Get a post-graduate work permit for up to three years if you are a full-time UBC international student graduating from a bachelor’s degree program and meet all eligibility criteria.
Want to learn more?
Visit the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science website to learn more about Sustainability.
View full program detailsProgram information
Learn how to critically assess and propose solutions to contemporary sustainability challenges, such as climate change, pollution, and social and economic inequality. You’ll gain a diverse set of skills through both foundational knowledge and hands-on, community-based learning.
Program overview
- Campus
- Okanagan
- Program length
- 4 years
- Honours This option has additional requirements compared to those required in a Major specialization. Students must maintain high academic standing and may have to write a graduating thesis.
- No
- Co-op Co-op is an optional program where students alternate between academic terms and paid work terms. It’s an opportunity to gain relevant job experience while completing your degree.
- Yes
- Faculties
- Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science
- Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies
- Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
- Degree
- Bachelor of Sustainability
What you'll learn
Now more than ever, socially conscious citizens with a diverse set of knowledge and abilities are in high demand. As one of the few sustainability degrees in Canada, UBC Okanagan’s Bachelor of Sustainability will develop your skills and knowledge to enable you to take action to solve sustainability problems at both a local and global scale.
The Sustainability program shapes your abilities and experiences through interdisciplinary course content, as well as allowing you to focus on select concentrations to develop your knowledge.
Your concentrations
The Bachelor of Sustainability combines a broad interdisciplinary approach, with focused concentrations that advance your skills to bring about positive change. You will learn within select topics to develop the expertise to enable you to take action and solve problems at local to global scales.
You can choose from the following concentrations:
- Environmental Analytics
- Environmental Conservation and Management
- Environmental Humanities
- Green Chemistry
All students take a set of core Sustainability courses along with courses specific to their concentration. Visit the Academic Calendar to see your courses for the Environmental Analytics, Environmental Conservation and Management, Environmental Humanities, and Green Chemistry concentrations.
Experiential learning and research
As a Bachelor of Sustainability student, you’ll find your degree is fully immersive, with research and community engagement opportunities imbedded in the curriculum.
You’ll take part in foundational learning alongside hands-on and community-based study. Because UBC Okanagan is located in a unique environment, you’ll have access to urban, agricultural, and wilderness environments that will become your real-world labs. Your learning experience will equip you with key skills to tackle issues including climate change, pollution, and social and economic inequality.
Our close-knit campus allows you to work together with faculty to conduct or assist with research projects. You will learn from award-winning faculty and benefit from being part of UBC’s world-class research. You can also choose to pursue innovative and original research as part of the Undergraduate Research Awards.
Program advantages
As a student in Sustainability, you will participate in experiential learning activities unique to UBC Okanagan’s campus, a location with ready-made access to urban, agricultural, and wilderness environments that are real-world labs. You’ll gain skills and knowledge that will ensure you have the expertise vital to navigate our complex future, and equip you for your career. You’ll also learn from award-winning faculty and benefit from contributing from UBC’s world-class research.
Courses
There are many courses you can take within Sustainability. Here are a few you might like.
Introduces students to the concept of Indigenous Knowledge through a holistic and relational approach to land and people. Provides a foundation to key perspectives and traditions in the arts, health, social justice and governance.
Concepts of governance, natural resource management, and economy-environment connections.
A practice-led methods course that draws on interdisciplinary sustainability literatures on place. Includes a focus on ethics, values, social equity, accessibility and inclusion in addressing multi-scale, multi-stakeholder problems related to sustainability.
Applied project in sustainability studies. May follow a traditional academic research model or may be community-based. May be undertaken in partnership with external organizations as relevant.
Take action & plan
Program requirements
Choose application type:
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: Sustainability
- 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.)
- A minimum of one of IB Biology, IB Chemistry, or IB Physics
- Academically strong candidates missing IB Math may be considered on a case-by-case basis
Related courses
The following subject categories are particularly relevant for this degree. Consider taking courses in these areas in Grade 11 and Grade 12.
- Language Arts
- Mathematics and Computation
- Sciences
- Social Studies
Want to get a feel for campus?
If you’re unable to visit UBC in person, or you just want to get a sneak peek at your new home campus before you arrive, take one of our virtual tours. Current UBC students walk you through UBC’s residences, study spots, recreational facilities, lecture halls, academic buildings, and more.
Related programs
Want to learn more?
Visit the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science website to learn more about Sustainability.
View full program detailsGet a post-graduate work permit for up to three years if you are a full-time UBC international student graduating from a bachelor’s degree program and meet all eligibility criteria.
Want to learn more?
Visit the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science website to learn more about Sustainability.
View full program details