About UBC courses
Most UBC undergraduate courses amount to 3 hours of class time per week. This does not include the number of hours you may spend on assignments, projects, tutorials, or lab work outside of lectures. Classes that are 3 hours long are referred to as 3-credit classes or 3-credit hours.
Generally, 100-level courses are first-year courses, 200-level courses are second-year courses, and so on. 500- and 600-level courses are considered graduate-level and are only available to undergraduates with the permission of the department and the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
Some courses require prerequisites which are courses you must complete before enrolling in a specific course or program.
Similarly, corequisites are courses you must enrol in at the same time as another course or program, or complete beforehand.
Course formats
At UBC, courses are offered in various formats. Before registering for a course, it is important to check your course to confirm how it is being delivered. Read about how courses are delivered at UBC.
Lectures
Most courses are offered as lectures, which are either 50 or 80 minutes each. For example, if your schedule says your class is from 10:00 to 11:00 am, the class will end at 10:50 am. This allows you enough time to get to your next class or lecture.
Tutorials
Tutorials are generally held weekly. They are commonly taken with lecture courses and provide an opportunity for smaller group discussions or learning. If a course has a tutorial section, you must register for the tutorial in addition to the lecture. In some cases, grades are given for attendance and active participation.
Labs
Many science, math, and engineering courses have a laboratory (lab) component. Labs involve practical projects done in small groups under the direction of a Teaching Assistant (TA). You must pass the lab to pass the course. If a course has a lab section, you must register for the lab in addition to the lecture.
Seminars and discussions
Seminar courses are smaller, less formal classes than lectures. They encourage discussions and sometimes involve presentations. Students are graded on presentations and participation.
Student evaluation
On the first day of class, your instructor will present a course outline or syllabus that you will follow throughout the term. It will outline important details on class readings, exams, assignments, due dates, and grading criteria.
In university, you are expected to take charge of your own learning and success. Be sure to contact your professor for the syllabus if you missed the first lecture. You will also be responsible for catching up on any course material you may miss during the term.
There are 3 main methods of student evaluation at UBC:
- Class participation
- Assignments
- Exams
Class participation
In many courses, you will be expected to discuss your opinions, ideas, and perspectives related to the coursework, readings, and assignments.
The goals of class participation are to develop academic skills such as critical thinking, connecting and creating ideas, and defending perspectives or arguments. Memorizing lecture notes and course material is important but often not sufficient to achieve the best results.
Assignments
Instructors may assign term papers, essays, problem sets, or other assignments like group projects, class presentations, or lab projects. Read your syllabus at the start of the term for assignment due dates and grading criteria, and consider adding your deadlines to a calendar to help you stay on track.
Exams
Many courses have 2 major exams: midterms and final exams. Your courses may have one midterm halfway through the course or several midterms throughout the term.
Exams will test your knowledge using varying formats, such as short or long answers, essay questions, true or false, and multiple choice.
Final exams
Final exams happen at the end of each term during exam periods in December and April. Review important term dates for the exam period.
Exam schedules are posted to your Workday account and are available in the Exam Schedule tool in mid-October (Term 1) and mid-February (Term 2).
You must be available to take your exams during the entire exam period. Do not plan trips until you know your exam schedule.
Exam clashes and hardships
When your exam schedule is released, check that you don’t have any exam clashes or hardships.
Missing an exam
If you need to miss an exam, or have missed an exam due to a legitimate reason, contact your academic advising office as soon as possible, and check if you’re eligible for an academic concession.
Instructors
Most undergraduate classes are taught by professors. Some courses will have Teaching Assistants (TAs). Be sure to speak to your instructor for any of the following situations:
- You cannot submit your assignment on time.
- You don’t understand a concept that was covered in class.
- You’re feeling overwhelmed by your course load due to circumstances outside of the course.
- You need more information about an essay, project, or other assignment.
Office hours
Most instructors hold office hours, which are dedicated times when you can drop by to discuss course material, assignments, questions, and other concerns. You can also schedule one-on-one appointments with your instructor. Consult your course syllabus for specific instructions.
Conduct
Student-faculty relationships may be different at university than they are in secondary school or in other countries:
- Relationships are informal and you may hear students call some instructors by their first name.
- Students may respectfully challenge and question their instructors in class or office hours.
- It’s considered inappropriate for instructors to date their students.
Academic integrity
In a nutshell, academic integrity means completing your academic work honestly. This can include doing and submitting your original work, acknowledging the contributions of others, such as through citations, and avoiding tools and services like artificial intelligence software unless permitted.
As a UBC student, you’re expected to uphold academic integrity throughout your degree. Learn more about the topic, resources and support available to you, and types of academic misconduct to avoid.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the act of submitting the intellectual property of another person as your own. It is one of the most serious of academic offences. Penalties for plagiarism may range from a failing grade in a course to suspension from UBC. Learn how to avoid plagiarism.
Plagiarism may include:
- Copying any part of another person’s work and presenting it as your own
- Purchasing a written paper from someone or a website and presenting it as your own
- Re-submitting your work from one course to fulfill a requirement in another course
- Generating work using AI and submitting it as your own
Citation
Intellectual property includes ideas, arguments, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or results of research. When you use excerpts from someone else’s work in your essay, paper, or presentation, you must acknowledge the original author in a footnote or another accepted manner of citation. The UBC Library can help you with proper citation. If you do not properly cite your work, it may be considered plagiarism.
University regulations
It is your responsibility to be aware of University regulations. Review the list of academic regulations that apply to every student at UBC.
Academic resources
UBC offers a variety of academic and learning resources to help you succeed in your studies.