Application & Admission
Explore UBC's Graduate Programs
Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies offers a wide range of options for course-based or research-based master's and doctoral students. We offer students an intellectually challenging education through programs that are international in scope, interactive in process and interdisciplinary in content and approach.
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Check Your EligibilityMinimum Academic Requirements | English Language Requirements | Other Tests
Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants. Check first if you can meet those absolute minimums. Keep in mind that
- each graduate program that you are applying to may have additional requirements that you will find in the Graduate Degree Program listing and on the program website
- entry to UBC is competitive, i.e. each year we receive way more applicants who meet all our requirements than we can accept. Meeting minimum and program requirements is not a guarantee that you will be admitted.
Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application.
Some of our programs require additional components, such as GRE or GMAT scores, as well as certain course or degree requirements.
Meet Deadlines
All deadlines are program specific and can range from November of the previous year to April of a year for a September intake. The most important deadline is the application deadline. Without meeting the application deadline, a file may not be considered for evaluation. No changes can be made to the application after submission. Graduate programs can set two other deadlines - which may be the same as the application deadline or provide slightly more time to complete specific actions:
- Transcript deadline: Deadline to upload scans of official transcripts through the applicant portal in support of a submitted application. Information for accessing the applicant portal will be provided after submitting an online application for admission.
- Referee deadline: Deadline for the referees identified in the application for admission to submit references. See Letters of Reference for more information.
You have full access to all deadlines in the degree program listing or review an overview of application deadlines below.
Review program application deadlines
Program Name | Intake | Canadian Applicant Deadline | International Applicant Deadline |
---|---|---|---|
LLM - Master of Laws (Common Law) (LLMCL) | September 2025 | 01 February 2025 | 01 February 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) | May 2025 | 15 October 2024 | 15 October 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) | September 2025 | 08 January 2025 | 08 January 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) | January 2026 | 15 July 2025 | 15 July 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Women+ and Children's Health Sciences (PhD) | May 2025 | 28 November 2024 | 24 October 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Women+ and Children's Health Sciences (PhD) | September 2025 | 27 March 2025 | 20 February 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Women+ and Children's Health Sciences (PhD) | January 2026 | 24 July 2025 | 19 June 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Theatre (PhD) | September 2025 | 10 January 2025 | 10 January 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Teaching English as a Second Language (PhD) | September 2025 | 01 December 2024 | 01 December 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) | September 2025 | 01 December 2024 | 01 December 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Special Education (PhD) | September 2025 | 01 December 2024 | 01 December 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Soil Science (PhD) | September 2025 | 10 January 2025 | 10 January 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Soil Science (PhD) | May 2026 | 01 September 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Soil Science (PhD) | January 2026 | 01 June 2025 | 01 June 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology (PhD) | September 2025 | 01 December 2024 | 01 December 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work (PhD) | September 2025 | 10 January 2025 | 10 January 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in School and Applied Child Psychology (PhD) | September 2025 | 01 December 2024 | 01 December 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD) | September 2025 | 15 December 2024 | 15 December 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies (PhD) | September 2025 | 03 January 2025 | 03 January 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD) | January 2025 | 15 October 2024 | 15 October 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD) | September 2025 | 15 January 2025 | 15 January 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) | September 2025 | 01 December 2024 | 01 December 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) | September 2026 | 07 January 2026 | 07 January 2026 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) | September 2025 | 05 January 2025 | 05 January 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD) | September 2025 | 15 December 2024 | 15 December 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Plant Science (PhD) | May 2026 | 01 September 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Plant Science (PhD) | January 2026 | 01 June 2025 | 01 June 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Plant Science (PhD) | September 2025 | 10 January 2025 | 10 January 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) | September 2025 | 01 December 2024 | 01 December 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy (PhD) | September 2025 | 03 January 2025 | 03 January 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology (PhD) | May 2025 | 30 November 2024 | 31 October 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology (PhD) | July 2025 | 31 January 2025 | 28 February 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology (PhD) | September 2025 | 31 March 2025 | 28 February 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology (PhD) | January 2026 | 31 July 2025 | 30 June 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) | September 2025 | 15 January 2024 | 29 January 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) | January 2025 | 02 December 2024 | 02 September 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) | May 2025 | 14 April 2025 | 29 December 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) | September 2025 | 17 August 2025 | 27 April 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Oceans and Fisheries (PhD) | September 2025 | 15 January 2025 | 15 January 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD) | January 2026 | 15 June 2025 | 15 June 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD) | September 2025 | 15 January 2025 | 15 January 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD) | September 2026 | 15 January 2026 | 15 January 2026 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD) | September 2025 | 15 November 2024 | 15 November 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) | September 2025 | 01 December 2024 | 01 December 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) | September 2026 | 15 November 2025 | 15 November 2025 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Music, Emphasis Theory (PhD) | September 2025 | 01 December 2024 | 01 December 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Music, Emphasis Musicology (PhD) | September 2025 | 01 December 2024 | 01 December 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Music, Emphasis Ethnomusicology (PhD) | September 2025 | 01 December 2024 | 01 December 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Mining Engineering (PhD) | May 2025 | 15 January 2025 | 15 December 2024 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Mining Engineering (PhD) | September 2025 | 15 May 2025 | 30 April 2025 |
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Prepare Your Application
Apply Online
Once you have collected all your documents and are ready to apply, find out how to best move through the online application, what questions to expect, tips and tricks for your application and how to pay the application fee.
Next Steps
Prior to an admission decision
While you wait for your application to be evaluated, there are a few things to bear in mind.
- Check your online application portal for the status of your application, references, English language scores (if applicable), and any additional information or documentation requested by the program.
- References should be received and recorded in your online application portal by/before the References deadline.
- If a reference isn’t recorded as having arrived as the deadline draws near, please contact the Referee to ensure the following:
- That the Referee received the request (ask them to check junk filters)
- That the Referee actually clicked the Submit button. They may have uploaded the reference but overlooked the final submission step.
- If a reference isn’t recorded as having arrived as the deadline draws near, please contact the Referee to ensure the following:
- If you have multiple email addresses, ensure you’re checking the one you used in your application as you’ll be alerted to the program decision, or requests for additional information, by email.
Please be patient, and resist the temptation to ask the program about the status of your application. UBC receives approximately 20,000 applications to graduate school. Rest assured that your program is working hard to evaluate applications and make admissions decisions as efficiently as possible. Most admission decisions are made in February and March, but this is highly dependent on the program to which you have applied and therefore, offers and declines can also be expected before and after this peak.
After an admission decision
Successful Applicants
Congratulations! Please go to the newly admitted student checklist to see your next steps.
Unsuccessful applicants
Given that the number of applicants exceeds the number of positions available, a record that satisfies basic entrance requirements does not guarantee admission to graduate studies.