UBC has a ton of majors to choose from across faculties. A list of these can be found on the Student Service Centre (SSC) under the “Registration” tab labelled “List of Specializations.” Here, the majors are sorted under degree programs; note that minors are listed here as well, so be careful not to get them mixed up. Some programs can be taken as a major or a minor, but some are only minors.

When going through the possible majors, narrow down your options by asking yourself questions such as: what subjects did I enjoy in high school, what fields do I find interesting, what are the career prospects, will this major be fulfilling for me, does this major fit my future goals? and so on. You can also make a pros and cons list for each major to help decide. Try narrowing down to two to three options as it’s good to have backups.

Finding out the requirements

Once you’ve narrowed down your options, your next step is to find out each major’s requirements — meaning the courses and the GPA you’ll need to get into the major.

These requirements can be found on calendar.ubc.ca. You can get to your specified major by searching up “UBC Calendar (insert major here)” on a search engine, or going on the UBC Calendar site and then going to the sidebar to find your faculty, degree program, then major.

On this page you’ll find the requirements for your major. You can also find other info like whether admissions are competitive and other options within the major such as combined majors or honours (if you’re interested in these, note that there may be supplementary requirements).

You can also find additional info on your major’s dedicated department website or faculty website.

Applying on time

Once you’ve found out the requirements, you can work towards fulfilling them. The next step is applying on time. You can find due dates on your department or faculty’s site. This process can range from simply declaring your major on the SSC, to applying on the department site, to applying through your faculty itself.

If things don't go as planned

If you unfortunately don’t get into any of your major options, it’s a good idea to talk to a faculty advisor about what options you have. This can range from exploring more courses and perhaps finding a different major you can apply to, or trying to transfer to the major you want in an upper year. Overall, don’t be too hard on yourself — things don’t always go as planned and that’s fine!