Eligibility

Eligibility for undergraduate students

Please note that the below information pertains to our Winter Exchange, Summer Abroad, and Research programs. For Global Seminar program eligibility, please refer to the Global Seminar page.

Grades and academic standing

• Achieve 70% in your most recent academic term of full-time studies prior to applying for exchange, or
• Achieve 70% in your last two terms, prior to applying, while maintaining full-time studies (for those students who do not meet the condition above)
• You must maintain a 70% average prior to your exchange departure
• Be a UBC student in Good Academic Standing
• Students may participate in one full-year or two single-term (winter session) exchange experiences during their degree
  • Students may participate in multiple summer experiences during their degree
• Some of our financial awards and partner institutions consider your cumulative average in addition to your term average, and may require a higher average than 70% to be considered eligible.
  • There may also be minimum registration requirements to be eligible for some financial awards.

Note: These criteria are set to ensure that you are prepared to thrive academically while on exchange. However, we understand that there are cases when your average may drop below this standard but you are still able to demonstrate academic preparedness to participate. We do consider exceptions to these criteria. See below for eligibility appeals.

• Go Global will review your Winter Term 1 (September – December) grades if you’re applying for the Round 1 deadline in December
• Go Global will review your Winter Term 2 (January – April) grades if you’re applying for the Round 2 deadline in May.

Academic year level

• Complete 30 credits at UBC prior to going on exchange (speak with a Go Global Advisor directly if you do not meet this requirement).
• Be a full-time student in the year prior to your exchange.
• Have completed your English requirements
• Students from any faculty may take part in summer programming through Go Global at any time after completing 30 credits of study at UBC
• During your exchange your academic year level will be:
  • Arts: Second, third, or fourth year
  • Engineering and Visual Arts: Third year
  • Health and Exercise Science: Third or fourth year
  • Management: Third or fourth year
  • Media Studies: Third Year
  • Science: Third or fourth year
• In addition to the above, please review our faculty-specific considerations for Winter exchange students

English/writing requirements

Complete the English/LPI or writing requirement as required by your faculty prior to going on exchange.

Taking your final term abroad before graduating

Students cannot graduate before all transfer credit is processed and degree requirements are complete. Students should return to UBC for at least one term after their Go Global program before graduation in order to allow for the transfer credit process to be complete.

For example, due to normal transfer credit processing times, it is not possible to graduate in May if you finish your degree requirements while abroad in Term 2.

Going on exchange or study abroad for your final term requires approval from Go Global. To obtain this approval, meet with a Go Global advisor. In this meeting, you will discuss the program, transfer credit timelines, possible risks or consequences with your plan, degree requirements and eligibility for graduation.

As transfer credit equivalencies are not always determined before your exchange or study program ends, there is also a risk that your transfer credits may not meet your remaining degree requirements, and you may need to return to UBC for additional courses.​​​​​​

Academic accommodation

Speak to your exchange advisor six weeks prior to applying to Go Global if you require academic or other accommodations abroad.

Applying to transfer to UBC Vancouver and Go Global at the same time

If you will be submitting your application while studying at UBC’s Okanagan campus, but intend to apply to transfer to the Vancouver campus, inform your Go Global Advisor.

Eligibility appeals

If you do not meet the eligibility criteria, you must explain your reason for appeal to the Go Global Office (goglobal.okanagan@ubc.ca). Send this by email anytime until one week prior to the application deadline. If you do not seek prior approval, you will not be considered for an appeal.

Cr/D/Fail

If you received a Cr/D/Fail as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic during Term 2 of the 2019 Winter Session, the only impact these courses will have towards your Go Global eligibility is in regards to cumulative averages. Specifically, only courses receiving a final grade are counted in a cumulative GPA, so these courses will not be counted towards your cumulative GPA as no grade was assigned for them. Our partner institutions may interpret these results differently, so please reach out to Go Global if you have concerns about the impact of these results.

Go Global 101: Eligibility

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSU70IexHkI&list=PLG7HEaIrTi6ZE8xNcHhvVQWM6Z3DNmK_B&index=3&pp=iAQB