Arts (arts, history of arts, performing arts, music), architecture and design

The D.M.A. program is designed for composers who have already reached a high level of proficiency and artistry in their fields and who may wish to teach at the university level. This program offers an opportunity to bring creative and performance achievement to a high level while enriching…

The D.M.A. program is designed for performers who have already reached a high level of proficiency and artistry in their fields and who may wish to teach at the university level. This program offers an opportunity to bring creative and performance achievement to a high level while enriching…

The DMA program is designed for performers who have already reached a high level of proficiency and artistry in their fields and who may wish to teach at the university level. This program offers an opportunity to bring creative and performance achievement to a high level while enriching individual…

The D.M.A. program is designed for performers who have already reached a high level of proficiency and artistry in their fields and who may wish to teach at the university level. This program offers an opportunity to bring creative and performance achievement to a high level while enriching…

Students in the PhD in Art History program are encouraged to situate art in its historical context, to analyze its impact on the world around us, and to develop theoretical frameworks that contribute to critical thinking and engage with debates in the field. The program involves coursework, two…

The program can accommodate interests in ethnomusicology’s wide range of geographic areas and intellectual issues. We strongly encourage performance, close interaction with related disciplines (anthropology, area studies, sociology, linguistics, etc.), as well as border crossing within music (…

The M.A. and Ph.D. programs in musicology at the UBC School of Music offer students advanced training leading to professional careers in teaching and scholarly research. Graduate students enjoy a program that balances sound historical methods with critical interpretation, and forges…

Theories of music describe ways that listeners, composers, and performers conceive of the elements of their art. Study of theory, then, informs all aspects of musical learning at UBC. Our faculty include internationally known researchers who contribute to theories of rhythm and meter, music…

The Ph.D. program offers students the opportunity to pursue theatre studies through coursework, comprehensive examination preparations and a doctoral dissertation project.  Students are expected to give primary attention to an area of expertise of their choice while training in the broader…

The Master of Advanced Studies in Architecture (MASA) is a post-professional research degree offered in a two-year curriculum. Students work in independent design or research-based studies in collaboration with faculty members engaged in certain research themes. This immersive program is for those…

The Master of Advanced Studies in Landscape Architecture (MASLA) is a post-professional research degree offered in a two-year curriculum. Students work in independent research-based studies in collaboration with faculty members engaged in certain research themes. This immersive program is for those…

The Master of Architecture (MArch) graduate degree program offers an accredited three-year curriculum. This professional course of study is highly demanding with a large proportion of the curriculum being required coursework. Design studios are integrated with courses in architecture history and…

The dual degree option is a four-year program to pursue the Master of Architecture and the Master of Landscape Architecture at the same time. The dual degree program harmonizes architectural design with ecological consciousness to create an inclusive understanding of built and natural environments.

Critical and Curatorial Studies (CCST) is an emerging field of scholarship and training that looks directly at the roles and responsibilities of curators and critics as mediators between objects, institutions, experiences, individuals and groups. While this involves investigating and negotiating a…

The MA in Art History is designed to instruct students in methods to research and present scholarly materials, while providing grounding in a broadly based and methodologically diverse art history. The program offers advanced study of art history in areas of Asian art, European and North American…

The program can accommodate interests in ethnomusicology’s wide range of geographic areas and intellectual issues. We strongly encourage performance, close interaction with related disciplines (anthropology, area studies, sociology, linguistics, etc.), as well as border crossing within music (…

The M.A. and Ph.D. programs in musicology at the UBC School of Music offer students advanced training leading to professional careers in teaching and scholarly research. Graduate students enjoy a program that balances sound historical methods with critical interpretation, and forges…

Theories of music describe ways that listeners, composers, and performers conceive of the elements of their art. Study of theory, then, informs all aspects of musical learning at UBC. Our faculty include internationally known researchers who contribute to theories of rhythm and meter, music…

The two-year M.A. program offers students the opportunity to pursue theatre studies through coursework and an M.A. thesis project.  Students are expected to give primary attention to an area of expertise of their choice while training in the broader theoretical, critical, and historical contexts of…

Creative Writers are at the heart of our cultural industries. Poets, novelists, screenwriters, playwrights, graphic novelists, magazine writers: they entertain, inform and inspire. For more than 50 years, UBC’s Creative Writing program has been producing writers who’ve shaped Canadian and…

We are Canada's oldest and most respected MFA Program in Creative Writing. Offering an unprecedented 11 genres for potential study, students work in a learner-centered, workshop-driven program which offers an exciting breadth of choices, award-winning faculty and a setting in one of the world…

Creative Writers are at the heart of our cultural industries. Poets, novelists, screenwriters, playwrights, graphic novelists, magazine writers: they entertain, inform and inspire. For more than 15 years, UBC's Creative Writing program has been educating writers through distance education in a…

Please note that the applications for the MFA in Film Production and Creative Writing are accepted on a biennial basis.  Applications for Fall 2026 will open in late September 2025. Film Production is a major component of Vancouver’s economy, as well as in cities across the globe. UBC has an over…

Please note that the applications for the MFA in Design/Production Lighting stream are pausing for one year and there will be no in-take into Fall 2026.   M.F.A. in Theatre in Design/Production The Master of Fine Arts in Theatre in Design and Production is an intensive program intended to prepare…

The MFA program is dedicated to helping students understand both the making and theorizing of art against the background of the diverse intellectual environment of a major university, and within the context of local and international art communities. The MFA degree is also the standard qualifying…

The Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) graduate degree program offers an accredited three-year curriculum. This professional course of study is highly demanding with a large proportion of the curriculum being required coursework. Design studios are integrated with courses in landscape history…

The term museum encompasses a broad range of organisations with a focus on learning in settings outside the traditional classroom.  Museums include cultural centres, science centres, historic sites, parks, planetaria, art museums and art galleries.  Contemporary museum education establishes museums…

The Master of Music (M.Mus.) degree in composition is offered to students who have achieved necessary levels of attainment and productivity at the undergraduate level, and who give reasonable promise of further significant accomplishment. This degree is often a final academic step for the musician…

The UBC School of Music offers excellent training for graduate assistant conductors with ample podium time in front of outstanding ensembles. Degrees are offered with emphases in Choral, Orchestral, or Wind conducting. The conducting program features private conducting study and significant podium…

The orchestral conducting program features private conducting study and significant podium time. Teaching Assistantships in conducting and ensembles provide vital experiential learning opportunities throughout the degree. Collaboration among conducting faculty and students in all emphases makes it…

This program is not accepting applications for the 2025 - 2026 academic year The M.Mus. with emphasis in wind conducting gives the aspiring professional wind conductor an unequaled opportunity to receive consistent, ample podium time with the UBC Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Concert Winds. Students…

The Master of Music (M.Mus.) degree in performance is offered to students who have achieved necessary levels of attainment and productivity at the undergraduate level, and who give reasonable promise of further significant accomplishment. This degree is often a final academic step for the musician…

The Master of Music (M.Mus.) degree in performance is offered to students who have achieved necessary levels of attainment and who show potential of further significant accomplishment. This degree is often a final academic step for the musician who wishes to enter the professional world, although…

The Master of Music in Historical Performance Practice offers students advanced training in early music, balancing theoretical study with rich opportunities in solo, chamber, and orchestral performance. Students in this program enjoy expert instruction in vocal and instrumental performance, and…

The Master of Music (M.Mus.) degree in Opera performance is offered to students who have achieved necessary levels of attainment and productivity at the undergraduate level, and who give reasonable promise of further significant accomplishment. This degree is often a final academic and performance…

The Master of Music (M.Mus.) degree in performance is offered to students who have achieved necessary levels of attainment and productivity at the undergraduate level, and who give reasonable promise of further significant accomplishment. This degree is often a final academic step for the musician…

The Master of Music (M.Mus.) degree in performance is offered to students who have achieved necessary levels of attainment and who show potential of further significant accomplishment. This degree is often a final academic step for the musician who wishes to enter the professional world, although…

The Master of Music (M.Mus.) degree in performance is offered to students who have achieved necessary levels of attainment at the undergraduate level who show potential for further significant accomplishment. This degree is often a final academic step for the musician who wishes to enter the…

The Master of Music (M.Mus.) degree in Voice performance is offered to students who have achieved necessary levels of attainment and productivity at the undergraduate level, and who give reasonable promise of further significant accomplishment. This degree is often a final academic performance step…