Interested in studying abroad or locally at one of our partner universities? Read on more to find out what you need to know before you apply to Go Global as a Science student.
Course Planning | Transfer Credit | Restrictions and Regulations | Useful links & Contact
Course planning
Which courses should I take on exchange?
Review your degree requirements at https://vancouver.calendar.ubc.ca/faculties-colleges-and-schools/faculty-science/bachelor-science to understand which requirements you still have left to complete for graduation. Courses required for your specialization may or may not be available to complete on exchange, this therefore requires more planning. If you need to complete your Arts or Breadth requirements, consider taking upper-level Arts or Science courses outside the field of your major - this provides more flexibility.
How will my courses from exchange transfer to UBC?
If you are looking for a specific course, you need to check if it is offered by the exchange institution. Review their website to look for information. You can search for courses from the partner universities you are interested in by using by the Course Search Tool. There, you can search by the institution to see how courses from that institution transferred to UBC in the recent past (courses evaluated more than 5 years ago require re-evaluation and will not appear on the course search tool).
If you cannot find a course recently evaluated by UBC, determine to the best of your ability what this course could be equivalent to in UBC: search the UBC course list, search the curent UBC course schedule, identify the professor teaching the course and reach out for informal evaluation. You can also reach out to the departmental advisor.
Please note: formal evaluation of courses occurs once you are already participating in exchange and have submitted your course package on TCP. Science Advising is not able to pre-evaluate courses prior to the package submission. Unless you do research beforehand, you may be facing a risk of courses not transferring as you planned, resulting in having to delay your graduation.
Will I receive credit for everything I take on exchange?
Academic coursework will receive UBC credit. Activity-based courses (examples include pottery, volleyball, sailing, tea ceremonies) and design courses (such as graphic or web design) will not receive UBC credit.
Should I always take upper-level courses on exchange?
Students generally prefer to take 300- and 400-level courses on exchange; however, they can take 100- and 200-level courses if they are interested in them or not meeting prerequisites for upper-level courses. Graduate-level courses taken on exchange will transfer to UBC as upper-level undergraduate courses.
Transfer Credit
How should I expect my exchange credits to transfer?
Course evaluators first determine which department in UBC the course should be evaluated as (e.g. Biology, CAPS, Mathematics). Then it's determined what level the credit should be (100-, 200-, 300-, 400-). The following are the possible outcomes of course evaluation:
- Specific course (e.g., MATH 320)
- General subject-specific credit (e.g., MATH 3rd)
- General faculty credit (e.g., SCIE 3rd)
- General elective credit (e.g., ELEV 3rd)
What is the process for transferring exchange credit?
After you submit your exchange course package on TCP, Science Advising will assign courses for evaluation to departments. Once departments evaluate the courses and you submit your final transcript from exchange to Go Global, credits are assigned on your UBC student record. Please note: credit transfer process will take 16 weeks or more.
Can I choose how credits will transfer?
If you see how the course you want to take on exchange will exchange to UBC, you cannot choose for it to transfer differently. For example, it is not possible to request a course which transferred to UBC as ENVR 2nd to transfer as ENVR 200 instead.
Restrictions and regulations
Can I take courses outside of Faculty of Science?
Science students can take courses in any area on exchange, if permitted by the partner university. Please keep in mind that courses evaluated as outside of UBC Faculty of Science cannot be considered as Science credits toward your UBC degree. It's not about under which department or faculty these courses are taught on exchange, but instead if UBC Science teaches them. This is important to remember when planning to take courses on exchange that will count toward your UBC BSc degree requirements, such as Science, Upper-level Science, and Science breadth.
Courses that transfer as Medical or Pharmacy courses will not be granted Science credit. Anatomoy and Physiology are taught in UBC by the Faculty of Medicine, but depending on your specialization, may fulfill requirements for your degree. Please check with your department advisor.
Applied Science (Engineering) courses will not be granted Science credit. Coursework such as "Biological Engineering" or "Chemical Engineering" are considered Applied Science courses. Architectural and Environmental Design courses are also under this faculty.
Can I take courses for Credit/D/Fail or Pass/Fail on exchange?
You can, but the UBC and Science faculty policy on such courses applies to exchange credits the same way as to courses taken in UBC. For more information, please see https://students.ubc.ca/enrolment/courses/creditdfail-grading. You cannot take courses toward your specialization, communication and breadth requirements for Credit/D/Fail or Pass/Fail.
Can I go on exchange in my second year?
No. You will need to complete a year in your Science specialization before you can go on exchange as well as complete foundation courses and at least half of your communication requirement. For the full list of eligibility requirements in Science, please see https://global.ubc.ca/go-global/programs-ubc-students/exchange/eligibility.
Can I go on exchange in my last year in UBC?
No. Moreover, you cannot go on exchange if your year standing is Year 4.
Can I go on exchange in the summer between Year 2 and Year 3?
This is subject to approval by Science Advising.
Will I be promoted to the next year level when I am either on exchange or return to UBC?
If you are meeting promotion requirements with the courses you completed, as listed on your UBC record, yes. If the courses you need for promotion were taken on exchange and are still being evaluated, they will not be included in the assessment of your promotion eligibility.
Useful links and contact information
Go Global Science Faculty Designate and Academic Advisor: Yana Yablonovskaya, yana.yablonovskaya@science.ubc.ca
International Opportunities for UBC students: https://global.ubc.ca/go-global/programs-ubc-students
Exchange Program Information: https://global.ubc.ca/go-global/programs-ubc-students/exchange
Transfer Credit Portal: https://tcp.goglobal.ubc.ca/student/login
