Integrated Sciences At UBC's Vancouver Campus

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  • Program info
  • Your future
  • Requirements
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Create your own degree in science with this highly flexible, highly interactive program that stresses active learning, group discussion, and collaborative research.

Why this program?

  • Design your own cross-disciplinary science degree.
  • Emphasis on field work – including trips to Iceland – promotes experiential learning.
  • Cultivate and focus your interests from broad science topics to specialized integrations.
  • Customize your courses to prepare for professional programs (medicine, law, education).
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  • Campus: Vancouver
  • Faculty: Faculty of Science
  • Degree: Bachelor of Science
  • Length 4 yrs
  • Co-op Yes
  • Honours Yes

The Integrated Sciences specialization is designed for highly motivated students whose interests in science cross disciplinary boundaries. The specialization allows you to design your own interdisciplinary course of study that better reflects your interests and can help prepare you for additional study in the health sciences, law, journalism, engineering, or business.

Once admitted into the program, you design your upper-level curriculum, which must bridge at least two disciplines within science or beyond. Individual curriculum is supplemented with Integrated Sciences “core” courses (ISCI courses). These courses are highly interactive with a focus on active learning, group discussion, and collaborative research. As an Integrated Sciences student, you’ll be assigned an IntSci Faculty Mentor to help you design your individual course of study.

Experiential learning and research

Interdisciplinary core courses are specifically designed to foster integration through self-directed learning and hands-on projects. Classes are small and often team-taught to encourage participation and highlight different perspectives.

You can participate in an eight-day research retreat each May, collaborating in groups of three to four to address an unsolved scientific problem.

The Integrated Sciences Mentoring Program pairs prospective students working on their degree proposal with senior ISCI students with the goal of cultivating a tight-knit ISCI community and helping students applying to the specialization gather feedback on their proposed curriculum.

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Why this program?

  • Design your own cross-disciplinary science degree.
  • Emphasis on field work – including trips to Iceland – promotes experiential learning.
  • Cultivate and focus your interests from broad science topics to specialized integrations.
  • Customize your courses to prepare for professional programs (medicine, law, education).

Sample courses

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3
  • Year 4
  • CHEM 111 - Structure, Bonding, and Equilibrium in Chemistry Fundamentals of bonding theories, structural chemistry and equilibrium with applications relevant to modern society.
  • BIOL 155 - Human Biology The principles of biology with particular reference to the human body (anatomy and physiology).
  • EOSC 110 - The Solid Earth: A Dynamic Planet Earth's origin, composition, structure, and natural resources. Plate tectonics as the driving force for volcanism, mountain building, and earthquakes. Imaging Earth's interior. Environmental geoscience and sustainability. (Consult the Credit Exclusion list for the Faculty of Science section of the Calendar.)
  • GEOG 121 - Geography, Environment and Globalization Human geography of the modern world with particular attention to human-environment relationships, urbanization, and regional growth; trade and communications; environment and war; environmental governance and sustainability.
  • PHYS 101 - Energy and Waves Fluids, harmonic oscillator, travelling waves, standing waves, sound, and interference of light waves, including diffraction.
  • BIOL 200 - Fundamentals of Cell Biology Structure and function of plant and animal cells; membrane models, cytoplasmic organelles, biological information from gene to protein, the endomembrane system, secretion, intracellular digestion, endocytosis, transport processes, cytoskeleton and cell motility.
  • BIOC 202 - Introductory Medical Biochemistry Introduction to proteins and enzymes, carbohydrate metabolism, and glucose homeostasis. The course emphasis is on human biochemistry and it is designed for students going into health science fields.
  • EOSC 212 - Topics in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Cutting edge problems in earth, ocean, atmospheric and planetary sciences. Topics will be introduced through discussions of the current literature.
  • CHEM 213 - Organic Chemistry Spectroscopy of organic compounds. Mechanistic analysis of chemical reactivity of common functional groups with a focus on carbon-carbon bond formation; functional group interconversion. Preference will be given to students in Chemistry or Biochemistry specializations.
  • MATH 223 - Linear Algebra Matrices, eigenvectors, diagonalization, orthogonality, linear systems, applications. Intended for Honours students.
  • ISCI 344 - Theory and Practice of Games in Economics and Evolution Exploration of human and animal interactions: integrating evolutionary and economic perspectives to investigate individual and social behaviour.
  • ISCI 350 - Darwinian Medicine Using the Darwinian theory of natural selection to explore explanations of infectious diseases, allergies, cancer, mental illness, and other human diseases. Priority to students in the Integrated Sciences Program.
  • ISCI 300 - Interdisciplinary Seminar Critical analysis of recent scientific literature that combines disciplines that students are integrating in their Integrated Sciences Curriculum.
  • ISCI 311 - The Size of Things Scaling as a general approach to laws governing the geometry, kinematics and dynamics of systems. Dimensional analysis, isometry and allometry applied to topics from Biology, Physics, Earth Science and Economics. Priority to students in the Integrated Sciences Program.
  • ISCI 361 - Field Course: Systems Approaches to Regional Sustainability Systems science approaches encompassing geological, hydrological, ecological, atmospheric sciences, and energy systems to investigate a selected region of the world. Course location will vary; fee payable prior to field course.
  • ISCI 422 - Models in Science Meaning, nature, use, strengths and limitations of models as investigative tools in all scientific disciplines. Detailed investigation of selected model systems from different scientific disciplines. Priority to students in the Integrated Sciences Program.
  • ISCI 433 - Ethical Issues in Science Theoretical and practical consideration of ethics in the practice, reporting, public impact and accountability of science.
  • ISCI 448 - Directed Studies Permission of the Director is required.
  • CHEM 417 - Nuclear Chemistry and Radiochemistry Basic treatment of the nucleus, with analogy to concepts in chemistry. Nuclear stabilities and associated radioactive decay processes. Nuclear structure. Applications of radioisotopes in chemistry. The interaction of radiation with matter.
  • MICB 447 - Experimental Molecular Biology A laboratory course with a choice of independent, supervised research projects. Students develop protocols to carry out investigation of selected molecular biology problems.

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Life at UBC's Vancouver campus

Few universities allow you to design your own third- and fourth-year program of study. In Integrated Sciences, you'll graduate with a unique degree earned within the same rigorous framework as all UBC science degrees.

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Your future

The flexible, cross-disciplinary nature of the specialization makes a BSc in Integrated Sciences an ideal undergraduate degree for motivated students entering medical, dental, law, journalism, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, or business school, or for those who plan to pursue graduate studies in a variety of other fields.

You’ll graduate with strong critical thinking, communication, and research skills, and the ability to work effectively in teams. These skills are highly sought after and are transferable to many workplaces.

Program graduates

  • PhD candidate in Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Medical student, University of British Columbia
  • Associate attorney, Prowse Chowne LLP
  • Master of Public Health candidate, Johns Hopkins University
  • Physical therapist, Physioworks
  • Research assistant, BC Centre on Substance Use

Related programs

Program requirements

  • Canadian high schools
  • International high schools
  • International baccalaureate
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English-language requirements

English is the language of instruction at UBC. All prospective students must demonstrate English-language competency prior to admission. There are numerous ways to meet the English Language Admission Standard.

General admission requirements

IB Diploma Programme

  • Completed IB Diploma, including at least three Higher Level courses.

IB Certificate Courses

  • IB Certificate courses (Standard and Higher Level) may be used in an admissions average if you are graduating from a recognized high school curriculum that can be used as your basis of admission.
  • IB Math Applications and Interpretations SL, or IB Math Studies, do not satisfy the math requirement for admission to UBC’s science-based programs, the Faculty of Management, the UBC Sauder School of Business, or the Vancouver School of Economics.

Degree-specific requirements: Science

  • IB Math Analysis and Approaches SL or HL, or IB Math Applications and Interpretations HL (IB Math Applications and Interpretations SL, or IB Math Studies, are not acceptable)
  • One of IB Biology, IB Chemistry, or IB Physics
  • Grade 11 or equivalent Chemistry, and
  • Grade 11 or equivalent Physics (may be waived with grades of 5 in IB Chemistry and in your IB Mathematics course)

Note: Grade 11 Chemistry and Physics requirements listed are only relevant to students who are not completing the equivalent IB Diploma Chemistry and/or Physics courses.

For students studying outside of Canada, some examples of courses that may be accepted as Grade 11 equivalents are junior-level courses for American students, and IGCSE and O Level for those following British-patterned curricula.

Related courses

The following subject categories are particularly relevant for this degree. Consider taking courses in these areas in your junior year and senior year.

  • Language Arts
  • Mathematics and Computation
  • Sciences
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