Photo: Martin Dee
Applicants to Master’s and Doctoral degrees are not affected by the recently announced cap on study permits. Review more details
Arts has more than 25 academic departments, institutes, and schools as well as professional programs, more than 15 interdisciplinary programs, a gallery, a museum, theatres, concert venues, and a performing arts centre. Truly unique in its scope, the Faculty of Arts is a dynamic and thriving community of outstanding scholars – both faculty and students.
Here, our students explore cutting-edge ideas that deepen our understanding of humanity in an age of scientific and technological discovery. Whether Arts scholars work with local communities, or tackle issues such as climate change, world music, or international development, their research has a deep impact on the local and international stage.
The disciplinary and multi-disciplinary approaches in our classrooms, labs, and cultural venues inspire students to apply their knowledge both to and beyond their specialization. Using innovation and collaborative learning, our graduate students create rich pathways to knowledge and real connections to global thought leaders.
UBC Library has extensive collections, especially in Arts, and houses Canada’s greatest Asian language library. Arts graduate programs enjoy the use of state-of-the-art laboratories, the world-renowned Museum of Anthropology and the Belkin Contemporary Art Gallery (admission is free for our graduate students). World-class performance spaces include theatres, concert venues and a performing arts centre.
Since 2001, the Belkin Art Gallery has trained young curators at the graduate level in the Critical and Curatorial Studies program in the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory. The Master of Arts program addresses the growing need for curators and critics who have theoretical knowledge and practical experience in analyzing institutions, preparing displays and communicating about contemporary art.
The MOA Centre for Cultural Research (CCR) undertakes research on world arts and cultures, and supports research activities and collaborative partnerships through a number of spaces, including research rooms for collections-based research, an Ethnology Lab, a Conservation Lab, an Oral History and Language Lab supporting audio recording and digitization, a library, an archive, and a Community Lounge for groups engaged in research activities. The CCR includes virtual services supporting collections-based research through the MOA CAT Collections Online site that provides access to the Museum’s collection of approximately 40,000 objects and 80,000 object images, and the Reciprocal Research Network (RRN) that brings together 430,000 object records and associated images from 19 institutions.
The Faculty of Arts at UBC is internationally renowned for research in the social sciences, humanities, professional schools, and creative and performing arts.
As a research-intensive faculty, Arts is a leader in the creation and advancement of knowledge and understanding. Scholars in the Faculty of Arts form cross-disciplinary partnerships, engage in knowledge exchange, and apply their research locally and globally.
Arts faculty members have won Guggenheim Fellowships, Humboldt Fellowships, and major disciplinary awards. We have had 81 faculty members elected to the Royal Society of Canada, and several others win Killam Prizes, Killam Research Fellowships, Emmy Awards, and Order of Canada awards. In addition, Arts faculty members have won countless book prizes, national disciplinary awards, and international disciplinary awards.
External funding also signifies the research success of our faculty. In the 2020-2021 fiscal year, the Faculty of Arts received $34.6 million through over 900 research projects. Of seven UBC SSHRC Partnership Grants awarded to-date, six are located in Arts, with a combined investment of $15 million over the term of the grants.
Since the 2011 introduction of the SSHRC Insight Grants and SSHRC Insight Development Grants programs, our faculty’s success rate has remained highly stable, and is consistently higher than the national success rate.
This is an incomplete sample of recent publications in chronological order by UBC faculty members with a primary appointment in the Faculty of Arts.
| Year | Citation | Program |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Dr. Reid showed how glaciation, landslides, and forestry practices impact mountain stream channels and salmon habitat through time and across space. This study helps watershed managers predict effects of land cover changes and water widthdrawals on sensitive fish habitat. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Sommerville researched recent agricultural investment ventures pairing marginalized communities with wealthy investors in Canada and South Africa. She found that the schemes allow investors to benefit from land claims and land reform programs, compromising the benefits offered by such programs to First Nations and black African communities. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Jansen's research analyzed technological features of preservation systems that support the authenticity of digital records. From his findings, he produced a model that can be used by memory institutions to evaluate their digital archives' ability to assess, document and maintain the authenticity of digital records over the long-term. | Doctor of Philosophy in Library, Archival and Information Studies (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Simard-Duplain examined how divorce influences the labour supply of married women, from the time of marriage to the period following dissolution. She found that divorce impacts women by exacerbating vulnerabilities that already existed during marriage. This research informs how public policy can support people through marital transitions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Tocco examined the role of the individual and the state in Latin American detective stories. His research contrasts these narratives with classic detective stories written in North America and the United Kingdom, offering new ways of reading them. Researchers and the general public interested in detective stories will benefit from his findings. | Doctor of Philosophy in Hispanic Studies (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Gainey developed a method for using the harmonic series as an analytical referent to explain the overlapping roles of timbre and harmony in spectral music, and how these roles reflect deeply ingrained features of our auditory cognition. | Doctor of Philosophy in Music, Emphasis Theory (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Asgarova explored the experiences of mothers who received a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome for their baby and decided to continue their pregnancy. This research study assists us in understanding the social, informational and emotional needs of these mothers, and provides insight as to how their experience could be improved. | Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work (PhD) |
| 2019 | Doctor Kornreich Studied why non-democratic regimes promote political participation. He found that policymaking processes can be comparatively open and inclusive in cases of an elite conflict. He also discovered that non-democratic regimes accommodate the demands of frontline bureaucrats because they want to ensure smooth policy implementation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Jia studied social resilience in children with ADHD. She found that having good relationships with parents and teachers contributed to adaptive social functioning in this population. Her research provides new potential targets for interventions aimed at helping children make friends and get along with peers. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Whyte examined the historical origins and political geographies of American psychological warfare. His work has challenged convention and increased our understanding of communication and warfare. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD) |