General RES Admissions Questions:
Students start their RES program every year in September. This helps ensure a cohort effect for each year’s admitted students and encourages cohesion and collaboration among the incoming group.
No, we do not offer January admission. We admit students for September program starts only.
All RES students are registered as full-time graduate students. We do not have a part-time studies option.
Yes. We do not require a degree from a specific program/field to apply to our program. As our program is interdisciplinary, we have students with backgrounds in diverse subjects - from Engineering, Chemistry and Biology to Anthropology, Film Studies and Law.
If you are interested in studying a real-world sustainability problem in an interdisciplinary way, this is the program for you.
- To apply for the RES Masters program, you must have completed a bachelor's degree (or equivalent) from an approved institution prior to starting the RES program.
- To apply for the RES Doctoral (PhD) program, you must have completed a thesis-based master's degree from an approved institution prior to starting the RES program.
For more information on the required RES application materials, please see the IRES How to Apply page.
For more information on UBC graduate program basic admissions requirements, please see:
- Minimum Academic Requirements: Canadian or US Credentials
- Minimum Academic Requirements: International Credentials
A student's particular background, selection of thesis topic, methods of research and the program electives all contribute to whether the MA or MSc should be pursued. Generally, if your background and research interests are more closely aligned with themes from the social sciences/humanities and qualitative research methods, you should apply for the MA program. Conversely, if your background and/or interests are largely quantitative and align more closely with fields such as Biology/Environmental Sciences/Engineering, you should apply for the MSc program.
Note: If deemed appropriate by your supervisor(s) and the RES Graduate Advisor, it is possible to transfer from one RES master's degree program to the other after your program has started (i.e., transfer from RES MA to the RES MSc program, or vice versa).
Yes. RES does not admit applicants to the PhD program unless they have completed a thesis-based master's degree from an approved institution prior to the RES PhD program start.
For further information on what degree requirements you need to apply to the RES program, please see these links:
- IRES How to Apply Page
- Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (G+PS) Minimum Academic Requirements: Canadian or U.S. Credentials
- G+PS Minimum Academic Requirements: International Credentials
Yes. All applicants should review the profiles of the IRES Core Faculty and Faculty Associates to identify potential research supervisors and contact them directly via email prior to the admissions process.
Having applicants reach out to faculty members is very helpful to both parties, as it can help determine if the two are an appropriate academic and working match. Applicants are encouraged to send concise emails to IRES faculty member(s) explaining who they are, describing their research interests or thesis proposal and how that aligns with the faculty member’s work. Lastly, do not be afraid to follow up with a faculty member if you do not hear back from them within a reasonable timeframe. They are very busy people and receive many emails; a gentle follow up is appreciated!
When you fill out the online RES admission application form, you will be asked to provide the names of three faculty members with whom you would like to work or have been in communication with. This will assist us in routing your application to the appropriate faculty member(s) for review.
Important: RES admissions decisions are made solely by the RES Admissions Committee. Being in communication with IRES faculty members is often helpful to an applicant’s file, but does not guarantee that applicant an offer of admission.
For information on our IRES Alumni, please see here.
Please see the IRES Research Themes to help you determine where your background might best fit within our program and who you are most interested in working with.
No. You can NOT make changes to your online application once it is submitted. This applies to the application itself as well as documents you have uploaded, so please make sure you upload the final version of your required documents before submitting your application. If you have issues uploading required documents to your application, please contact the IRES Graduate Program Office at admissions@ires.ubc.ca.
RES Requirements for Admission:
The RES program GPA requirements for admission are slightly higher than the minimum requirements set by UBC Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (G+PS).
The RES program requires a GPA weighted A- average, 3.7 GPA, or 80% minimum. For institutions using a different grading system, First-Class Honours status or the equivalent must be obtained.
Students with averages slightly below a first class standing may be considered, but you will need to provide an exceptional thesis proposal and exceptional letters of reference with your application to be competitive.
The academic requirements for students with Canadian or USA credentials
The academic requirements for students with International credentials
You will need to upload scanned copies of your official academic documents to the online application system. All documents must be uploaded as PDF files. One PDF file must include the front and back of every page of your official transcript or academic document. Unofficial transcripts or documents are not accepted.
Do not send any paper copies of your documents to RES during the application process.
If you are admitted to the RES program, we will then request that you submit your official paper documents to Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (G+PS) to be validated.
Specific requirements for students with Canadian Transcripts
No. Do not send any paper documents to RES during the application process. You are required to upload all your official academic documents to the online application system as .PDF files. We will use the uploaded documents to review your application file and make conditional admissions decisions.
If you are admitted to the RES program, you will then be required to submit hard (paper) copies of your official, academic records in official university envelopes, sealed and endorsed by the issuing institution directly to Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (G+PS).
Secure Electronic Transcripts are also accepted. The issuing institution sends a link to a secure site to Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (G+PS) at graduate.sas@ubc.ca. G+PS downloads the transcript from the secure site. *Important: an e-transcript is downloaded via a link to a secure site. It is NOT an email attachment of any kind, even if sent from an authority at the issuing institution.
If you are offered admission to RES: we will then require you to submit TWO paper copies of your official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions in signed, sealed envelopes from the issuing institution.
One official paper copy will need to be sent to G+PS:
Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies
University of British Columbia
6371 Crescent Rd
Vancouver, BC CANADA V6T 1Z2
The second official paper copy will need to be submitted to RES:
IRES Graduate Program Manager
430 – 2202 Main Mall
Vancouver, BC CANADA V6T 1Z4
The RES program requires three (3) letters of recommendation from academic sources. If one or more of your referees knows you in a professional context, this is also acceptable. All reference letters must be submitted via the online application system and there are instructions there for applicant and referee to follow.
Important: The online application system will only notify your referees to write their letters once your application is complete and has been submitted online. Therefore, it is very important that applicants complete and submit their applications online with enough time for your referees to be contacted, be able to comfortably write their letters of recommendation and for us to receive their letters before the RES admissions deadline. Applications with missing reference letters will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed.
The thesis proposal is a required – and very important - component of your online application to the RES program. Your thesis proposal should outline the issue(s) you wish to address in your academic work, the perceived relevance or importance of the issue(s), the objectives of the research and proposed methods.
The Thesis Proposal is limited to 2 pages single spaced, 12 point font, and 2.5cm margins. This page limit does not include references.
This is a sample of work you have done in a previous degree, or subsequently (i.e. in a professional context), written in English. Please select a work that best demonstrates your ability to write well in the English language. We are looking for evidence that you are able to write well at the graduate level in English. If the work you wish to submit is a co-authored piece, at the beginning of the writing sample please clearly indicate which components you wrote.
The writing sample should be no more than 15 pages in length; please edit/cut your document to meet this requirement.
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. For further information on these tests, see here.
For admission to the RES program, we require the following scores:
TOEFL
A minimum total score of 100 on the internet-based (iBT) TOEFL, with no TOEFL component less than 24 for entry into the RES program.
- A minimum score of 600 required for the paper-based TOEFL.
- Test scores must be official and directly from the testing agency; photocopies of TOEFL scores are not acceptable.
- A minimum score of 250 for the computer-based TOEFL
Please ensure that you include the following on your TOEFL sheet:
- The University of British Columbia's institution code 0965
- The reason for taking TOEFL: "to enter a college or university as a graduate student"
UBC accepts either an official paper score report sent directly to the university from the testing center or an electronic submission.
IELTS
We require a minimum overall score of 7, with no component less than 6.5 for entry into the RES program.
UBC requires an official score to be sent electronically from the test center. On the IELTS application form you will be asked to specify institutions where you would like the results being sent to. Use the following details:
- Name of institution: The University of British Columbia
- Name of person/department: Graduate School Admissions
- Address: 170-6371 Crescent Road, Vancouver BC V6T 1Z2, Canada
No, we do not require applicants to send us their GRE scores. However, if you have taken the GRE already and you feel the score will help your application, please include it in your application. *GRE scores may be sent electronically to UBC Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (G+PS) at graduate.apply@ubc.ca. The UBC institution code is 0965. The RES department code is 0110.
The GMAT is not required.
Financial & Funding Information
All full-time students who begin a UBC-Vancouver PhD program in September 2018 or later will be guaranteed a minimum funding package of $18,000 for each of the first four years of their PhD. This guaranteed minimum doctoral funding package may consist of any combination of internal or external awards, teaching-related work (TA), Research assistantships (RA), and Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA).
Additional funding opportunities for PhD applicants may come from UBC’s Four Year Doctoral Fellowship (4YF): an $18,200 stipend plus full tuition coverage per year, for four consecutive years. This funding package is often composed of a combination of scholarships, fellowships, Research Assistant (RA) positions and Teaching Assistant (TA) positions.
RES students have also been highly successful in receiving support from the most prestigious funding agencies. Many of our students are Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) or Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) recipients, and in recent years we have seen our students receive both Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships and the Trudeau Foundation Doctoral Scholarship, the most highly-regarded scholarships in Canada. You can review a detailed list of the most commonly applied to scholarships on our website.
In addition to external scholarships and funding options noted above, RES typically distributes one-time entrance awards to the majority of incoming students. The amount of these awards varies year to year, however over the last three years the awards have been in the range of $3000-$5000.
It is important for applicants to the RES program to confirm the details of any funding package that may be available to them prior to accepting an offer of admission to the program.
To see a detailed list of scholarships available to students in our program, click here.
Lastly, Canadians and Permanent Residents are eligible for government student loans and UBC bursaries. To learn more about these resources, click here.
No. There is no guarantee of funding for Master’s students in RES. That being said, many of our master’s students receive funding during their program and/or receive scholarships or awards.
RES typically distributes one-time entrance awards to the majority of incoming students. The amount of these awards varies year to year, however over the last three years the awards have been in the range of $3000-$5000. This amount is in addition to any funding you may receive from a faculty grant, external scholarship or award.
Funding for Master’s students can come in the form of a Research Assistant (RA) position with a faculty member, a Teaching Assistant (TA) position as well as from various scholarships and awards.
However, as there is no guarantee of funding for your program, it is important to have a discussion with a potential supervisor about what funding might be available to you prior to accepting any offer of admission to the program.
Lastly, Canadians and Permanent Residents are eligible for government student loans and UBC bursaries. To learn more about these resources, click here.
Not necessarily. Doctoral (PhD) students often have their tuition covered by their funding guarantee, however there is no guarantee of funding or tuition coverage for Master’s students.
It is therefore important to discuss funding with a potential supervisor prior to accepting any offer of admission to the RES program.
For information UBC Graduate Tuition and Fees, please see the Tuition & Fees tab on our website.
As we are a graduate program with no undergraduate courses in our department, we are not able to offer Teaching Assistant (TA) positions directly. However, some of our students have found TA positions in other departments such as Land and Food Systems, Geography and via the Environmental Sciences (ENVR) program.
Please visit our Awards, Funding and Fellowship opportunities page found here.
UBC Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (G+PS) also has a database of their awards opportunities, which is found here.
It is also recommended you look for funding opportunities from your home country, your previous work affiliations and/or from organizations related to your field of study.
We do not have tax expertise and cannot advise you on tax issues. However, below are some links that should help you determine your specific tax requirements.