The International Relations program is offered at the undergraduate level as a major or minor in the Bachelor of Arts. Students who wish to study International Relations at UBC at the graduate level can do this as part of their program within an established department (e.g., the departments of History or Political Science).
Students who want to go on to graduate work in International Relations after completing their Bachelor of Arts are advised to consider the special Honours programs in History (with International Relations) and in Political Science (with International Relations) or to make sure they have at least 24 credits of 300- and 400-level courses in one of the core disciplines (economics, history, political science).
Admission to the Major requires that a student has completed at least 54 credits applicable to the Bachelor of Arts.
Admission is not automatic. Space is limited and meeting the minimum admission average does not guarantee entry into the Major.
Depending upon the number of applicants in a given year, a minimum average of 76% is needed for consideration. However, due to increased demand, in recent years the entrance average has been as high as 80%, and may be higher if demand increases.
Admission is based on the average grade obtained for all post-secondary coursework attempted, with the exception of 12 credits which may be excluded from the calculation. All courses taken in International Relations and any course taken toward the Arts writing component cannot be excluded from the average calculation.
To be eligible to apply to the IR program students need to have completed one of the following IR lower division requirements:
It is strongly recommended that students complete all of these courses before applying to the program. Students may complete their language requirements in their third or fourth year. Arts One students can only count their English credits toward the IR program. They will, therefore, need to fulfill all of the lower division requirements.
Application forms will be available after February 1 online.
Completed online applications are due by May 15 prior to registration for third year.
Applicants will be notified by June 15 whether they have been accepted, rejected, or put on a waiting list.
Students are recommended to complete the following during their first 60 credits.
While it is advisable to complete all of these requirements prior to the third year, it is permissible to complete some of them in the third year.
1Arts One does not satisfy this requirement.
A minimum of 33 credits in International Relations. These 33 credits must include the following:
1The prerequisite for this course is ECON 101 and 102, or ECON 310 and 311.
2A list of designated seminars for the following year will be available from the International Relations Program Office in the spring. These seminars are not available to third-year students. Students should only take one IR Seminar unless they have received approval from the program to do otherwise.
For the purposes of the International Relations Major, no course can be double-counted, i.e., used to satisfy two requirements (e.g., if POLI 360 is used to satisfy the political science requirement [see above], it cannot be counted as part of these 18 credits).
A Minor consists of at least 30 credits, but not more than 42 credits, selected from the courses listed as part of the International Relations Major, of which at least 18 must be numbered 300 or above. At least 12 credits of the following must be included among the courses taken: ECON 101 and 102 (or ECON 310 and 311), HIST 102 or 103, and POLI 260.
In accordance with the Faculty of Arts restrictions, no more than 6 upper level credits may be double counted between a student's major and the IR minor. Students are also required to take at least 6 credits in one language other than English, in addition to the Faculty of Arts language requirement. The language can be the one used to satisfy the Faculty of Arts requirement carried to a higher level, or it can be an additional language. Students undertaking a Minor in International Relations do not need to submit an application or secure permission to do so. Language courses do not count toward the required 30 to 42 credits in International Relations.
The International Relations program does not offer an honours program. However, students wishing to do an Honours degree in International Relations can do so in conjunction with the Honours programs of the Departments of History or Political Science. Students must apply directly to one of these departments for admission into the Honours program during their second year.
Students may not count more than 60 credits of International Relations courses (i.e., required courses and those on Lists A, B, and C [see above]) toward the Bachelor of Arts. (Language courses do not count as part of these 60 credits.)