UBC admissions blog

Do you want to help fight climate change, protect the environment, and shape our future and planet?

Do you want to be involved in the design and development of renewable materials, energy, and sustainable land-use strategies or do you seek the challenge of applying technology and science to create environmentally and economically sound harvesting plans? Perhaps you want to play an active role in protecting and managing our natural environment, including wildlife, forests, rivers, oceans, and land?

UBC’s new Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources degree, offered within the Faculty of Forestry, focuses on the science, management, and conservation of natural resources.

What you learn in Natural Resources

There are six majors to choose from within the Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources, each offering immersive learning experiences like field schools, lab work, and co-op opportunities. Within each of these unique fields, students gain practical knowledge and skills that are critical for solving today’s natural resource challenges.

Majors are selected at the completion of Year 1. Note that some majors have unique pre-requisites that need to be taken in Year 1, so contact an advisor to learn more before selecting your courses.

Bioeconomy Sciences and Technology

UBC’s Bioeconomy Sciences and Technology program is the first in Canada to provide a multidisciplinary and comprehensive education that’s focused on the scientific, economic, and policy issues related to the growing bioeconomy and creating a sustainable future. As a student in this program, you’ll gain a solid foundation for the innovative design and development of renewable materials, energy, and sustainable land-use strategies.

As a Bioeconomy Sciences and Technology graduate, you will be familiar with key facets of the bioeconomy and possess the skills required to work in energy, design and develop renewable materials, and establish leading land-use strategies.

Conservation

This interdisciplinary program is the most popular program in UBC’s Faculty of Forestry. You’ll learn how to play an active role in protecting and managing our natural environment, including wildlife, forests, rivers, oceans, and land. As a Conservation student, you’ll take courses in English, math, and science – plus conservation, wildlife, fisheries management, computer applications, remote sensing, and soil science.

As a Conservation graduate, you’ll use your skills and knowledge to help protect and preserve the planet with a career in environmental sustainability and resource management at a government, non-profit, private consulting, education, or law organization.

Forest Management

If you love the outdoors and are excited by the challenge of planning and managing our forest lands, then Forest Management program may be for you. As a student in the Forest Management program, you’ll explore the scientific foundations that underpin the management of forest resources, while tailoring your educational journey with elective courses that emphasize biological, economic, social, or quantitative dimensions within this diverse field.

Forest Management graduates are well-prepared for diverse roles in consulting, sustainable forestry, and natural resource management.

Forest Operations

In the Forest Operations program, students learn how to apply technology and science to create environmentally and economically sound harvesting plans. This program emphasizes the integration of biological, physical, and social sciences, supplemented by advanced courses in geotechnical engineering, forest road design, slope stability analysis, and efficient harvesting system evaluation.

Forest Operations graduates embark on a world of diverse and evolving career opportunities within the forest industry. With additional courses, graduates can also work towards becoming a Professional Engineer (P.Eng), opening doors to a wide range of career opportunities in forestry and related fields.

Forest Sciences

In the Forest Sciences program, you’ll study scientific principles related to forests, forest organisms, and plant and animal ecology. You’ll also learn how to ask and approach important questions like: How do plants and animals in forest ecosystems react to insects and disease, climate change, pollution, harvesting, and recreational use? How can we sustain the biological diversity of our forests while meeting our resource needs?

As a Forest Sciences graduate, you can pursue a career as a forest geneticist, a biodiversity specialist, a fisheries and wildlife officer, a forest ecologist, a pathologist, or an entomologist.

Wood Products

Wood Products is an award-winning program that fuses science, engineering, and business. Students in the program gain a comprehensive understanding of wood science, business, and advanced manufacturing operations, while developing transferable skills in problem solving, communication, leadership, and teamwork.

Graduates of the program can pursue a career in material science, engineering, computer science, material processing, wood finishing, product design, quality control, or sales and marketing – or go on to graduate studies in wood science, finance and business, building construction technology, or medicine.

Why choose Natural Resources?

The Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources degree is offered on UBC’s Vancouver campus and has access to two research forests totalling 60,000 acres where students can enhance their classroom learning with field studies. In addition to field studies, the program also emphasizes experiential learning with lab work and co-op opportunities.

Natural Resources is also a small, supportive learning community. It has smaller class sizes, allowing you to make close friendships with fellow students and have closer connections with professors, including personalized mentoring, support, and guidance.

Find out more about what’s it’s like to be a student in the Faculty of Forestry

Are you interested in solving engineering problems and designing and implementing systems that integrate hardware and software? Or maybe you’re interested in sustaining and revitalizing language traditions, protecting the knowledge of Indigenous communities, and becoming a proficient speaker of the NłeɁkepmx or the St’át’imc languages?

Perhaps you are interested in understanding how market structures, business practices, and international trade impact food supply and security worldwide? Or maybe you want to learn how to interpret sources of data gleaned from satellites and use it to provide economic insight while developing specialized knowledge in the economics of natural resource conservation and global food markets?

Whatever your interests, we have a program for you. We’ve recently introduced three new options at UBC Okanagan: Computer Engineering, NłeɁkepmx Language Fluency, and St’át’imc Language Fluency; and two new options at UBC Vancouver: Business and Markets and Data Analytics.

Read on to learn more about these programs and discover if they’re right for you.

Computer Engineering (Okanagan)

UBC Okanagan’s new Computer Engineering program is for anyone who wants to develop foundational engineering and project management skills. The program blends a selection of foundational courses from Electrical Engineering and Computer Science with specialized Computer Engineering courses. It integrates a project-based learning environment that includes design studio courses and engineering design projects.

Year 1 is the common first-year curriculum that lays foundational engineering skills. The curriculum offers first-year students an opportunity to implement engineering design projects.

In Year 2, students choose a specific engineering program: either Civil, Electrical, Manufacturing, Mechanical, or Computer Engineering.

NłeɁkepmx Language Fluency and St’át’imc Language Fluency (Okanagan)

The new NłeɁkepmx Language Fluency and St’át’imc Language Fluency programs are for you if want to achieve advanced proficiency in the NłeɁkepmx or the St’át’imc Languages.

The degrees are an innovative collaboration between communities, Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT), En’owkin Centre, and UBC Okanagan to sustain and revitalize language traditions, restore language competence, and protect the knowledge of Indigenous communities.

To apply, you must first have completed the NłeɁkepmx Language diploma or the St’át’imc Language diploma at NVIT. The diploma will be your first two years of study, with the Bachelor of NłeɁkepmx Language Fluency or the Bachelor of St’át’imc Language Fluency forming the final two.

The programs will help you to become a proficient speaker in the language. You’ll achieve an advanced level of written and oral proficiency through classes that tackle language skills, instructional capacity, and Indigenous ways of knowing. You’ll also learn about ways to contribute to the languages’ recovery and revitalization efforts in your communities.

Business and Markets (Vancouver)

UBC Vancouver’s new Business and Markets program is for anyone who wants to understand how market structures, business practices, and international trade impact food supply and security worldwide. You’ll also learn about interactions between the food sector and major environmental challenges such as climate change and biodiversity.

The program addresses questions such as:

• How can food supply chains provide more food without sacrificing the environment, especially in light of climate change?
• What is the impact of government policies such as carbon taxes on food market outcomes?
• What are the benefits and costs of various green business initiatives?

After gaining a strong core foundation in applied economics and data analytics, you will take upper-year courses in food markets, international trade, and business. By the end of the program, you will know how to collect and analyze data, and be able to employ economic and business models for addressing real world food challenges.

Data Analytics (Vancouver)

The new Data Analytics program is for you if you want to graduate with an economics degree that is supplemented with data analytics skills.

The program will provide you with a strong foundation in applied economics and data analysis, a combination that is fundamental for parsing global influences on food markets and natural resource conservation. You will learn how to interpret ever-growing sources of data gleaned from satellites, citizen science, etc., and use it to provide economic insight and advanced analytics for decision-making.

This program will give you specialized knowledge in the economics of natural resource conservation and global food markets. You can choose to tackle critical issues resulting from climate change, resource depletion, biodiversity loss, and slowing agricultural productivity.

Do you care about animals, food security, climate change, sustainable agriculture or the environment? Are you looking for a program where you learn from others, engage in debate and discussion, and take part in hands-on learning and research?

The Bachelor of Science in Applied Biology degree teaches the real-world application of life sciences through research-based and hands-on learning experiences. Students begin with a foundational understanding of biology and are encouraged to customize the program to explore what’s most interesting to them.

What you learn in Applied Biology

The Bachelor of Science in Applied Biology degree has two programs to choose from.

Applied Animal Biology

In Applied Animal Biology, students learn the fundamentals of animal behaviour and physiology and explore the role of animals in human society and the ethical and environmental issues that arise. You’ll study the field of animal science as you apply your knowledge to real-world biological issues through hands-on field work and research on farms, as well as in laboratories, animal shelters, and wildlife rehabilitation centres.

The program offers the flexibility to focus on your specific interests, while equipping you with the knowledge and skills you’ll need to pursue a career in this fast-growing field. Throughout the program, you’ll receive training that primes you for graduate work, or admission to veterinary or human medicine.

Sustainable Agriculture and Environment

In Sustainable Agriculture and Environment students learn how to produce food in a way that protects our soils, water, and air. You’ll learn how to manage biodiversity and habitat for the organisms we rely on to help us grow our food, and how to grow food in urban environments. You’ll apply your thinking to a range of environmental challenges, including sustainable crop production, food security, biodiversity, soil and water resources management, and climate change.

You can also tailor your studies to focus on your particular interests – whether they’re in agricultural production, integrated agro-ecosystem management, or plant or soil science. The program will prime you for a professional career in shaping a more sustainable, food-secure future.

Student Scoop

“In my third year I was a field research assistant in northern BC. We lived in camper vans, caught sapsuckers, took DNA samples and released them back into the wild. It was an incredible experience.” – Afnan A. Read about Afnan’s experience as a student in the Applied Animal Biology program.

Why choose Applied Biology?

Students choose the Bachelor of Science in Applied Biology degree because they get to study real-world biological issues, problems, challenges, and their solutions. It’s also an opportunity to tackle a range of environmental problems within a single program.

This is a hands-on degree, where students get practical, in-the-field experience with plenty of opportunities for practicums and coops. Students also receive training in research skills for graduate work.

For students in the Sustainable Agriculture and Environment program, the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm is an on-campus living laboratory for experiential learning. The UBC Farm is located on the Vancouver campus – virtually uniquely among North America research universities – and offers a wide range of interdisciplinary learning, research, and community programs.

What can you do after graduating?

Many Applied Animal Biology graduates go on to careers in veterinary medicine, natural resource planning, ecology, agronomy, conservation, land management, organic farming, ecosystem restoration, biodiversity, and more.

Graduates from the Sustainable Agriculture and Environment program are equipped to pursue a wide range of careers and may go on to careers as biologists, agrologists, geoscientists, natural resource planners, ecologists, organic farming specialists, conservation officers, and more.

Do you believe education should put students and the quality of their learning first? Do you enjoy sharing knowledge with others and helping people find and develop their innate talent? Consider one of UBC’s seven Bachelor of Education degrees for an internationally recognized learning experience that will launch your career as an educator in Canada and beyond.

Explore your program options

Elementary, Middle, or Secondary School

Gain hands-on experience teaching elementary, middle, or secondary school curricula in one of UBC’s education programs. Choose between Teaching Children and Teaching Adolescents at UBC Okanagan, or Elementary and Middle Years and Secondary at UBC Vancouver. Students in all programs will complete school-based practicums and engage in collaborative learning with instructors, classmates, practising educators, and community partners, and have the opportunity to participate in place-based learning opportunities.

West Kootenay Teacher Education Program

If you believe rural and small school settings present exciting educational opportunities for teachers, the West Kootenay Teacher Education Program (WKTEP) could be for you. Based in the WKTEP Learning Centre in Nelson, BC, and in the surrounding communities, this 11-month post-degree program offers an opportunity to develop the professional qualities and practices necessary to teach in today’s complex learning environments. With a strong focus on community, collaboration, and innovation, you’ll graduate prepared to teach in an elementary, middle, or secondary school setting.

Indigenous Teacher Education Program

Build upon your Indigenous identity and cultural heritage while learning how to be an effective educator in public, band, and independent schools in BC. In the Indigenous Teacher Education Program (NITEP), you’ll develop the skills and academic knowledge expected of beginning educators and complete a specialization in Indigenous Education. As a student at UBC Vancouver, you’ll have access to the Xwi7xwa Library, a centre for academic and community Indigenous scholarship.

International Baccalaureate

Join a community of students focused on international education in Canada’s first IB-recognized teacher education program. You’ll learn key concepts and transdisciplinary themes through enriching, hands-on learning opportunities that promote discovery, exploration, and thinking about real-world issues. You’ll graduate with a strong foundation in the educational practices and underpinnings of IB, and will be eligible for the Level 1 IB Educator credential.

See a full list of education programs at UBC