Graduation
Upon successful completion of their studies graduate students apply to graduate. This process is split into two distinct points - conferral of the degree (approval by Senate) and the optional convocation (ceremony). Conferral happens four times a year - February, May, September, and November. Convocation occurs twice a year - May and November - with May being the much larger session lasting over a week.
We currently have data from 1990 onwards, with data last retrieved January 15, 2018. The information provided here is presented using the conferral dates.
| Conferral Year | Masters | Doctoral | Total |
| 1990 | 931 | 196 | 1,127 |
| 1991 | 985 | 216 | 1,201 |
| 1992 | 993 | 217 | 1,210 |
| 1993 | 1,114 | 260 | 1,374 |
| 1994 | 1,167 | 276 | 1,443 |
| 1995 | 1,159 | 336 | 1,495 |
| 1996 | 1,143 | 309 | 1,452 |
| 1997 | 1,110 | 331 | 1,441 |
| 1998 | 1,130 | 324 | 1,454 |
| 1999 | 1,201 | 338 | 1,539 |
| 2000 | 1,294 | 342 | 1,636 |
| 2001 | 1,268 | 329 | 1,597 |
| 2002 | 1,431 | 312 | 1,743 |
| 2003 | 1,575 | 328 | 1,905 |
| 2004 | 1,622 | 336 | 1,958 |
| 2005 | 1,639 | 328 | 1,967 |
| 2006 | 1,860 | 343 | 2,203 |
| 2007 | 1,689 | 376 | 2,065 |
| 2008 | 1,745 | 434 | 2,179 |
| 2009 | 1,934 | 461 | 2,395 |
| 2010 | 2,020 | 517 | 2,537 |
| 2011 | 2,103 | 482 | 2,585 |
| 2012 | 2,344 | 527 | 2,871 |
| 2013 | 2,336 | 508 | 2,844 |
| 2014 | 2,275 | 533 | 2,808 |
| 2015 | 2,422 | 570 | 2,992 |
| 2016 | 2,304 | 554 | 2,858 |
| 2017 | 2,417 | 542 | 2,959 |
Data for Degrees Awarded 1990-2017 (File - Excel 2013/2016 format - 1,868KB)
Between 1990 and 2017 the number of conferred degrees has risen from 1,127 in 1990 to 2,959 in 2017 which translates to a 163% increase in 28 years of conferring graduate level degrees at UBC Vancouver. Within that time span 45,243 master's and 10,625 doctoral degrees have been conferred - that's 55,868 degrees in total. The numbers for both master's and doctoral conferred degrees have risen over the years, with 1,486 more master's degrees conferred in 2017 than in 1990 (a 160% increase) and 346 more doctoral degrees conferred during the same period (a 177% increase).
