The University of British Columbia

ABOUT UNIVERSITY

The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a major public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with campuses in Vancouver and Kelowna. It has an annual research budget of \$893 million, supporting nearly 10,000 projects across various sectors. The Vancouver campus is located on Point Grey, just west of Downtown Vancouver, and houses notable institutions like TRIUMF, the world’s largest cyclotron, the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, and the Stuart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute. It also hosts the first Max Planck Institute in North America. UBC’s extensive library system holds over 8.3 million items and serves millions annually. Established through the 1908 University Act, UBC was influenced by governance models from Ontario and initially operated from a temporary Fairview campus before relocating to Point Grey in 1925. Early efforts to establish a university were tied to affiliations with McGill and Toronto. McGill BC operated from 1906 to 1915 before merging into UBC. Founders included Frank Wesbrook and Leonard Klinck, UBC’s first and second presidents. UBC’s community includes Nobel laureates, Olympians, and Canadian Prime Ministers. Evlyn Fenwick Farris became Canada’s first female university governor at UBC, playing a key role in its development alongside the University Women’s Club of Vancouver.