Canadian Immigration Updates

Applicants to Master’s and Doctoral degrees are not affected by the recently announced cap on study permits. Review more details

Overview

The UBC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine offers a remarkable opportunity to study with numerous world renowned faculty and research programs. We are recognized as national and international leaders in both basic and clinical research. Experimental Pathology refers to research in any area of biomedical investigation that is relevant to human disease. Since it is necessary to understand the normal working of the system to fully define the changes associated with disease, the areas represented at UBC cover a wide range of fields and approaches. Work at all levels of biological organization is involved, from protein to lipoprotein biochemistry and molecular biology through cell and tumour biology, animal models for studies on pulmonary and cardiovascular pathophysiology and viral and bacterial infection processes, to clinical studies on human population and the AIDS epidemic.

We train students with varied backgrounds in science and medicine including: biochemistry, physiology, cell biology and microbiology/immunology.

We are committed to effective, cutting-edge, ethical research. The results of which will reach beyond the academic realm to effect positive change in the lives of our families, communities and, ultimately, our world.

 

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Program Enquiries

Still have questions after reviewing this page thoroughly?
Contact the program

Admission Information & Requirements

1) Check Eligibility

Minimum Academic Requirements

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants, usually a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC). The graduate program that you are applying to may have additional requirements. Please review the specific requirements for applicants with credentials from institutions in:

Each program may set higher academic minimum requirements. Please review the program website carefully to understand the program requirements. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as it is a competitive process.

English Language Test

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. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.

Minimum requirements for the two most common English language proficiency tests to apply to this program are listed below:

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based

Overall score requirement: 100

Reading

22

Writing

21

Speaking

21

Listening

22

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

Overall score requirement: 7.0

Reading

6.5

Writing

6.5

Speaking

6.5

Listening

6.5

Other Test Scores

Some programs require additional test scores such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Test (GMAT). The requirements for this program are:

The GRE is required by some applicants. Please check the program website.

2) Meet Deadlines

September 2024 Intake

Application Open Date
01 November 2023
Canadian Applicants
Application Deadline: 16 August 2024
Transcript Deadline: 25 August 2024
Referee Deadline: 25 August 2024
International Applicants
Application Deadline: 26 April 2024
Transcript Deadline: 05 May 2024
Referee Deadline: 05 May 2024

January 2025 Intake

Application Open Date
01 May 2024
Canadian Applicants
Application Deadline: 02 December 2024
Transcript Deadline: 09 December 2024
Referee Deadline: 09 December 2024
International Applicants
Application Deadline: 02 September 2024
Transcript Deadline: 09 September 2024
Referee Deadline: 09 September 2024

3) Prepare Application

Transcripts

All applicants have to submit transcripts from all past post-secondary study. Document submission requirements depend on whether your institution of study is within Canada or outside of Canada.

Letters of Reference

A minimum of three references are required for application to graduate programs at UBC. References should be requested from individuals who are prepared to provide a report on your academic ability and qualifications.

Statement of Interest

Many programs require a statement of interest, sometimes called a "statement of intent", "description of research interests" or something similar.

Supervision

Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD)
All applicants need firm commitment from a supervisor prior to applying.

Citizenship Verification

Permanent Residents of Canada must provide a clear photocopy of both sides of the Permanent Resident card.

4) Apply Online

All applicants must complete an online application form and pay the application fee to be considered for admission to UBC.

Tuition & Financial Support

Tuition

FeesCanadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / DiplomatInternational
Application Fee$114.00$168.25
Tuition *
Installments per year33
Tuition per installment$1,838.57$3,230.06
Tuition per year
(plus annual increase, usually 2%-5%)
$5,515.71$9,690.18
Int. Tuition Award (ITA) per year (if eligible) $3,200.00 (-)
Other Fees and Costs
Student Fees (yearly)$1,116.60 (approx.)
Costs of livingEstimate your costs of living with our interactive tool in order to start developing a financial plan for your graduate studies.
* Regular, full-time tuition. For on-leave, extension, continuing or part time (if applicable) fees see UBC Calendar.
All fees for the year are subject to adjustment and UBC reserves the right to change any fees without notice at any time, including tuition and student fees. Tuition fees are reviewed annually by the UBC Board of Governors. In recent years, tuition increases have been 2% for continuing domestic students and between 2% and 5% for continuing international students. New students may see higher increases in tuition. Admitted students who defer their admission are subject to the potentially higher tuition fees for incoming students effective at the later program start date. In case of a discrepancy between this webpage and the UBC Calendar, the UBC Calendar entry will be held to be correct.

Financial Support

Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.

Program Funding Packages

All full-time students who begin a UBC-Vancouver PhD program in January 2023 or later will be provided with a funding package of at least $26,000 for each of the first five years of their PhD. The funding package may consist of any combination of internal or external awards, teaching-related work, research assistantships, and graduate academic assistantships. In addition, the Program provides tuition funding of $2,000.00 per year for each of the first five years of the PhD. Please note that some graduate programs provide funding packages that are greater than $26,000 total per year. Please check with your prospective graduate program for specific details of the funding provided to its PhD students.

Average Funding
Based on the criteria outlined below, 26 students within this program were included in this study because they received funding through UBC in the form of teaching, research, academic assistantships or internal or external awards averaging $40,855.
  • 11 students received Teaching Assistantships. Average TA funding based on 11 students was $9,290.
  • 21 students received Research Assistantships. Average RA funding based on 21 students was $18,838.
  • 8 students received Academic Assistantships. Average AA funding based on 8 students was $1,575.
  • 26 students received internal awards. Average internal award funding based on 26 students was $8,577.
  • 13 students received external awards. Average external award funding based on 13 students was $25,295.

Study Period: Sep 2022 to Aug 2023 - average funding for full-time PhD students enrolled in three terms per academic year in this program across years 1-4, the period covered by UBC's Minimum Funding Guarantee. Averages might mask variability in sources and amounts of funding received by individual students. Beyond year 4, funding packages become even more individualized.
Review methodology
Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

All applicants are encouraged to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund their graduate education. The database lists merit-based scholarships and awards and allows for filtering by various criteria, such as domestic vs. international or degree level.

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)

Many professors are able to provide Research Assistantships (GRA) from their research grants to support full-time graduate students studying under their supervision. The duties constitute part of the student's graduate degree requirements. A Graduate Research Assistantship is considered a form of fellowship for a period of graduate study and is therefore not covered by a collective agreement. Stipends vary widely, and are dependent on the field of study and the type of research grant from which the assistantship is being funded.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate programs may have Teaching Assistantships available for registered full-time graduate students. Full teaching assistantships involve 12 hours work per week in preparation, lecturing, or laboratory instruction although many graduate programs offer partial TA appointments at less than 12 hours per week. Teaching assistantship rates are set by collective bargaining between the University and the Teaching Assistants' Union.

Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)

Academic Assistantships are employment opportunities to perform work that is relevant to the university or to an individual faculty member, but not to support the student’s graduate research and thesis. Wages are considered regular earnings and when paid monthly, include vacation pay.

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Canadian and US applicants may qualify for governmental loans to finance their studies. Please review eligibility and types of loans.

All students may be able to access private sector or bank loans.

Foreign government scholarships

Many foreign governments provide support to their citizens in pursuing education abroad. International applicants should check the various governmental resources in their home country, such as the Department of Education, for available scholarships.

Working while studying

The possibility to pursue work to supplement income may depend on the demands the program has on students. It should be carefully weighed if work leads to prolonged program durations or whether work placements can be meaningfully embedded into a program.

International students enrolled as full-time students with a valid study permit can work on campus for unlimited hours and work off-campus for no more than 20 hours a week.

A good starting point to explore student jobs is the UBC Work Learn program or a Co-Op placement.

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Students with taxable income in Canada may be able to claim federal or provincial tax credits.

Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) which allows students to withdraw amounts from their registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to finance full-time training or education for themselves or their partner.

Please review Filing taxes in Canada on the student services website for more information.

Cost Estimator

Applicants have access to the cost estimator to develop a financial plan that takes into account various income sources and expenses.

Career Outcomes

85 students graduated between 2005 and 2013: 1 graduate is seeking employment; for 8 we have no data (based on research conducted between Feb-May 2016). For the remaining 76 graduates:


RI (Research-Intensive) Faculty: typically tenure-track faculty positions (equivalent of the North American Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor positions) in PhD-granting institutions
TI (Teaching-Intensive) Faculty: typically full-time faculty positions in colleges or in institutions not granting PhDs, and teaching faculty at PhD-granting institutions
Term Faculty: faculty in term appointments (e.g. sessional lecturers, visiting assistant professors, etc.)
Sample Employers in Higher Education
University of British Columbia (15)
McGill University (2)
University of Oslo
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Langara College
Queensland Medical Research Institute
University Hospital of Geneva
Gulbenkian Institute of Science
University of North Dakota
Harvard University
Sample Employers Outside Higher Education
STEMCELL Technologies (2)
BC Centre for Disease Control (2)
NO
Dorsey & Whitney
Network Immunology Inc.
PROOF Centre of Excellence
Panagin Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Tekmire Pharmaceutical Corporation
Therapeutic Effectiveness and Policy Bureau
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Sample Job Titles Outside Higher Education
Scientist (5)
Senior Scientist (3)
Postdoctoral Fellow (2)
Medical Science Liaison (2)
Research Scientist (2)
Research Associate (2)
Research Specialist
Science Director
Researcher, Pathologist
Biomarker Program Manager
PhD Career Outcome Survey
You may view the full report on career outcomes of UBC PhD graduates on outcomes.grad.ubc.ca.
Disclaimer
These data represent historical employment information and do not guarantee future employment prospects for graduates of this program. They are for informational purposes only. Data were collected through either alumni surveys or internet research.
Career Options

An Experimental Pathology degree opens up a world of opportunities. Because of the multidisciplinary nature of our program, graduates are working on research all over the world that is personalized to their interests. Our alumni have gone on to become national and international opinion leaders, valued staff researchers and administrators in academia or the biotechnology industry, studied clinical medicine or dived into the venture capital and equities domain.

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

These statistics show data for the Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD). Data are separated for each degree program combination. You may view data for other degree options in the respective program profile.

ENROLMENT DATA

 20222021202020192018
Applications99255
Offers22120
New Registrations22120
Total Enrolment3433333534

Completion Rates & Times

This program has a graduation rate of 91% based on 38 students admitted between 2010 - 2013. Based on 9 graduations between 2019 - 2022 the minimum time to completion is 4.44 years and the maximum time is 7.19 years with an average of 5.62 years of study. All calculations exclude leave times.
Disclaimer
Admissions data refer to all UBC Vancouver applications, offers, new registrants for each registration year, May to April, e.g. data for 2022 refers to programs starting in 2022 Summer and 2022 Winter session, i.e. May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023. Data on total enrolment reflects enrolment in Winter Session Term 1 and are based on snapshots taken on November 1 of each registration year. Program completion data are only provided for datasets comprised of more than 4 individuals. Graduation rates exclude students who transfer out of their programs. Rates and times of completion depend on a number of variables (e.g. curriculum requirements, student funding), some of which may have changed in recent years for some programs.

Upcoming Doctoral Exams

Wednesday, 10 April 2024 - 11:00am - G221, Koerner Pavillion, 2211 Wesbrook Mall

Marie-Soleil Smith
Cellular and Mitochondrial Toxicity of Integrase Strand Transfer Inhibitors in Human Embryonic Stem Cell Models

Friday, 19 April 2024 - 12:00pm - 1410, Life Sciences Institute, 2350 Health Sciences Mall

Emel Islamzada
Deformability Based Cell Sorting Enabling Quality Control of Donated Red Blood Cells

Research Supervisors

Supervision

Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD)
All applicants need firm commitment from a supervisor prior to applying.
 
Advice and insights from UBC Faculty on reaching out to supervisors

These videos contain some general advice from faculty across UBC on finding and reaching out to a supervisor. They are not program specific.

 

This list shows faculty members with full supervisory privileges who are affiliated with this program. It is not a comprehensive list of all potential supervisors as faculty from other programs or faculty members without full supervisory privileges can request approvals to supervise graduate students in this program.

  • Allard, Michael (Control of energy metabolism in normal and pathologic hearts; Physiologic and Pathologic Cardiac hypertrophy; Contribution of Metabolism to myocardial dysfunction after ischemia and reperfusion, especially in the setting of cardiac hypertrophy; Cardiovascular Pathology)
  • Aparicio, Samuel (Breast cancer, genome sequencing )
  • Bally, Marcel Bertran (Pancreas centre)
  • Bennewith, Kevin (Oncology; Molecular Pathology & Cell Biology; Cancer research; Solid tumour microenvironment; Hypoxia; Metastasis research; Pre-metastatic niche; Targeting hypoxic tumour cells in therapy; Radiation biology)
  • Churg, Andrew (Lung disease)
  • Cote, Helene (HIV Infection, blood research, infectious diseases)
  • Daugaard, Mads (Cancer progression and metastasis; Mechanisms of carcinogenesis; Cancer Diagnosis and Detection; Cancer biology; Cancer diagnostics; Cancer therapy; Cell Signaling and Cancer; Cell Therapy of Cancer; Chemotherapy; DNA damage response pathways; glycobiology; Immunotherapy; Radiotherapy; Cell stress and Cancer; Cell stress signalling in cancer)
  • Devlin, Angela (Human nutrition and dietetics; Human reproduction and development sciences; Pathology (except oral pathology); cardiovascular disease; Children; developmental programming; Diabetes; Obesity)
  • Granville, David (Autoimmunity; Medical molecular engineering of nucleic acids and proteins; Proteases; Granzymes; Extracellular matrix; Chronic inflammation; Aging; Disease models; Autoimmune disease; Skin; Vascular biology)
  • Huntsman, David (hereditary cancer, molecular pathology, cancer biomarkers, Pancreas centre)
  • Karsan, Aly (Hematological tumours; Cancer molecular targets; Leukemia; Hematopoiesis; Genomics and epigenomics; Noncoding RNAs; Aging)
  • Kizhakkedathu, Jayachandran (Medical and biomedical engineering; Pathology (except oral pathology); Biomaterials; Blood Coagulation; Cell-surface Engineering; Implants and Medical Devices; Iron Chelators; Macromolecular Therapeutics; Polymers; Proteomics Tools; Thrombosis)
  • Klein Geltink, Ramon (Pathology (except oral pathology); Metabolism; Immunotherapy; Cell Signaling and Infectious and Immune Diseases; Auto-Immune Diseases; Cell Therapy of Cancer; Adoptive cellular therapy; Immunometabolism; T cell function)
  • Krajden, Mel (Infectious diseases, cancer hepatitis prevention and care, human papillomavirus HPV, HIV and hepatitis C virus)
  • Krystal, Gerald (Blood research, immunology, inflammation, effect of diet on cancer )
  • Lam, Wan (Cancer progression; Genome biology; Epigenetics; Molecular Systems Biology; Lung Cancer; Technology Development)
  • Lan, James (Kidneys and Urinary System; Histocompatibility; Immunogenetics)
  • Laule, Cornelia (Medical physics; Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Pathology (except oral pathology); Auto-Immune Diseases; Axons; brain; Central Nervous System Inflammatory Diseases; Cerebral Atrophy; Histology; image analysis; Imaging; Inflammation; magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic resonance spectroscopy; multiple sclerosis; myelin; Nervous System Development; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neurological diseases; Neuronal Systems; pain; Pathology; Schizophrenia; Spinal Cord Diseases; spinal cord; Spinal cord injury)
  • Lockwood, William (Cancer progression and metastasis; Cancer drug development and therapeutics; Mechanisms of carcinogenesis; Cancer; drug discovery; Genetics; genomics; Immune response; Lung cancer; Oncogene signaling; Proteomics; Mouse models)
  • Luo, Honglin (Basic medicine and life sciences; Viral Infections; Cardiomyopathy; Innate immunity; Central Nervous System Inflammatory Diseases; Enteroviral infection and neurodegeneration; Oncolytic virus; Protein quality control in cardiac remodeling; RNA viruses)
  • Mackenzie, Ian (Alzheimer's Disease)
  • Nielsen, Torsten (Clinical oncology; Pathology (except oral pathology); Biomarker development; Breast Cancer; Cancer Diagnosis and Detection; Cancer of the Musculoskeletal System; Clinical trials; Epigenomics; Experimental Therapeutics; Immuno-oncology; Tissue-based diagnostic technologies; Translational research; Genetically engineered mouse models)
  • Park, Yongjin (Other basic medicine and life sciences; High dimensional data analysis; Biostatistical methods; Bioinformatics; single-cell genomics; Computational Biology; Causal inference; Bayesian machine learning)

Pages

Open Research Positions

This list of possible research projects is non-exhaustive. It only shows positions that are specifically advertised in the G+PS website.

Doctoral Citations

A doctoral citation summarizes the nature of the independent research, provides a high-level overview of the study, states the significance of the work and says who will benefit from the findings in clear, non-specialized language, so that members of a lay audience will understand it.
Year Citation
2023 Dr. Moon developed enzyme-mediated cell surface engineering techniques that modify both major blood antigen A and minor blood antigen RhD to generate universal donor red blood cells.
2023 Millions of undiscovered viruses circulate in wildlife and many of them threaten to spillover into humans and livestock, causing outbreaks and pandemics. Dr. Kuchinski developed new genome sequencing techniques for discovering these threats and monitoring their spread. These tools will help protect our health and livelihoods from these viruses.
2023 Dr. Forgrave conducted biomarker discovery and verification efforts for frontotemporal dementia with TDP-43 pathology. She revealed the need for improved classification and improved biomarkers for diagnosis are needed. Moreover, She identified disease-specific TDP-43 proteoforms and potential biomarkers for TDP-43 pathology.
2023 Dr. Nierves explored the application of mass spectrometry in the interrogation of pediatric leukemia cells and microenvironment. His study assists in the characterization of leukemic cells and the pursuit of better therapeutic options for children with cancer.
2023 Dr. Cederberg interrogated the role of myeloid cells in the tumour microenvironment. Her dissertation work enhances our understanding of the interplay between innate and adaptive immune cells in solid tumours and identifies novel intervention points for the treatment of primary and metastatic disease.
2023 Dr. Vappala developed cationic polymeric agents that are safe and effective in treating sepsis. They reduce thrombosis and hyperinflammation in sepsis by targeting polyanionic mediators.
2022 Dr. Mo investigated the mechanisms of leukemogenesis in AML driven by genetic mutations. The research identified a novel genetic driver of AML, FBXO11, as well as a new link between two cellular systems, the ubiquitin pathway and mitochondrial function.
2022 Dr. Zhao explored storing platelets in the cold versus at room temperature. He showed that cold-stored platelets are more effective at stopping bleeds and have preserved metabolomic parameters than the currently in-use room-temperature stored platelets. His work contributes to and accelerated the clinical investigation of cold-stored platelets in cardiothoracic patients.
2022 Viral myocarditis is the leading cause of sudden death in young children and youth. Dr. Zhao's study shed light on the mechanisms underlying how coxsackievirus induces viral myocarditis by both direct cardiac injury and perturbation of innate immune response, and thus provided potential therapeutic strategies against virus-induced heart diseases.
2022 Dr. Decotret investigated various ways cancer cells spread throughout the body. She found a novel role for a widely expressed molecule called PTP alpha in breast cancer cell invasion and developed an advanced method for tracking the invasion of brain cancer cells into surrounding brain tissue.

Pages

Further Information

Experimental Pathology refers to research in any area of biomedical investigation that is relevant to human disease. Since it is necessary to understand the normal working of the system to fully define the changes associated with disease, the areas represented at UBC cover a wide range of fields and approaches. Work at all levels of biological organization is involved, from protein to lipoprotein biochemistry and molecular biology through cell and tumour biology, animal models for studies on pulmonary and cardiovascular pathophysiology and viral and bacterial infection processes, to clinical studies on human population and the AIDS epidemic.

Faculty Overview

Program Identifier

VGDPHD-TH
 

Apply Now

If you don't have a UBC Campus-Wide Login (CWL) please create an account first.
 

September 2024 Intake

Application Open Date
01 November 2023
Canadian Applicant Deadline
16 August 2024
International Applicant Deadline
26 April 2024

January 2025 Intake

Application Open Date
01 May 2024
Canadian Applicant Deadline
02 December 2024
International Applicant Deadline
02 September 2024
 
Supervisor Search
 

Departments/Programs may update graduate degree program details through the Faculty & Staff portal. To update contact details for application inquiries, please use this form.

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