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The University of British Columbia

Student Services

UBC Offers several student services for international students including:

  • Tutoring
  • This option is open for all first- and second-year students enrolled at UBC, including private tutoring sessions, and group tutoring, to help you with your academics and coursework, and achieve the grades that you want.

  • E-Hub
  • The E-hub equips students with solutions to solve real-world problems and make a difference in the community. The UBC e-projects helps young student entrepreneurs to build successful businesses, through educative workshops, seminars, and speaker sessions, held by industry professionals, as well as fund student projects through in-house investments, and connect students to angles and venture capital funding.

Clubs and Societies

At the University of British Columbia, there are two different types of student societies.

  1. Course Unions
  2. Course Unions allow students to discover their passions and interests in a selected academic field through activities such as tutoring programs, supplying additional course material, advocating for students in their academic field.

  3. Clubs
  4. Clubs are the best way to meet with like-minded individuals, make friends, and improve your social networking skills, improve time management, and be more efficient in teamwork. Clubs memberships are open to all students, and range from hobby and sports clubs, religion and ethnic clubs, drama clubs, music, academic, political, international organizations, to clubs for social justice.

On-Campus Accommodation

Welcome prospective undergrads—domestic and international!

For many new students, living in residence is where the university journey begins. And at UBC, it’s an extraordinary experience unlike any other.

Living in residence makes it easy for students to meet new people, live in a study-oriented atmosphere, get help for academic and personal challenges, and be part of all that UBC and its surrounding neighbourhoods have to offer. Campus residents have easy access to beaches and recreational activities, theatre, restaurants, guest speakers, and special interest clubs.

Year after year, students tell us that living in residence helped them become better learners and make long-lasting friendships. UBC houses more than 11,000 students in 13 residences.

Guaranteed rooms
Many prospective students will qualify for our First Year Guarantee in Winter Session Residence. Most students in this group are assigned to live in Totem Park , Place Vanier or Orchard Commons. They all have furnished shared and single rooms, vibrant common areas for socializing, and plenty of space for quiet study time. Based on availability, some students will be assigned to live in Ritsumeikan-UBC House, Walter Gage,and Fairview Crescent where upper-year students and some graduate students also live.

Eating made easy

"The dining room gives you a huge array of options and they switch it up every couple of days so there’s always something new to try.” —Amy Miles, Totem Park resident

Never worry about planning, shopping, prepping or cleaning up after meals! Residents in Totem Park, Place Vanier and Orchard Commons purchase a mandatory meal plan, valid at more than 45 places to eat, including residence dining rooms—always stocked with nutritious dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For detailed information about payment amounts and the payment schedule, visit the Fees & Payments page and click on the page for your residence. Students who are offered accommodation in other residences will have a kitchen but can also enjoy added convenience and savings with the Savings Plus Meal Plan or UBCcard Plan.

Support & fun

“You’ll meet people from all over the world with all different backgrounds. The one thing we have in common is UBC pride.” —Brandon MacKay

No matter which residence you live in, you will be part of a safe, supportive environment that’s designed to help you pursue your academic goals and enjoy your time as a student. Our Residence Life teams are among the best-connected people at the university. Residence advisors—current UBC students—are plugged into the resources and support services available to you in residence and around campus, including health services and safety programs. RAs spend countless hours organizing fun opportunities to get students involved in residence. Be an actor in a residence play, join a committee, or go on a field trip to an Olympic ski hill. When you live at UBC, there’s always something to do.

Jump Start

“Before arriving at UBC, I was anxious about moving to a new place, meeting new friends and being in a different academic setting. I made friends and got to know UBC through Jump Start and now I feel more confident going into my classes” – Jump Start participant

All direct-entry, first-year undergraduate students are invited to participate in Jump Start, which takes place during the week prior to classes in August. Jump Start is a transition program specifically designed to help first year students adjust to their new academic environment, make friends, and explore their new home, school, and city.

Costs

Fees and payments will vary depending on what residence and type of room you live in, as well as if you require a meal plan. A typical cost for a room and a meal plan for a new undergraduate student is between $10,700 and $13,850 for two terms. Payments are spread over the school year. There are extra fees for parking and optional telecommunications services like cable TV and phone. Undergraduate students entering their first year could be eligible for a Student Housing Supplemental Grant

How to apply

Undergraduate students who qualify for a guaranteed room can apply in two ways:

  1. There is an option to open a residence application when applying for UBC
  2. Apply directly to Student Housing and Hospitality Services before May 1. Before you apply, review essential application facts and important dates to ensure your application is submitted properly and on time. Demand to live in residence is high so don’t wait until you are admitted to UBC to apply for a space in residence.

    The UBC Housing website contains information about other on-campus housing opportunities that are available to graduate students., including details for all residences that are available for graduate students. Please note: on-campus housing is in high demand. You will have to apply very early to be able to receive a placement in time for your program start date. We recommend you apply for on-campus housing at the same time as you apply for a graduate program, or as early as possible once you know you will be attending UBC!

    Once you have applied, you can check your position on the waiting list through the online service centre at https://secure.housing.ubc.ca/

    Tip: as graduate student you have a better chance of getting into on-campus residence if you apply for year-round housing. If you apply for the winter session only, you will be competing with undergraduate students who have priority.

    MBA HOUSE

    The MBA House is primarily for students in business programs, but sometimes has rooms available that they offer to graduate students. Students with mobility disabilities

    St. John's College has a limited number of wheelchair accessible rooms available. Green College is not suitable for students with mobility disabilities. UBC Housing has several residences (e.g. Gage Apartments, Fairview Crescent, Thunderbird and Marine Drive Residences) that are suitable for students with mobility disabilities. Priority for assignment is given to students with substantiated disabilities that might prevent them from commuting to UBC from an off-campus residence. Please contact UBC Student Housing and Hospitality Services directly to get all details regarding availability and eligibility.

Pet-Friendly Accommodation

On campus housing does not allow pets. In general though, Vancouver is very dog- and cat-friendly. You will find lots of off leash areas and dog parks etc. However, not every landlord allows pets in an apartment. Many of the newer condos in downtown (such as Yaletown) do not allow pets. This seems to be more flexible in the older buildings, e.g. in West End. AMS Rentsline allows you to search for pet-friendly accommodation. Sometimes landlords will state that animals are not allowed, but if you only have a small dog or cat they might agree to it. It cannot hurt to ask!

Utilities

When you compare prices for accommodation, make sure you find out about utility costs. In on-campus housing several utilities are already included, whereas you might have to pay for these if you rent your own apartment. Most commonly only the rental rate gets published and you will have to ask what utilities you will have to pay for. Utilities can be things such as

  • Gas
  • Electricity
  • Heat (depending on how the rental place is heated, it might add to your electricity/gas costs)
  • Hot water (depending on how the water is heated, it might add to your electricity costs)
  • Internet (typically not included in rentals)
  • TV/Cable (typically not included in rentals)
  • Home phone / landline (typically not included in rentals)

If you get a room somewhere in a house or share a place, it is common that things like Internet, cable and phone are already available, but you will be asked to share the bills. In many apartment buildings heat and hot water are included, but if not, this can be a significant added cost.

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