The University of British Columbia, Vancouver

Location

UBC's main campus in Point Grey, twenty minutes from downtown Vancouver, is spread across 993 acres accommodating 85% of the students of UBC. It has the view of several beaches and the North Shore Mountains. It has two satellite campuses and many affiliate colleges. UBC also has another campus in downtown Vancouver. At Point Grey Campus, food is great. For non-Canadians, healthcare is great too. There are great opportunities for biking and hiking around. However, students miss having a train/subway service to the campus. The Vancouver campus is technically on the outskirts of the city and doesn't give the benefit of being in an ‘urban area'.

Campus

Spread across 993 acres, the UBC main campus has a mix of new and old buildings. Its Pacific Regional Park serves as a green belt between the city and the university. It is also home to numerous gardens like the Botanical Garden and the Nitobe Memorial Garden.
UBC houses TRIUMF, which is Canada’s national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics. The campus has a rich cultural heritage and houses the ‘Chan Centre of Performing Arts’. There is a farm on campus called the UBC Farm. Among the architectural attractions are also the beautiful ’Irving Barber Library, the Museum of Anthropology and Ladner Clock Tower’.
The wifi on campus is particularly spectacular. It is super fast and reliable.Â
Students feel that the study space is a little insufficient, especially during exams. The 24-hour study space is open only during final exams while it is always 24 hour for other universities. Another issue that students point out is that UBC has some or the construction going on campus, all year round. Hence the students feel like they are constantly chasing wrong routes and need frequent detours.

Residing Options

As per infrastructure, Marine Drive and Ponderosa Commons are the two residences that are the best at UBC. ‘Gage' is one of the cheaper ones if you want to balance out the rent. Fair View and Fraser Hall are the quieter ones. Students strongly suggest avoiding ‘Thunderbird' housing at all cost because it is disgusting, unhygienic and unsafe. Having said that, most students live off campus, apart from the first year undergraduates. Gas prices are high so better to use public transport. Vancouver city has a very high housing cost, one of the highest in the world.

Faculty

The Student to Faculty ratio at UBC is 18:2. Out of all departments, computer science faculty is particularly appreciated for being highly knowledgeable and easy to understand. The Economics faculty are supposed to be brilliant lecturers and they come from one of the top 10 schools in the world. Other majors with such professors are from Geography, Education and Forestry. It is overall a great place for graduate studies with top class researchers and students. In 2016, UBC invested CAD $2.5 million for the mental health of students and faculty to help them with the overstressed environment.
UBC is taking more and more students every year, especially international students, to improve their financial condition. But it may take a toll on the faculty and their deliveries.