Environmental Sciences at UBC's Vancouver campus | UBC Undergraduate Programs and Admissions

Environmental Sciences concentrates on understanding the major environmental issues facing human societies and it adopts an integrative cross-disciplinary approach to the study of these issues. This program provides a significant background in physical sciences, earth and ocean sciences, and life sciences.

Why this program?

Study at one of the world’s top-ranked universities in earth environmental sciences.
Take classes and labs in UBC’s new Earth Sciences Building.
Tailor the specialization to your interests with concentrations in land, air and water, or ecology and conservation.

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Program information

Campus: Vancouver
Faculty: Faculty of Science
Degree: Bachelor of Science

Length 4 yrs
Co-op Yes
You can combine your studies with full-time, paid work at top local and international organizations.
Honours Yes
You can study intense specialization in a single field.

Environmental Sciences is the application of scientific knowledge from many disciplines to issues relating to the sustainability of resource use, the increase in human population, the degradation of the environment caused by pollution and disturbance, the endangerment and extinction of species and natural systems.

The specialization is interdisciplinary and is designed to give students a strong foundational science background. It concentrates on understanding the major environmental issues facing human societies and adopts an integrative cross-disciplinary approach to the study of these issues. Students supplement course classes with electives in a broad range of earth and ocean sciences fields depending on their area of concentration.

Experiential learning and research

Seminars and student projects are designed to help you perfect your communication skills and ability to work in groups, preparing you for future employment and teamwork as an environmental scientist. All environmental science students are required to do a major project (two terms) in their final year. Majors students engage in a team project in collaboration with a community partner organization, while honours students undertake an individual research project with a faculty supervisor.

Campus features

The Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences is home to the Environmental Interfaces Laboratory (EIL) and the Pacific Museum of the Earth. The Beaty Biodiversity Museum is also open to students.

BIOL 121 - Genetics, Evolution and Ecology
Principles of storage and transmission of genetic variation; origin and evolution of species and their ecological interactions.
BIOL 140 - Laboratory Investigations in Life Science
Guided experimental investigations of biological questions.
CHEM 121 - Structure and Bonding in Chemistry
Fundamentals of bonding theories and structural chemistry, with applications relevant to modern society.
MATH 101 - Integral Calculus with Applications to Physical Sciences and Engineering
The definite integral, integration techniques, applications, modeling, infinite series.
PHYS 101 - Energy and Waves
Fluids, harmonic oscillator, travelling waves, standing waves, sound, and interference of light waves, including diffraction.

ENVR 200 - Introduction to Environmental Science
Seminars and field trips introducing the major global, regional, and local environmental issues facing human societies.
GEOB 200 - Atmospheric Environments
Physical principles underlying weather and climates. Thermal, moisture and wind climates at scales from valleys to the globe. Daily weather, air pollution, global change.
BIOL 230 - Fundamentals of Ecology
Dynamics of plant and animal populations, structure of ecological communities and functioning of ecosystems. Interpretation of research results and application to environmental issues. Labs meet once a month. Please consult the Faculty of Science Credit Exclusion Lists: www.students.ubc.ca/calendar/index.cfm?tree=12,215,410,414.
STAT 200 - Elementary Statistics for Applications
Classical, nonparametric, and robust inferences about means, variances, and analysis of variance, using computers. Emphasis on problem formulation, assumptions, and interpretation. See the Faculty of Science Credit Exclusion Lists: www.calendar.ubc.ca/vancouver/index.cfm?tree=12,215,410,414.
BIOL 300 - Fundamentals of Biostatistics
Statistical procedures for biological research; estimation, hypothesis testing, goodness of fit, analysis of variance and regression; use of computers for statistical analysis. Please consult the Faculty of Science Credit Exclusion Lists: www.students.ubc.ca/calendar/index.cfm?tree=12,215,410,414.

ENVR 300 - Introduction to Research in Environmental Science
Environmental research. Students investigate research methodologies and reporting in a range of scientific disciplines and fields.
EOSC 372 - Introductory Oceanography: Circulation and Plankton
Physical and chemical processes and their controls on the distribution of plankton in the ocean.
GEOB 305 - Introduction to Hydrology
Principles of hydrology at site, watershed, and larger regional scales. Introduction to techniques of measurement and analysis. Emphasizes surface water hydrology of western North America.
MRNE 415 - Structure and Function in Marine Animals
Principles of classification, evolution, morphology, biomechanics, physiology and biochemistry will be illustrated in representatives from a variety of animal phyla.
EOSC 340 - Global Climate Change
Mechanisms and processes of past and future global environmental and climate change.

ENVR 400 - Community Project in Environmental Science
Instructor-guided collaboration between student teams and community partners on community-based environmental science projects. Teams articulate project questions and goals, devise methods, conduct research and communicate results. Credit will be given for only one of ENVR 400 or ENVR 449.
ENVR 410 - Energy, Environment, and Society
The role of energy in human societies throughout history and the environmental and social implications of energy use. Coverage of both the science and policy of energy use. Energy supply and demand, energy transitions, analytical tools, impacts, and alternatives.
GEOB 402 - Air Pollution Meteorology
The nature of atmospheric pollutants. The ability of the atmosphere to disperse, transform, and remove pollutants. Air pollution dispersion models. Air quality monitoring, criteria, and standards.
ENVR 430 - Ecological Dimensions of Sustainability
Current issues. Application to agricultural, energy, and resource systems in terrestrial and aquatic contexts. Analysis of complex problems; incorporation of science into novel interdisciplinary solutions.
MRNE 437 - Population and Community Ecology of Marine Organisms
Emphasis on interactions among organisms and between organisms and their physiochemical environment, and on biological diversity.

Life at UBC's Vancouver campus

Built in 2012 to LEED Gold construction standards, the Earth Sciences building is home to the Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. It houses the department’s cluster computers for numerical weather and climate simulations, weather-instrument platform for research and teaching, modern labs for oceanographic research, wet labs, and two computer lab classrooms for undergraduate student use.

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Your future

A BSc in Environmental Sciences can lead to careers in research, government, industry, law, medicine, occupational health, education, or advocacy.

The Environmental Sciences specialization provides grounding in a broad field of scientific disciplines and a solid background in understanding environmental challenges. You’ll graduate with strong critical thinking, communication, and research skills, plus the ability to work effectively in teams. These skills are highly sought after and are transferable to many workplaces.

Program graduates

Science and policy associate, Environmental Law and Policy Center
GIS technician, Environment Canada
Environmental technician, Cascade Environmental Resource Group Ltd.
Graduate student in Environmental Sciences, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology
Laboratory assistant, ALS Environmental
Junior forestry technician, Integrated ProAction Corp.

Program requirements

Canadian high schools
International high schools
International baccalaureate

English-language requirements

English is the language of instruction at UBC. All prospective students must demonstrate English-language competency prior to admission. There are numerous ways to meet the English Language Admission Standard.

General admission requirements

IB Diploma Programme

Completed IB Diploma, including at least three Higher Level courses.

IB Certificate Courses

IB Certificate courses (Standard and Higher Level) may be used in an admissions average if you are graduating from a recognized high school curriculum that can be used as your basis of admission.
IB Math Applications and Interpretations SL, or IB Math Studies, do not satisfy the math requirement for admission to UBC’s science-based programs, the Faculty of Management, the UBC Sauder School of Business, or the Vancouver School of Economics.

Degree-specific requirements: Science

IB Math Analysis and Approaches SL or HL, or IB Math Applications and Interpretations HL (IB Math Applications and Interpretations SL, or IB Math Studies, are not acceptable)
One of IB Biology, IB Chemistry, or IB Physics
Grade 11 or equivalent Chemistry, and
Grade 11 or equivalent Physics (may be waived with grades of 5 in IB Chemistry and in your IB Mathematics course)

Note: Grade 11 Chemistry and Physics requirements listed are only relevant to students who are not completing the equivalent IB Diploma Chemistry and/or Physics courses.

For students studying outside of Canada, some examples of courses that may be accepted as Grade 11 equivalents are junior-level courses for American students, and IGCSE and O Level for those following British-patterned curricula.

Related courses

The following subject categories are particularly relevant for this degree. Consider taking courses in these areas in your junior year and senior year.

Language Arts
Mathematics and Computation
Sciences