UBC admissions blog

If you’re entering your first year at UBC, you’ll want to register for Jump Start. The multi-day academic orientation program is created for all new-to-UBC students like you.

Why join Jump Start?

Jump Start’s events are designed to introduce you to the university, let you connect with your faculty, and help you make your first friends.

From August 31 to September 4, you’ll have the chance to:

• Meet other first-year students before classes start.
• Spend time with senior peers and UBC professors.
• Learn more about the UBC services available to you.

Discover more about Jump Start for UBC Okanagan or UBC Vancouver students.

Jump Start is online

As countries around the world continue to be affected by the current outbreak of COVID-19, UBC is working closely with public health authorities to determine when it will be safe for students and faculty to return to campus. This year, we’re looking forward to delivering a memorable virtual Jump Start experience for you and your classmates. Mark your calendars, and stay tuned for more information!

First-year UBC Okanagan students

If you’re attending UBC Okanagan, you’re encouraged to complete UBC 101 online before Jump Start begins. In less than two hours, UBC 101 will walk you through everything you need to know before September, including how to register for courses, what to expect from classes, and how to access student support services and other academic essentials during your first year.

Last updated: May 29, 2020

The vast majority of students who accept their UBC offer will begin their classes in September. A small number apply to defer their entry and start their studies a year later.

If you have a reason to delay the start of your courses, you may be able to postpone your first day at UBC.

Who is eligible

To request a deferral, you must be admitted to the first year of a degree and expect to study full time. You must not be registered in any courses.

You won’t be able to defer your admission if you’ve been accepted to a limited enrolment degree (for example the the Bachelor of Computer Science, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Midwifery, Bachelor of Education, or Bachelor of Commerce). You also can’t defer your admission to attend another post-secondary institution.

Reasons to defer

When you apply to defer your studies, you have to tell us why. Some reasons to apply might be:

• You are planning to take a gap year.
• You are required to complete mandatory military service.
• You will be participating in a Rotary program.

Each deferral application is examined on a case-by-case basis, and not all requests will be granted.

How to apply

After you’ve accepted your offer of admission, you must submit a deferred admission request form before July 15. If we receive your application after this date, we may only consider it if your circumstances have changed beyond your control.

This blog post will be updated as new information becomes available.

Last updated: May 28, 2020

In response to the global impact of COVID-19, UBC has made the decision to offer most Winter Session Term One courses online.

The way you take your classes will not be the same for everyone. Depending on the program you’re in and the courses you’ve chosen, some experiences may be fully online, others may include some limited on-campus activities, and some may include a hybrid approach.

What you can expect

Since it became clear that public health concerns may move learning online, the faculty and staff at UBC have been working hard to design digital courses and experiences that will deliver a high quality of instruction. We’ve put a number of supports in place to ensure you have an excellent educational experience, even if your first term is primarily online.

You’ve chosen to come to UBC because it ranks as one of the top 40 universities in the world. No matter what form your instruction will take, you can still look forward to:

• Learning from world-renowned professors who are experts in their fields;
• Making strong, lasting friendships with your classmates;
• Collaborating with peers from all over the globe;
• Engaging in research that solves real-world problems; and
• Discovering new interests, skills, and strengths that prepare you for your future.

To find out more about what to expect and how to prepare for your online classes, visit Keep Learning.

Resuming all on-campus classes

When provincial health authorities tell us it’s safe to move all classes back to our campuses, we’ll do so as quickly as possible.

The decision about whether your Winter Session Term Two courses will be online or in-person will be made at a later date. UBC will continue to recognize your health and safety as a top priority when it’s time to make that choice.

Faculty learning plans

UBC Faculties are currently in the process of communicating how your courses will be delivered in the fall. You can learn more about each Faculty’s plans for your degree from the links below. Please note that this is an incomplete list and it will be updated as more information becomes available.

UBC Okanagan

Faculty of Applied Science

Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies

UBC Vancouver

Faculty of Arts

Faculty of Land and Food Systems

UBC Sauder School of Business

Find out more

The information on these webpages will continue to be updated, so remember to check back regularly.

• If you have questions related to housing and your ability to live on campus, visit our Okanagan Housing or Vancouver Housing pages. You can also learn more from our blog post, COVID-19 and UBC housing for September 2020.
• To learn more about UBC’s response to the COVID-19 situation, or our approach towards student health and safety, visit our Coronavirus response webpage.
• If you’re an international student and have questions specific to your application for a study permit for Canada, learn more about what you should do for the Okanagan campus or Vancouver campus.
• To stay up to date on information for admitted students and COVID-19, check the you.ubc.ca website regularly.