* William A. Bruneau, ''A Matter of Identities: A History of the UBC Faculty Association, 1920–1990''. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Faculty Association, 1990.
*
* Eric Damer and Herbert Rosengarten. ''UBC: The First 100 Years.'' Vancouver: Friesens, 2009.
* Michiel Horn."Under the Gaze of George Vancouver: The University of British Columbia and the Provincial Government, 1913–1939." BC Studies 83 (Autumn 1989).
* William C. Gibson ''Wesbrook & His University'' (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press)
* Sheldon Goldfarb ''The Hundred-Year Trek: A History of Student Life at UBC.'' Victoria: Heritage House, 2017.
* H.T. Logan, ''Tuum Est: A History of the University of British Columbia.'' Vancouver: University of British Columbia, 1958.
* Wayne Skene. "UBC: a Portrait." Vancouver: Tribute Books, 2003.
* Lee Stewart. ''"It's Up to You": Women at UBC in the Early Years.'' Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1990.
* George Woodcock & Tim Fitzharris. ''The University of British Columbia – A Souvenir''. (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1986).
External links
Official website
*
UBC Photograph Collection
– A visual record of UBC's growth and development, from UBC Library Digital Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:British Columbia, University Of
1890 establishments in British Columbia
Educational institutions established in 1890
Educational institutions established in 1915
Gothic Revival architecture in Vancouver
Universities in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...