History at UBC's Okanagan campus | UBC Undergraduate Programs and Admissions

Make sense of our transforming world by studying dynamic historical patterns of political, economic, and social change. At UBC, you’ll gain the tools needed to analyze and form opinions based on multiple sources relating to the past, preparing you for a career in the present and future.

This program is also offered at UBC's Vancouver Campus

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Why this program?

Earn a UBC degree respected by employers around the globe.
Build a broad foundation and acquire the skills to pursue careers in government, law, education, business, and media.
Apply historical principles and skills outside of the classroom by conducting fieldwork, working for a museum, or completing an internship.

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Program information

Campus: Okanagan
Faculty: Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Degree: Bachelor of Arts

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.

Understand the present by studying the past. Read broadly, think analytically, write effectively, and inform policy. Historians examine evidence and arguments to understand the relationship between ideas and actions, and individuals and social institutions.

The History program prepares you for graduate and professional programs, and to pursue careers in a wide range of areas.

Experiential learning and research

Embrace experiential learning. Assist with a research project on labour migration in Cold War Europe, the history of science and technology, or social movements in the global south—just some of the topics award-winning UBC historians are exploring.

In your fourth year at UBC Okanagan, you have the option of completing directed studies, where you will undertake a supervised investigation of an assigned topic in history, culminating in a major term paper.

The Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences holds an annual undergraduate research conference on UBC’s Okanagan campus to showcase student research projects.

Campus features

The History/Sociology Speaker Series pairs UBC with the Okanagan Regional Library to bring in distinguished guests to share their knowledge with students, colleagues, and the community.

The History Course Union is a great club for you to branch out, network,and meet people with similar interests.

History Course Union

HIST 110 - Survey of the Ancient World
Survey of ancient history from the first civilizations in the Near East to the fall of Rome. Includes examinations of the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. This course is intended as a basis for understanding the origins of Western civilization.
HIST 151 - Modern Latin American History
Survey of the major economic, political, and social currents in Latin America from independence to the present.
HIST 111 - Modern United States History
Survey of the major economic, political, and social developments from the Civil War to the present.
HIST 145 - Contemporary World History
Events and forces shaping the world since the mid-twentieth century.
HIST 119 - Medieval Europe
Introduction to the changes in European society from the late Roman Empire to the Renaissance, with an emphasis on the Middle Ages as a dynamic era. The period saw the development of many of the institutions of modern civilization, including common law, parliament, and the university. Religion, family, and warfare in the Middle Ages are examined.

HIST 224 - Introduction to the History of Modern Japan and Korea, 1800 to Present
Introduction to the most important economic, social, political, and cultural forces that have shaped the modern development of Japan and Korea.
HIST 218 - History of Science
Survey of important events in the history of science from ancient times to the present.
HIST 201 - Religion in the West
History of Western religious traditions from the first civilizations to the present. Origins of and development in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
HIST 215 - Technology in History
Introduction to the history of technology and society from antiquity to the present.
HIST 240 - Pre-Contact and Colonial Latin American History
Study of themes of Latin American history from emergence of indigenous civilizations to the end of Spanish and Portuguese colonialism in the nineteenth century.

HIST 310 - Topics in the History of Medicine and Disease
HIST 343 - Tudor England, 1485-1603
Study of the political, religious, and social changes in England from the late Middle Ages to the early seventeenth century.
HIST 353 - Foundations of Modernity in 19th-Century Latin American History
Intellectual underpinnings of early nation-state development and social groups which consolidated control between 1820 and 1914, and the political systems developed. Confronts divergent constructions and experiences of modernity across the region. Focus mainly on Argentina, Brazil, Mexico.
HIST 300 - History of Indigenous Peoples of Canada to 1876
The Indigenous people (status and non-status) of Canada from contact to the passage of the Indian Act in 1876. Topics include government policies, environment, gender, religion, oral narratives, colonial frontiers, disease, fur trade.
HIST 301 - History of Indigenous Peoples of Canada Since 1876
The Indigenous people (status and non-status) of Canada from the passage of the Indian Act in 1876 to the present. Topics include government policies, environment, gender, religion, oral narratives, activism, urbanization, identity.

HIST 424 - Women in the Middle Ages
Examination of women's experiences in Western Europe from about 900-1450.
HIST 402 - Problems in International Relations: Diplomacy and the Origins of Wars
Study of the relationship of the diplomatic factor to other factors in the origins of the First and Second World Wars.
HIST 413 - Reformation Europe
Examination of European history, 1450-1650, that places both the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Reformation in the broader context of the political, social, cultural, and economic changes during the early modern era.
HIST 461 - Topics in Urban History
HIST 494 - Decolonization and Africa
Overview and analysis of the internal and external factors that explain decolonization in sub-Saharan Africa in the twentieth century. Discussion will focus on the problems of nation-building in the aftermath of decolonization.

Life at UBC's Okanagan campus

UBC's Okanagan campus is renowned for its research opportunities and access to professors. On this tight-knit campus, you’ll be able to work closely with award-winning faculty who are exploring a diverse range of areas such as “post-feminist” Argentine women’s cinema and the Second Industrial Revolution.

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Your future

History is an area of study that gives you access to multiple rewarding career paths, not just a job. You will be well positioned to thrive in a variety of organizations, and able to pursue careers as diverse as diplomat, lawyer, policy analyst, and archivist.

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: Arts

No specific courses required beyond those needed for general admission

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
Second Languages
Social Studies
Visual and Performing Arts

Visit program website

This program is also offered at UBC's Vancouver Campus

Why this program?

Experiential learning and research

Campus features

Life at UBC's Okanagan campus

Your future

Related programs

Program requirements

English-language requirements

General admission requirements

Degree-specific requirements: Arts

Related courses

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