Canadian Immigration Updates
Review details about the recently announced changes to study and work permits that apply to master’s and doctoral degree students. Read more
A diverse range of highly ranked programs
With access to master’s and doctoral degrees through nine departments and 350 research groups, our graduate students work with world-class faculty to explore the basic sciences, and to pursue interdisciplinary and applied research across departments and units. UBC’s research excellence in environmental science, math, physics, plant and animal science, computer science, geology and biology is consistently rated best in Canada by international and national ranking agencies.
Committed to outstanding graduate training
UBC Science houses a wide range of prestigious NSERC Collaborative Research and Training Experience and related industry programs: from atmospheric aerosols to high-throughput biology, from biodiversity research and ecosystems services to plant cell wall biosynthesis, from quantum science and new materials to applied geochemistry. The options for enriched graduate training in industry related fields are almost endless.
World-class research infrastructure
Our affiliated institutes and centres include UBC's Michael Smith Laboratories, Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute, Biodiversity Research Centre, Life Sciences Institute, Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences, Mineral Deposit Research Unit, and TRIUMF, Canada’s national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics.
Top research talent
UBC Science boasts more than 50 Canada Research Chairs, 12 fellows of the Royal Society of London, and has been home to two Nobel Laureates. Our graduate students have won 15 prestigious Vanier Scholarships.
A diverse, supportive community of scholars
UBC Science is committed to excellence, collaboration and inclusion. Women account for 41 per cent of the Faculty's graduate enrollments, and the percentage of international students has increased to 50 per cent over the past decade.
Mission
Research Centres
Biodiversity, Evolution and Ecology
- Biodiversity Research Centre
- Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research
- Centre for Microbial Diversity and Evolution
Computational Sciences and Mathematics
- Data Science Institute
- Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems
- Institute of Applied Mathematics
- Statistical Consulting and Research Laboratory
- Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences
Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
- Geophysical Inversion Facility
- Lithoprobe: Canada's National Geoscience Project
- Mineral Deposit Research Unit
- Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research
- Seismic Laboratory for Imaging and Modeling
Genomics and Biological Sciences
- Centre for High-Throughput Biology
- Geomatics for Informed Decisions Network
- Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics
- Michael Smith Laboratories
Human-Computer Interaction
- Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems
- Vancouver Institute for Visual Analytics
Life Sciences
- Centre for Blood Research
- Centre for Microbial Diseases and Immunity Research
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries
- Life Sciences Institute
- Michael Smith Laboratories
- Neglected Global Diseased Initiative
Chemistry and Materials Science
- Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Laboratory
- Max Planck-UBC Centre for Quantum Materials
- Quantum Devices Group
- Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute
Physics
- Antihydrogen Trapping and Spectroscopy at CERN
- Pacific Institute for Theoretical Physics
- TRIUMF: Canada’s National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics
- UBC ATLAS Project at Large Hadron Collider
Sustainability
Research Facilities
Designed to inspire collaboration and creativity across disciplines, the Earth Sciences Building (ESB) lies at the heart of the science precinct on UBC’s Vancouver Campus. The $75 million facility is home to Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Statistics, the Pacific Institute of the Mathematical Sciences, and the dean’s office of the Faculty of Science. ESB’s teaching facilities will help Canada meet the challenges of a transforming and growing resource sector. Just as importantly, the researchers and students working and learning in the facility will offer a valuable flow of well-trained talent, new ideas, and fresh professional perspectives to industry.
Research Highlights
Receiving more than $120 million in annual research funding, UBC Science faculty members conduct top-tier research in the life, physical, earth and computational sciences. Their discoveries help build our understanding of natural laws—driving insights into sustainability, biodiversity, human health, nanoscience and new materials, probability, artificial intelligence, exoplanets and a wide range of other areas.
UBC Science boasts 50 Canada Research Chairs and 10 fellows of the Royal Society of London, and has been home to two Nobel Laureates.
Schools / Departments
Graduate Degree Programs
Recent Publications
This is an incomplete sample of recent publications in chronological order by UBC faculty members with a primary appointment in the Faculty of Science.
Recent Thesis Submissions
-
Toward the isolation of pyrazole synthase (CHEM - MSC)
Doctoral Citations
Year | Citation | Program |
---|---|---|
2017 | Neutrino oscillations may hold the key to understanding the fundamental physics laws governing the universe. Dr. Tobayama analyzed the oscillation of atmospheric neutrinos detected at Super-Kamiokande, a large neutrino detector in Japan. The new analysis techniques he developed also benefit other on-going and future measurements at the detector. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
2017 | Dr. Drost studied Arctic cod, a key Arctic marine food web fish that she collected in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. Her research revealed a greater than expected thermal tolerance and a significant acclimation potential from 0 | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
2017 | Instances of malicious software have increased significantly over the past several years. Dr. Alam developed a framework that uses machine learning to detect devices infected with malware on smartphones. This new adaptable framework will have considerable impact as new learning algorithms are developed and sensors are modified on smartphone devices. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
2017 | Dr. Lanaro used molecular simulations to observe how crystals form and dissolve in solution. The simulation data was collected and analized to uncover details about the first stages of crystal formation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
2017 | Image restoration aims at enhancing the quality of images by undoing the adverse effects of image degradation and needs to be addressed as part of most imaging systems. Dr. Xiao developed numerical optimization and machine learning methods for image restoration that are suitable for modern mobile and high-resolution imaging. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
2017 | Reactive transport is a powerful tool to help understand water and rock interactions and processes related to groundwater and soil contamination. Dr. Rasouli's doctoral research was focused on the development and application of multicomponent diffusion and electrochemical migration models for reactive transport in porous media. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Engineering (PhD) |
2017 | In the process of developing and optimizing new chemistry, the understanding of reaction pathways is essential. Dr. Yu studied organic reaction mechanisms using nontraditional methods. She contributed to the field by testing the limits of a new automated method of reaction monitoring, particularly in challenging environments such as the microwave reactor for organic chemistry. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
2017 | Dr. Hyrina investigated the role of key regulators of host lipid metabolism, including microRNAs and proprotein convertases during hepatitis C and dengue virus infections. These studies provide new insights into the complex host-virus interactions, which may be utilized as targets for antiviral development as well as biomarkers of infection. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
2017 | Computer vision is about building systems that can 'see' and make sense of a complex visual world. Dr. Tung developed data-driven algorithms for understanding the semantic structure of scenes from images and video. Potential applications of this research include large-scale multimedia searches, self-driving vehicles, and prosthetic vision. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
2017 | Dr. Luo developed statistical methods for analyzing epidemiological data for situations where the acquisition of genotype and the exposure to environment are independent. These methods can be applied to facilitate the understanding of the joint effect of genetic and environmental factors on human disease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |