Each year, UBC compiles and releases a report on student admission, enrolment and retention rates. The Ubyssey, in accordance, annually breaks down that 60+ page document for our readers.
Here’s a summary of some of the information filed in the latest report for UBC’s 2024/25 academic year.
UBC admission stats and process
UBC reviewed around 49,000 undergraduate applications this year, a decline from the number they reviewed last year, which wasjust over 52,000. A notable factor of the decline was UBC’s receival of 878 less applications from international students.
UBC Vancouver (UBCV) admitted 27,647 of its 43,992 undergraduate applicants, marking a 62.8 per cent admission rate. UBC Okanagan (UBCO), comparatively, admitted 4,299 of its 5,293 applicants, marking a higher admission rate of 81.2 per cent. Both rates are up from those of last year’s admission cycle, which sat at 52 and 76 per cent, respectively.
UBC has used a broad-based admissions process since 2012. This means UBC requires applicants to submit a personal profile in addition to their high school grades.
“UBC looks at each prospective student as a whole person: a combination of talents, interests, and passions,” the report reads. This is to help “select students who are the most likely to succeed in their learning and to thrive on campus.”
According to the report, profile review consists of reading and scoring by a team of over 300 UBC staff, faculty and alumni. Consistent with last year's figure, UBC estimates it would have denied around 12 per cent of admitted applicants entry had they used a grades-only admission model.
Marks remain influential to admission though, and the average entrance grade range for the UBCV sits at 89–91 per cent — UBCO’s sits at 85–87.
UBC by numbers and demographics
Counting students in both undergraduate and graduate degrees, UBCV has a total of 60,944 students while UBCO reported an enrolment of 11,748 students — this makes for a combined total of 72,692 students.
UBCV’s 60,944 students is made up of 35,773 domestic undergraduate students, 12,083 international undergraduates, 7,024 domestic graduate students, 4,270 international graduate students and 1,794 residents. According to the report, the residents category accounts for all residents in the Faculties of Dentistry, Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
UBCO’s 11,748 students is made up of 8,692 domestic undergraduate students, 1,714 international undergraduates, 739 domestic graduate students and 603 international graduate students.
UBC students hail from around the world, with international students holding citizenship of over 155 countries. About 32 per cent of UBCV’s international students this year hold Chinese citizenship, with India holding second place at around 14 per cent of students holding citizenship and the US third with around 9 per cent.
The federal government’s intake cap on international study permit applications went into effect this past September, and it seemed to have an impact as this year, as the Okanagan campus saw a 10 per cent decrease in international student enrolment — the Vancouver campus likewise saw a 4 per cent decrease. UBCV’s most substantive drop in international enrolment from last year was in the number of students with Indian citizenship, as it enrolled 492 less Indian students.
“Canada’s positioning as a welcoming country for international students has significantly worsened in 2024,” the report reads. “Rapidly changing immigration policies, unresolved and ongoing geopolitical tensions with key sending countries, particularly India … have not gone unnoticed in regions with prospective international students.”
While international enrolment fell this year, Indigenous representation rose. Last year UBC enrolled a total of 2,385 Indigenous students — this year that bumped up in a 4.8 per cent increase to 2,500, with 1,713 Indigenous students at UBCV and 787 at UBCO. According to the report, the number of Indigenous students conferred a UBC degree has increased by 57 per cent from 2020.
In gender and age statistics for the 2024/25 academic year, women on both campuses represented a small majority. Additionally, the majority of undergraduate students across both campuses were 25 or under, and the largest proportion of graduate students ranged from 26–30 years old.
UBC student retention
Retention rates at UBC stayed strong this year with the report finding 90 per cent of the 2023/24 Okanagan first-year undergraduate cohort and 95 per cent of the Vancouver first-year undergraduate cohort returned in 2024/25.
Like last year, Indigenous students retention rates remained slightly lower with 89 per cent of UBCO and 93 per cent of UBCV first years returning after the first year of their undergraduate degree.
Continuing the trend The Ubyssey noted in 2023, most undergraduate students at UBCV completed their degrees in 4.7 years — up from the 4.5 reported last year.
According to the report, the majority of graduate students at UBCV complete their PhD within six years. Accordingly, the Graduate Student Society repeated their 2023 call this year to increase PhD stipends from four years to five. PhD students currently receive a stipend of $24,000 each year for four years. The poverty line in BC is $26,000.
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