Important Notes:
- The Section Switch Request form is for first-year courses only (listed below)
- Students who are unable to swap upper year courses with available seats themselves should contact the department managing the course
- You will be unable to swap sections if the swap button does not appear on the course
- Do not use the form for upper year courses
About Section Switches
Eligible students can swap a course section without losing their spot until a new seat is confirmed. See the Swapping a Course tutorial for detailed instructions.
In Term 1, students are not permitted to switch sections of a first-year engineering course unless they have extenuating circumstances. Please note that not all section switch requests will be accommodated.
In Term 2, students taking first-year engineering courses are able to switch sections if seats are available
Do not drop a course to swap sections, as you may lose your spot. Students in this situation will need to register on a waitlist and are not guaranteed a seat in the course.
If you are eligible for a section switch, EAS may be able to accommodate section switches for the following courses:
- APSC 100, 101, 160
- First Year Physics courses (PHYS 157, 158, 159, or 170)
- CHEM 154
- MATH 152
Section Switch Eligibility
Valid Reasons for a Term 1 Section Switch Request:
- Varsity Athletic commitments: You are on a UBC Varsity athletic team and your timetable conflicts with practice times (please include your Varsity sport when contacting EAS).
- Extenuating circumstances: For example, religious commitments, medical issues, family emergencies, and other circumstances outside a students’ control.
- In rare circumstances, highly unbalanced timetables may be a valid reason for a section switch. We recommend you consider the term you are registering into WRDS and H/SS course to help balance your schedule.
- Unbalanced timetable is defined as an uneven credit load between Term 1 and Term 2 (i.e., 12 credits taken in Term 1 and 19 credits taken in Term 2).
Invalid Reasons for a Section Switch Request:
- Instructor or time of day preferences
- Wanting to be in the same section as a friend
- Long break between classes
- Early start and/or late end to the day
- Making space on your timetable for a humanities course
- Accommodating changes made to other course sections in your engineering timetable
Top Tip!
The whole of the UBC is registering for courses in June and July. Typically courses fill up quickly and you may not be able to register for the course(s) you want during this time. Where possible you can register on the waitlist for the course. We typically see that there is more seat availability in courses, and opportunities to switch sections, later in August.
You have until the add/drop deadline in September (for Term 1 courses) and January (for Term 2 courses) to make changes in your course schedule. For a Year 1 Engineering course, check the live waitlist table to understand how a course waitlist is being managed.
Section Switches for Other Courses
For other section switches, please contact the following:
- First Year Math courses (MATH 100, 101): Math contact form
- First Year Chemistry (CHEM 121 or 123): Chemistry contact form
- All CIVL, IGEN, MANU, MTRL courses: Please contact EAS if you are unable to switch sections yourself in Workday
- All other Engineering or non-Engineering courses: Please contact the administrating office of the course (e.g., Journalism for WRDS 150, Engineering Course Contacts, etc.)