Master of Science in Plant Science (MSc)

Overview

Plant Science graduate program offers advanced study in applied plant biology, with a commitment to development of sustainable managed agroecosystems. Our graduate program offers opportunities for advanced studies in basic and applied research, leading to M.Sc. or Ph.D. degrees, in plant production, plant protection, plant biotechnology, plant physiology and biochemistry, and plant-environment interaction.

Graduate students have the option to develop research programs that address problems through an interdisciplinary approach involving collaboration with faculty members in other graduate programs (e.g. Soil Science, Botany, Zoology, Microbiology, and Forest Science) on campus.

For specific program requirements, please refer to the departmental program website

$19,434

Net funding per year^*

Average years to completion

What makes the program unique?

Our graduate program offers students the opportunity to develop their graduate studies uniquely tailored to their professional goals and research interests in consultation with their research supervisor. The diversity of plant agriculture in British Columbia provides excellent opportunities for students to select a cropping system most suitable for their thesis research. Students have the opportunity and are encouraged to develop their research programs through an interdisciplinary approach involving other departments on campus.

Excellent facilities for thesis research are available on the UBC campus in the MacMillan Building, Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm, Totem Field Laboratory, UBC Wine Research Centre, the Michael Smith Laboratories, and the Horticulture Glasshouse. Some Plant Science graduate students also work with our Adjunct Professors, spread throughout the province of British Columbia.

Quick Facts

Faculty Faculty of Land and Food Systems

Academic Unit Faculty of Land and Food Systems

Specialization Plant Science

Mode of delivery In person at UBC Vancouver

Program Components Coursework + Thesis required

Tuition (First Year) Domestic: 5,626.02 | International: 9,883.98

Median Funding 50% of students receive $27,808 or more funding per year in the first 2 years, before tuition and fees

Research Information

Research Highlights

Research topics focus on plant-environment interactions, plant-pathogen interaction, pollination ecology, agro-ecology, crop production and breeding, irrigation management, disease protection, and plant physiology, biotechnology, biochemistry and imaging.

Research Focus

Specific areas of specialization include:

pollination biology; insect physiology; insect ecology and behaviour; natural insecticides;
weed biology, ecology, and control; invasive species biology
fruit physiology and metabolism; plant nutrition; plant-plant interaction; biotic and abiotic stressor resistance
crop stress physiology; plant anatomy; structure-function relation; water relations; irrigation management
horticulture; vegetable culture; ornamental horticulture; post-harvest physiology
plant biochemistry; tissue culture; genetic engineering; plant, fungal, and viral molecular genetics
plant-microbe interaction; bacterial and fungal diseases; plant virology; biological control of pests and diseases
cereal and pathogen genomics; host-pathogen interactions; genetics of disease resistance
plant breeding; phenotyping; plant imaging; trait selection
rangeland ecology and wildlife habitat studies

Program Components

Completion of the M.Sc. program requires a thesis (12 or 18 credits) plus coursework, for a total of 30 credits. With a 12-credit thesis, students can include a maximum of 6 credits of senior undergraduate courses. With an 18-credit thesis, students can include a maximum of 3 credits of senior undergraduate courses and a maximum of 3 credits of directed study.

Facilities

Plant Science teaching and research facilities are located in the H.R. MacMillan Building, in Food Nutrition and Health Building, and in the UBC Biotech Laboratory. Research facilities include: the UBC Farm, the UBC Botanical Garden, greenhouses and the Totem Field Plant Science Field Station (UBC Plant Care Services), a controlled environment-facility (walk-in and reach-in growth chambers), and modern analytical laboratories.

Tuition & Financial Support

Tuition

Fees	Canadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / Diplomat	International
Application Fee	$116.25	$168.25
Tuition *
Installments per year	3	3
Tuition per installment	$1,875.34	$3,294.66
Tuition per year (plus annual increase, usually 2%-5%)	$5,626.02	$9,883.98
Int. Tuition Award (ITA) per year (if eligible)		$3,200.00 (-)
Other Fees and Costs
Student Fees (yearly)	$1,144.10 (approx.)
Costs of living	Estimate your costs of living with our interactive tool in order to start developing a financial plan for your graduate studies.

* Regular, full-time tuition. For on-leave, extension, continuing or part time (if applicable) fees see UBC Calendar.
All fees for the year are subject to adjustment and UBC reserves the right to change any fees without notice at any time, including tuition and student fees. Tuition fees are reviewed annually by the UBC Board of Governors. In recent years, tuition increases have been 2% for continuing domestic students and between 2% and 5% for continuing international students. New students may see higher increases in tuition. Admitted students who defer their admission are subject to the potentially higher tuition fees for incoming students effective at the later program start date. In case of a discrepancy between this webpage and the UBC Calendar, the UBC Calendar entry will be held to be correct.

Financial Support

Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.

Program Funding Packages

All newly admitted graduate students in the research-based MSc program will be supported by a minimum funding package of $16,000/year for 2 years provided they maintain good academic standing. The funding package may consist of internal or external award, scholarship, teaching or research assistantship, or any combination of the above. Students are expected to be proactive in applying for awards and scholarships.

Funding Statistics

Based on the criteria outlined below, 8 students within this program were included in this study because they received funding through UBC in the form of teaching, research, academic assistantships or internal or external awards with a mean of $26,043 and a median of $27,808.

This results in a net balance (any funding provided to the student minus tuition and fees) mean of $18,049 and median of $19,434.

4 students received Teaching Assistantships. Median TA funding based on 4 students was $7,890.
8 students received Research Assistantships. Median RA funding based on 8 students was $13,371.
1 student received Academic Assistantships valued at $1,351.
7 students received internal awards. Median internal award funding based on 7 students was $5,750.
1 student received external awards valued at $17,667.

Study Period: Sep 2023 to Aug 2024 - funding for full-time Thesis-Required Master's students enrolled in three terms per academic year in this program across years 1-2. Mean and median values might mask variability in sources and amounts of funding received by individual students. Beyond year 2, funding packages become even more individualized.
Review methodology

Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

All applicants are encouraged to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund their graduate education. The database lists merit-based scholarships and awards and allows for filtering by various criteria, such as domestic vs. international or degree level.

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)

Many professors are able to provide Research Assistantships (GRA) from their research grants to support full-time graduate students studying under their supervision. The duties constitute part of the student's graduate degree requirements. A Graduate Research Assistantship is considered a form of fellowship for a period of graduate study and is therefore not covered by a collective agreement. Stipends vary widely, and are dependent on the field of study and the type of research grant from which the assistantship is being funded.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate programs may have Teaching Assistantships available for registered full-time graduate students. Full teaching assistantships involve 12 hours work per week in preparation, lecturing, or laboratory instruction although many graduate programs offer partial TA appointments at less than 12 hours per week. Teaching assistantship rates are set by collective bargaining between the University and the Teaching Assistants' Union.

Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)

Academic Assistantships are employment opportunities to perform work that is relevant to the university or to an individual faculty member, but not to support the student’s graduate research and thesis. Wages are considered regular earnings and when paid monthly, include vacation pay.

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Canadian and US applicants may qualify for governmental loans to finance their studies. Please review eligibility and types of loans.

All students may be able to access private sector or bank loans.

Foreign government scholarships

Many foreign governments provide support to their citizens in pursuing education abroad. International applicants should check the various governmental resources in their home country, such as the Department of Education, for available scholarships.

Working while studying

The possibility to pursue work to supplement income may depend on the demands the program has on students. It should be carefully weighed if work leads to prolonged program durations or whether work placements can be meaningfully embedded into a program.

International students enrolled as full-time students with a valid study permit can work on campus for unlimited hours and work off-campus for no more than 24 hours a week during academic sessions.

A good starting point to explore student jobs is the UBC Work Learn program or a Co-Op placement.

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Students with taxable income in Canada may be able to claim federal or provincial tax credits.

Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) which allows students to withdraw amounts from their registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to finance full-time training or education for themselves or their partner.

Please review Filing taxes in Canada on the student services website for more information.

Cost Estimator

Applicants have access to the cost estimator to develop a financial plan that takes into account various income sources and expenses.

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

These statistics show data for the Master of Science in Plant Science (MSc). Data are separated for each degree program combination. You may view data for other degree options in the respective program profile.

ENROLMENT DATA

	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Applications	5	12	13	13	6
Offers	2	8	11	5	1
New Enrolment	1	8	10	2	1
Total Enrolment	20	23	13	3	4

Completion Rates & Times

This program has a graduation rate of 100% based on 6 students admitted between 2015 - 2018. Based on 6 graduations between 2020 - 2023 the minimum time to completion is 2.39 years and the maximum time is 4.44 years with an average of 3.02 years of study. All calculations exclude leave times.

Disclaimer

Admissions data refer to all UBC Vancouver applications, offers, new enrolment for each registration year, May to April, e.g. data for 2022 refers to programs starting in 2022 Summer and 2022 Winter session, i.e. May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023. Data on total enrolment reflects enrolment in Winter Session Term 1 and are based on snapshots taken on November 1 of each registration year. Program completion data are only provided for datasets comprised of more than 4 individuals. Graduation rates exclude students who transfer out of their programs. Rates and times of completion depend on a number of variables (e.g. curriculum requirements, student funding), some of which may have changed in recent years for some programs.

Program Website

Apply Now

Apply for May 2026

If you don't have a UBC Campus-Wide Login (CWL) please create an account first.

Apply for September 2026

If you don't have a UBC Campus-Wide Login (CWL) please create an account first.

Apply for January 2027

If you don't have a UBC Campus-Wide Login (CWL) please create an account first.

Apply for May 2027

If you don't have a UBC Campus-Wide Login (CWL) please create an account first.

May 2026 Intake

Application Open Date15 July 2025

Canadian Applicant Deadline1 September 2025

International Applicant Deadline1 September 2025

September 2026 Intake

Application Open Date15 September 2025

Canadian Applicant Deadline10 January 2026

International Applicant Deadline10 January 2026

January 2027 Intake

Application Open Date15 April 2026

Canadian Applicant Deadline1 June 2026

International Applicant Deadline1 June 2026

May 2027 Intake

Application Open Date15 July 2026

Canadian Applicant Deadline1 September 2026

International Applicant Deadline1 September 2026

Program Enquiries

Still have questions after reviewing this page thoroughly?
Contact the program

Supervisor Search

Departments/Programs may update graduate degree program details through the Faculty & Staff portal. To update contact details for application inquiries, please use this form.

Overview

What makes the program unique?

Quick Facts

Admission Information & Requirements

Program Instructions

1) Check Eligibility

Minimum Academic Requirements

English Language Test

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

Other Test Scores

Prior degree, course and other requirements

Prior Degree Requirements

2) Meet Deadlines

3) Prepare Application

Transcripts

Letters of Reference

Statement of Interest

Supervision

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for this program

Citizenship Verification

4) Apply Online

Research Information

Research Highlights

Research Focus

Program Components

Facilities

Tuition & Financial Support

Tuition

Financial Support

Program Funding Packages

Funding Statistics

Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Foreign government scholarships

Working while studying

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Cost Estimator

Career Options

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

ENROLMENT DATA

Completion Rates & Times

Disclaimer

Research Supervisors

Supervision

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for this program

Advice and insights from UBC Faculty on reaching out to supervisors

Sample Thesis Submissions

Related Programs

Same specialization

Same Academic Unit

Further Information

Specialization

UBC Calendar

Program Website

Faculty

Academic Unit

Program Identifier

Classification

Apply Now

May 2026 Intake

September 2026 Intake

January 2027 Intake

May 2027 Intake

Program Enquiries

Social Media Channels

Supervisor Search

Curious about life in Vancouver?