Undergraduate Students in Graduate Courses
Undergraduate students must complete the Enrolment of Undergraduate Students in Graduate Course form and meet specific eligibility requirements if they wish to take a graduate course.
Forms must be submitted to EAS for approval to confirm whether the student meets the requirements for taking a graduate course. If the student does not quite meet the requirements the Faculty Advising Office may still approve the student’s request, but the course instructor will need to provide G+PS with justification for making an exception to those requirements.
Once all three signatures are obtained, the student should submit the form to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies office via email at graduate.sas@ubc.ca for processing.
Eligibility Requirements:
To be eligible to enroll in a graduate course, undergraduate students must:
- Have completed at least 75% of their required 300- and 400-level courses
- (Typically equivalent to 36 credits)
- Maintain a minimum average of 76% (B+) in completed 300- and 400-level courses
- Have completed all course prerequisites
Process:
- Download the Enrolment of Undergraduate Students in Graduate Course form and complete the Student Information and Course Information sections
- Submit form to EAS for Faculty advising office approval:
- EAS will calculate each student’s GPA and eligible credits to determine eligibility
- If you do not meet the course eligibility requirements, EAS will inform you that the course instructor must submit additional written justification for making an exception to the requirements
- Obtain Course Instructor signature and written permission, if required
- Obtain Faculty Advisor signature
- Submit form, and instructor permission if required, to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for processing by emailing fully signed form to graduate.sas@ubc.ca
Please note:
- G+PS may not email you to notify that you have been registered in the course. It is the student’s responsibility to check Workday for any updates to their schedule.
- It can take up to 7-10 business days from submission to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies office to process.
Third+ Attempt Request
Students in the BASc program who have failed a course twice must submit a request to retake the course a third (or subsequent) time. A success plan will be required and must include self-reflection on previous attempts at this course and a list of resources which will be accessed to ensure success.
EAS periodically reviews students’ grades and emails information out to students who failed a course more than twice. The schedule for our email reach-outs is published below. However, students do not need to wait to receive an email and are encouraged to submit their requests as soon as they notice they need to attempt a course for a third(+) time. Requests will be reviewed within 7-9 business days.
| January | First and second week |
| May | First, second, and third week |
| June | First week |
| July | By the second week |
| August | Second and third week |
| September | Second week |
Once submitted, your request will be reviewed by an EAS academic advisor. If your request is approved, you will receive an email confirmation and will be registered in the course when your registration period opens for the requested session.
If you have any questions about this, please contact us.
Pre-Requisite or Co-Requisite Exception
Students are expected to meet all pre-requisite and co-requisite requirements as outlined in course descriptions in the UBC Academic Calendar. Approvals only occur in rare situations.
Pre-requisite and co-requisite requirements are in place to ensure students have the foundational knowledge needed to succeed in the higher-level course. In exceptional circumstances, a course instructor may permit a student to enroll in their upper-year course despite not meeting a specific pre-requisite or co-requisite on their Workday academic record. Examples of when this may be considered may include:
- The student has acquired similar knowledge through other relevant coursework, or obtained transfer credit
- The student has completed a substantial portion of the pre-requisite course but has a Standing Deferred (SD) grade pending completion of the final assessment.
Approval to register in a course without meeting the pre- or co-requisites is granted at the discretion of the course instructor and is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Students may be required to demonstrate that they have acquired equivalent knowledge or experience to be successful in the course. Students with a Standing Deferred (SD) grade may be required to complete the SD final exam before a decision is made.
Where a program has accepted an equivalent course to satisfy a specific degree requirement, this does not guarantee that the equivalent course will satisfy the prerequisite for subsequent degree requirements. Students will still be required to seek permission from the course instructor as the content of the equivalent course may not be sufficient to cover the pre-requisite requirement
We recommend that students take some time to reflect on their current academic situation and whether pursuing this is the right option for them. You should consider the following:
- How is your current academic performance? Completing a course without the foundational knowledge can be challenging and may negatively impact your performance and overall success.
- How will you ensure success in the course? You may need to dedicate additional time or independently learn missing material while completing your other courses.
- Is the pre-requisite or co-requisite course a core program requirement? You will still need to complete all program requirements in order to graduate. Delaying completion of the pre- or co-requisite course may also impact your future course planning due to scheduling constraints and conflicts.
If you have received instructor approval to enroll in their course despite missing the pre- or co-requisites, please forward the approval email to the department who is responsible for the course:
- For courses coded APSC, CIVL, IGEN, MANU and MTRL, please use the form below.
- For all other Engineering courses, please contact the program responsible for the course
Please note that registration in the course will still be subject to seat availability.
Auditing Courses
Taking Courses at UBCO
Please refer here for eligibility criteria and application deadlines.
Late Registration in a Course Due to Extenuating Circumstances
Use the Late Registration form below to register in a course after the add/drop deadline has passed. Please note that these requests can only be processed if you’re facing extenuating circumstances on a case-by-case basis.
Our response times are typically 1-2 business days; in busy periods, it can take up to 5 business days