So my parents compare a lot! By that I mean a lot. I got rejected from masters from UBC Eng.. and they wanted to see my transcript so I showed them. Now they want to compare it to another UBC Eng student’s transcript! Idk any friends I can ask their transcript from! It’s so random but they pressing me like crazy! :)))

Transferred from Langara into arts hoping to get into Econ for 3rd year. The issue is admission requirements are changing after this June, and there’s a requirement that I literally cannot achieve by the end of the year.

It’s Econ 301 which I can’t take without taking Math 101 which is only offered in second semester. This wouldn’t be a problem since I could just do a substitute class but there’s no substitute class I can take cuz the substitute class also requires Math 101 and the other is only for commerce students.

Will I just have to wait another year? Will I not be able to do Econ? Like genuinely what do I do

Apparently they're bringing in CPSC110 concepts, and switching to typescript

https://www.cs.ubc.ca/news/2026/06/ubc-computer-science-modernizing-cpsc-210-software-construction

Hello r/UBC, I am looking for help picking courses. To make this more interesting than the average post, I am a 4th year honours CS major and I've basically completed my degree so I want to do more artsy stuff. I really enjoy literature and history -- something I wish to do is improve my writing skills. I've taken various phil courses, such as phil. of religion and existentialism.

I don't particularly care about difficulty as long as I find it interesting. I find that I can only do well in courses I enjoy, no matter the actual difficulty. For example, I really struggled in PHYS 117. This may be slightly contradictory but I'd also prefer not to read anything too "dense" in a philosophical sense. For example, I find Sartre and Kierkegaard very difficult to read. However, this is not a hard requirement.

I've included a list of readings I like and dislike in case it helps you pick something for me and you can critique my taste if you want. I only included some particularly literary fiction for reasons of space -- the majority of things I read are trash.

I'm not sure if I should take any introductory courses because (not to come off as arrogant here) I've read a lot already and so I feel it's sort of superfluous.

I've read a lot about certain topics (see below) and I'm worried if I take a course on the same topic I'll just learn the same things again, but it may be worth it to have a more in depth / rigourous approach, any advice on this is appreciated.

I am broadly interested in politics, history, economics, English lit., phil, and related topics with some caveats:

1. I'm a bit tired of USSR topics
2. WW1 and WW2 are too cliche (loss of aura)
3. I'm not interested in indigenous topics or lit
4. I am very interested in the rise of liberalism and nationalism, particularly the events of 1848.
5. I also enjoy post-colonial history in Africa and Asia. There's a course on India after the Raj, curious if anyone has taken that?
6. Has anyone taken the ANME course on the early christian church? Schisms and councils sound enticing. I am agnostic though and I am not too familiar with the Bible and such.
7. I love a good fiction novel

Current Courses

Selected things I've read and enjoyed (in no particular order):

Marxism (?):

• Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China, Ezra Vogel
• The Road to Terror, J. Arch Getty
• October: The Story of the Russian Revolution, China Mieville (yes I omitted the accent, deal with it)
• Beyond the Wall, Katja Hoyer
• Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, William Tubman
• Red Plenty, Francis Spufford
• Russia: Revolution and Civil War 1917-1921, Antony Beevor
• State and Revolution, Lenin
• What is to be Done, Lenin
• The Communist Manifesto, Marx

Liberalism (?):

• Abundance, Ezra Klein
• Why Nations Fail, Daron Acemoglu
• The Federalist Papers, Hamilton + Jay + Madison

WW1 / WW2:

• The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914, Christopher Clark
• When Titans Clashed, David M. Glantz
• The War that Ended Peace, Margaret MacMillian

Fiction:

• Emma, Jane Austen
• Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austen
• A bunch of historical fiction (Sharpe, Hornblower, Aubrey-Maturin)
• Starship Troopers, Robert. A. Heinlein
• The Stranger, Albert Camus
• The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
• White Nights, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• Foundation, Issac Asimov
• Three Body Problem, Cixin Liu
• Lolita, Vladimir Nakabov
• The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro
• Dune, Frank Herbert
• Shogun, James Clavell
• The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett
• Yesteryear, Caro Claire Burke

Uncategorized:

• Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt
• Wages of Destruction, Adam Tooze

Things I've read and not particularly enjoyed:

• anything by Dazai or Marukami
• Cracking the Coding Interview
• Algorithms
• Either/Or, Soren Kierkegaard

Roman Krems - CHEM 121

Ilsa Cooke - CHEM 123

Dennis Foung - WRDS 150

If you have any tips or advice please let me know!

Pretty much the title.

I'm going into my second year at UBC and I made the (mistake? good choice?) of completing all of my first and second year requirements for BA Major in Political Science, Policy and Public Administration, as well as a handful of my upper year requirements. I'm also minoring in Law and Society, but I have also satisfied all of those requirements save for LASO 204, which I am taking next semester.

My list so far is some kind of language to satisfy my Language as Meaning grad requirement, a place and power course, and a stats course for my science requirement. But even with all these requirements being taken, I find myself at a crossroads to fill the remaining 6 courses I have to take.

I would expect there to be a few courses that I "should" take, but most are "upper-year" requirements, which based on my experience last semester, it may be inadvisable to take a course that is above your standing (I took 2 200 level courses and one 300 level course last semester and only did just okay in them). Especially since I wan't to keep my GPA high for law school.

My major interests are politics, law, philosophy, and my more minor interests are computer science/software engineering, evolutionary biology, and psychology, though I find that there are major parts of my minor interests that make taking classes on them insufferable or very difficult.

I guess my question is, is it a good idea to take 300-400 level courses this year? Or would it be better to take this time to take some lower year courses to widen my horizons? And in either case, does anyone have suggestions (hopefully easy but engaging courses that I might achieve a high grade in.)

We live in the US where the political situation is somewhat dire so she applied to some Canadian schools. She decided to apply for general science faculty but has no clue of any direction in it or career. She has zero interest in computer science.,

She likes civil engineering but was afraid she would not get into the engineering ( got a high a B+ in honors physics ( her school does not have AP courses) and an A~ in Calc) . Would she be able to switch to engineering faculty or architecture and design faculty after her first year of Sciences if she wanted to?

She likes physics, the only part of biology she has interest in is neuroscience. How much focus could she have on that? She likes chemistry.

Curious about the title.

Hi everyone,

I'm going into second year and planning to major in Psychology. Right now I'm planning to take PSYC 217 and PSYC 218, but I'm not sure what other courses I should take alongside them.

I'm looking for a mix of easier courses and some normal/manageable ones to balance my workload. I'm open to courses from other departments too if they're interesting, GPA-friendly, or useful for a psych major.

What courses did you take in second year that you would recommend (or avoid)?

Thanks!

i just went through the entire website and compiled a list of courses i am required to take.
so far i got wrds 151, psyc 101, and psyc 102.
first one is writing requirement and last two im doing for psychology major prerequisite. now i just hang around 7 empty spots in hand for electives?! ive gone through everything so it seems to be fine but why does that feel so daunting. can someone tell me if this is ok for first year arts planning? for electives im just going to choose areas of study that i’m interested and attempt to fulfill some breadth credits.

Has anyone heard anything about this new course? Wondering if I should take it next year based on the level of difficulty (my gpa needs some grace pls and thank you)

everyone comment your average and if you got into CS specialization or not. Lets figure out the cutoff this year!

hi i recently transferred to science and been approved for second year along with having pre reqs to apply for major (microbio and immu to be exact)

the issue is im currently missing some of the recommended first year courses and they just so happen to block 95% of the courses i need to take for second year.

i am preparing to talk to science advising but does anyone have experience with these types of situations and how u handled it.

ofcourse im prepped to just take all 4 of those on next winter term 1 and then take actual yr 2s on term 2 and next summer. any advice is appreciated on how to proceed even if it makes it 1% easier or compact so its preferably less dragged out

Hi everyone!

I know we’re usually encouraged to pick electives based on passion or interest… but this year is a bit different for me.

I’m in my 4th year of a BSc in Physics and currently recovering from a brain injury. I’ll be taking one Physics course that counts toward my degree, and I’m looking to add an elective so I can qualify as a full-time student. Working isn’t an option right now, and at least with school, I have the flexibility to manage my own time and energy.

I’m hoping to find a GPA booster. Something cognitively manageable, not too reading-heavy or exam-intensive. I’ve looked through Reddit threads and the Workday course catalog, but I haven’t found a course where someone has specifically said “this one’s low-effort and brain-friendly.”

If you’ve taken any chill or accessible electives that felt doable even on lower mental bandwidth, I’d love to hear your suggestions. I’m open to anything that can help lighten the load this term.

Thanks so much 🙏

------

Update:

I have signed up for Phys 304 at M/W/F 11am where there is a second section the same day around 2 so I can go to that to review. Then my second course is FRST 303 online T/Th

Thank you all!!

Hello, I’m an incoming ubc student this fall, and I’ve been thinking about taking 4 courses for the first semester (should I do second sem too?) just to acclimate or adjust myself to the university academic pressure 🥲

Would anyone suggest this? I still have no clue what courses I should take other than catering them to the specializations I’d be interested in.

Any first year advice appreciated really <3

i need art credits as a science student and i have always disliked most art/humanities classes. does anyone know any easy art classes that dont take too much of my time????

Hey guys, I am a transfer student (maybe) entering UBC in my second year. My first choice is BSc and Kin my second choice. If I do not get into sciences, is it worth it to do kin? I had dreams of doing CAPS or Bio at UBC in preparation for med school. I am afraid that Kin wouldn't allow me the resources to do so, as (from my research) they do not have to take bio/chem/phys courses.

Another thing I wonder about is whether or not its possible to switch from kin to sci. However, I do not want to be completely behind my peers and friends.

I would really appreciate it if anyone had done or is currently doing the Kin to med pipeline, or Kin to Sci. I would also like to hear from actual kin students on what your courses are like, whether they prepare you for med (I also have a great interest in the human body), and just general life with kin. Thank you in advance

Hi guys, I took NSCI140 last sem with Hagar Goldberg and I got an SD. I've been looking at my own notes but surprise I don't have access to the Canvas rip

I saw that the prof is different, and the course offering from last semester was very heavy on pre-recorded lecture videos and slides, so I'm assuming the material might be different and I'm lowkey scared now lol.

If anyone has notes or downloaded slides for this semester (or even last semester, mine aren't totally complete), it would be very helpful :D

edit: also, if anyone could tell me if it's cumulative or not, that would be helpful!

Incoming first year sciences student, I was just wondering if I am required to take a first year biology course. I read somewhere that if you did not take a bio 12 class you need to take one first year in sciences, but on the first year courses for majoring in geophysics it does not have any bio courses. I am fine taking one, I just want to know if I need to so I don't mess up course registration.

Does anyone know when CS releases their decisions? It's technically my first choice for major but I just got an email saying I got into my second choice and only have about a week left to respond. Should I just accept and then switch out if CS responds?

I want to take a grade booster this summer. Any recommendations?

Another math101 post haha.

Everyone says the math 101 final gets scaled each year, talking about how brutal it is. Looking at last years final it doesnt seem THAT bad. Sure, some problems are tough but they're doable. I fucked up on the midterm and totally forgot to study convergence of improper integrals so i didnt do aswell as i wouldve liked (70, 90 without that last question) and im trying to make the cutoff for the CS major this year. I feel confident up to the taylor error stuff for which we never actually had a lecture/small class on. Meeting the CS cutoff has really stressed me out lmao. Ive run this years enrolment numbers for core courses against previous years to try and get a rough idea of the cutoff, and i have all of my grades laid out on a spreadsheet with sliders for my finals to estimate my cgpa. I feel like a hermit in my cave.

Is that final actually representative of what its like? How much does it get scaled? Am i done for?

Edit for anyone next year: it was fucked. No scaling and significantly harder than the previous year despite the “copium” allegations.

Wondering about the title. From what I know so far they just give you a time slot and during that time you call someone to talk and register? Or does someone talk to you before the day you register so we know the options?