Philosophy at UBC's Vancouver campus | UBC Undergraduate Programs and Admissions

Philosophy covers everything from fundamental questions about knowledge, the meaning of life, and how to live it, to questions about how to design intelligent robots, the ethics of scientific and technological innovation, and how to evaluate government policies.

This program is also offered at UBC's Okanagan Campus

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Why this program?

Establish a knowledge base that is transferable to other academic disciplines and a breadth of careers.
Strengthen your communication skills, critical reasoning skills, and general problem-solving skills.
Earn a degree with high rates of salary growth.

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Program information

Campus: Vancouver
Faculty: Faculty of Arts
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.

The study of philosophy gives you tools to think carefully and critically about almost any subject that you may be interested in. You will learn how to analyze arguments, construct your own arguments, and understand the historical context of many of today’s most pressing problems. Philosophy can help you improve your ability to read, write persuasively, and present your ideas effectively; to analyze and evaluate complicated information usefully; and to solve complex problems.

UBC’s Vancouver campus has strengths in a variety of areas of philosophy, including the philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, the analytic tradition, ethics, political philosophy, aesthetics, and feminist philosophy.

Experiential learning and research

By taking advanced courses, you can write research papers on topics of your own design. Topical courses include environmental ethics, biomedical ethics, philosophy of sex and gender, minds and machines, science and technology, and law. Participate in an international experience, and study topics in philosophy – such as power, oppression, and economic development – in a different part of the world.

Campus features

Hemlock is an online philosophy journal for undergraduate students published at the University of British Columbia.

Hemlock undergraduate philosophy journal

PHIL 100 - Introduction to Philosophy
Basic problems and methods of Philosophy. Topics such as the existence of God, the nature and scope of human knowledge, the relationship between mind and body, personal identity, free will, issues and problems in moral philosophy.
PHIL 120 - Introduction to Critical Thinking
Tools for dealing with both everyday and more technical arguments and concepts. Analysis and resolution of confusions, ambiguities, and fallacies. This course is restricted to students with fewer than 90 credits.
PHIL 125 - Introduction to Scientific Reasoning
Historical and logical analysis of various types of scientific hypotheses and the data that support or undermine them. This course is restricted to students with fewer than 90 credits.
PHIL 211 - Greek Philosophy I: Socrates and Plato
The Pre-Socratics; Socrates; Sophists; Plato. Recommended as preparation for PHIL 310.

PHIL 220 - Symbolic Logic
Sentential and predicate logic. Translation from natural language; truth tables and interpretations; systems of natural deduction up to relational predicate logic with identity; alternative proof methods. Some sections may use computer-based materials and tests.
PHIL 230 - Introduction to Ethics
Theories of obligation and value; moral reasoning; normative ethics, descriptive ethics and meta-ethics. Readings in classic and contemporary texts.
PHIL 240 - Introduction to Epistemology
Topics in epistemology such as skepticism, truth, justification, a priori and a posteriori knowledge. Readings from classic and contemporary texts.
PHIL 235 - Contemporary Moral Issues
Moral issues such as life and death decisions, paternalism, markets, animal welfare, technology, and global justice.
PHIL 250 - Minds and Machines
Philosophical and theoretical issues that pertain to how mental phenomena fit into the material world. Examine questions such as whether a sophisticated enough computer should be deemed a conscious intelligent being. Focus on philosophical literature on consciousness, intelligence, animal minds, and the mind-body relation.

PHIL 310 - The Philosophy of Plato
A study of Plato's dialogues and his influence on subsequent philosophy.
PHIL 332 - Environmental Ethics
Moral problems arising in the context of human relationships to nature and to non-human living things, considered in terms of both general moral theory and policy formation. Topics include moral standing, animal rights, obligations to future generations, pollution, hazardous materials, the depletion of natural resources and the treatment of non-human living things.
PHIL 334 - Sex, Gender and Philosophy
Relationship between sex, gender, and philosophy. Topics may include ethics, epistemology, science, social relations, law, and personhood.
PHIL 339 - Philosophy of Art
Topics include art and perception, art and reality, imagination, expression, censorship, and the role of art in human life.
PHIL 364 - Darwin, Evolution, and Modern History
Darwin and the science of evolution in nineteenth and early twentieth century.

PHIL 388 - Buddhist, Brahmanical and Jain Philosophers in Interaction
Debates on issues of epistemology, language and ontology among the philosophical schools or systems of classical India Nagarjuna, Bhartrhari, Uma-svati, Sankara and others.
PHIL 432 - Topics in Ethical Theory
Classic or contemporary works in ethical theory.
PHIL 441 - Philosophy of Perception
The contribution of the senses to knowledge of the external world; the nature of perception and its contribution to empirical knowledge.
PHIL 448 - Topics in Continental Philosophy
A study of European philosophers from amongst Husserl, Heidegger, Habermas, Foucault, Derrida, Lacan, Levinas, and others.
PHIL 491 - Seminar for Majors in Philosophy
Selected problems in philosophy, with attention to methods of research. Check with the department for specific topics. Primarily for fourth-year Philosophy Major students, but also open to Philosophy Honours.

Life at UBC's Vancouver campus

At UBC, you'll learn about both the history and cutting edge of philosophical thinking. As a result, you will learn to think, speak, and write with precision, persuasiveness, and creativity about issues of both long-standing and current interest.

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Your future

As a Philosophy graduate, you will be well prepared to start careers in any field that values clear thinking, expression, and persuasion. Graduates can go into business, public service, education, or research. It is also an excellent springboard to professions such as law and public administration.

Program graduates

Policy analyst, BC Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction
Video journalist and associate producer, CBC News
Assistant professor of Philosophy, Rice University
Medical officer, Canadian Armed Forces

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