How to get into UBC: UBC Arts Requirements

Want to join the UBC Arts community? Keep reading to find out more about the faculty, the programs offered, and the UBC Arts requirements!

UBC Arts graduates are leaders, innovators, creators, and changemakers who are advancing our world! In UBC's Faculty of Arts, you can immerse yourself in diverse and engaging learning opportunities, build multiple areas of expertise, and custom-design an interdisciplinary degree pathway that is as unique as you are.

With diverse, supportive, and inclusive environments and a thriving arts and culture scene, UBC Arts inspires big ideas, transforms conventional learning, and prepares you for success. There are 70+ undergraduate programs and over 3,000 courses to choose from!

Why Choose UBC Arts?

The Faculty of Arts at UBC Vancouver is a research-intensive faculty, encompassing internationally renowned programs in the social sciences, humanities, creative and performing arts, and professional schools.

As the university’s largest academic unit, UBC Arts educates more than 16,000 students in bachelors, masters, and doctoral programs in more than 25 departments, schools, institutes, and programs.

Truly unique in its scope, UBC Arts is a dynamic and thriving community of outstanding scholars — both faculty and students.

Things to Know About UBC Arts:

• You can create a customized degree experience that meets your academic, personal, and career goals.
• UBC Arts provides compelling opportunities to explore among 3,000 courses taught by more than 1,000 scholars who are leaders in their fields.
• UBC Arts is internationally renowned for research in the social sciences, humanities, and creative and performing arts.
• UBC Arts brings together the best of quantitative research, humanistic inquiry, and artistic expression under one umbrella. Most of their departments rank in the top two in Canada and many are among the top 20 in the world!

Stand-Out Programs at UBC Arts

With an array of diverse academic disciplines, experiential learning options, and groundbreaking research opportunities, UBC Arts offers an unparalleled student experience that enables you to shape your own degree and chart your own course.

At UBC, a degree is an academic designation that you will earn upon graduation (e.g. Bachelor of Arts). Your degree will normally include at least one program, where you specialize in an academic discipline either as part of the degree (e.g. Media Studies in the Bachelor of Media Studies) or by choice (e.g. Psychology major in the Bachelor of Arts).

Here are some of the stand-out programs that you can apply for at UBC Arts:

• Visual Art
• Political Science
• Archaeology
• Economics
• Theatre
• History & International Relations
• Bachelor of Media Studies
• English Language and Literature

To search more of the UBC Arts program options, visit this website!

UBC Arts Requirements

Before you apply for the program, you'll need to see if you meet the admission requirements first!

Admission to UBC is competitive, all applicants must meet UBC’s general admission requirements and English Language Admission Standard.

General admission requirements

• Graduation from high school
• Minimum of 70% in Grade 11 or Grade 12 English (or their equivalents). Keep in mind that the higher your average, the more competitive of an applicant you are for the program!
• At least six academic/non-academic Grade 12 courses (recommended, but not required)

Now, to join UBC Arts, you must fulfill these Degree-specific requirements:

Grade 12 requirements

• ENG4U (English

Related courses

You will want to choose high school courses that meet your degree requirements.

The following subject categories are particularly relevant for a UBC Arts degree. Consider taking courses in these areas in Grade 11 and Grade 12:

• Language Arts
• Mathematics and Computation
• Second Languages
• Social Studies
• Visual and Performing Arts

If your school does not offer a wide selection of courses, or family commitments or finances have limited your ability to pursue certain academic opportunities, tell UBC when you apply. They’ll take that into account when evaluating your application.

How to Apply:

UBC’s online application opens in early October for Summer Session (May to August) and Winter Session (September to April).

BC and Yukon students: Please submit your Personal Education Number (PEN) with your application and order a transcript for UBC. Be sure to select “send my transcript now and allow this Post-Secondary Institution to request transcript updates” and choose the default date (one year from the date of your order) so that we can receive your interim and final grades continuously.

Ontario students: Please submit your Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) reference number with your application, so that UBC can receive your grades electronically.

If you’re applying to any of the following degrees, a supplemental application or additional materials may be required:

• Bachelor of Fine Arts
• Bachelor of Media Studies
• Bachelor of Fine Arts
• Bachelor of Media Studies
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Arts Dual Degree with Sciences Po

As you complete the online application, keep the following tips in mind:

• Start early and take your time. Once you begin the application, you will be able to save it and return to it later – but only up until the deadline. Once you have submitted your application to UBC, you will not be able to edit it. Since the online application can sometimes time out if left open for too long, we recommend working on your Personal Profile questions outside of the application (where you can run them through a spell-checker) then copy and paste them into your application.
• Let the online application guide you. You’ll be asked to provide only the information UBC needs based on your degree choice(s), your previous education, and other factors.
• Talk about your full academic history. It’s important to include all of the high schools, colleges, and/or universities you have attended. Don’t leave anything out!
• Be accurate. UBC has a number of methods in place to authenticate information provided in the application. These methods include, but are not limited to, contacting references, verifying academic records, and requesting additional documentation to verify your Personal Profile. If an application is found to contain untrue or incomplete information, UBC may, at its discretion: withdraw an offer of admission; require you to withdraw from UBC; subject you to academic discipline; or share the information provided with other post-secondary institutions, law enforcement agencies, or other third parties.
• Use an email address you check frequently. Once you have submitted your application, UBC will communicate with you primarily by email.
• Note your UBC student number. Write down your UBC student number somewhere safe. You’ll need it in future correspondence with UBC.

Deadlines and Application Fees

Finalize and submit your application, and pay the non-refundable fee. Be sure to consult your faculty website to see if additional deadlines and fees apply for your degree. All figures are in Canadian dollars.

• Canadian citizens and permanent residents: $71.75
• International students who require a study permit: $120.75

Apply by December 1 if:

• You are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and you wish to be considered for the Presidential Scholars Award or the UBC Centennial Scholars Entrance Award.
• You are a direct-entry high school applicant who follows a Canadian curriculum and wishes to be considered for a first-round offer of admission.
• You are a Canadian post-secondary applicant who wishes to be considered for admission based on your interim transcripts.

Apply by January 5 if:

• You are an international student and you are applying for the Karen McKellin International Leader of Tomorrow Award, the Donald A. Wehrung International Student Award, or the Vantage One Excellence Award.

Otherwise, the deadline to apply is January 15. Applications will remain open beyond January 15 for visiting, unclassified, and Access Studies applicants.

After you Apply:

By May, UBC has offered admission to as many students as possible. UBC will share important dates and deadlines with you via email, so be sure to check your inbox regularly.

Here are things to do as you wait to hear about your acceptance:

1. Submit your documents

UBC requires certain academic information to evaluate your application and determine whether you’ll receive an offer of admission. Your document requirements will vary depending on where you’re applying from and what degree(s) you’ve applied to.

Review your document requirements

1. Check your first-year credit eligibility

If you complete university-level courses while in high school, you may be eligible for first-year credit at UBC. Find out if any of your Advanced Placement, British-patterned education, or International Baccalaureate courses qualify.

Check for first-year credit

1. Plan your finances

It’s never too early to start planning your finances. Use our online cost calculator to get a sense of your educational and living costs in first year, and start mapping out your financial support. In addition to scholarships and awards, there are a number of ways to help, such as loans, bursaries, work programs, and more.

Start planning your finances

1. Attend an event or tour

Sign up for a UBC applicant information event in your area, get your questions answered in an online information session, or come to the Okanagan or Vancouver for a campus tour.

Discover events and tours

UBC Arts Scholarships

For first-year in a UBC Arts program, you can expect your educational costs to total, on average, about $8,930.76.

However, don't fret about these costs — UBC has a multitude of scholarships available for UBC Arts students!

Here are some of the most prominent scholarships that you will want to check out!

Presidential Scholars Award

• UBC's Presidential Scholars Award program offers the most prestigious awards to entering students who have demonstrated academic and leadership achievements, including a one-time award of $5,000 and renewable awards of up to $80,000 payable over four years.

UBC Centennial Scholars Entrance Award

• UBC's Centennial Scholars Entrance Award program supports academically qualified students who would not otherwise be able to attend UBC without significant financial assistance. There are one-time and renewable awards of up to $40,000 payable over four years, as well as opportunities to receive awards that cover up to the full cost of program and living expenses.

Loran Scholars

• UBC is home to more Loran Scholars than any other Canadian university. Recognizing that academic performance is not the only indicator of value, the Loran Scholars Foundation looks beyond transcripts to find the next generation of leaders for Canada. Loran Awards of up to $100,000 are awarded to Canadian students who demonstrate integrity, courage, grit, and personal autonomy.

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