First Year Calculus Choices
First Year Calculus
Choices at a Glance
The following information is to help guide appropriate calculus course selections. It is not permitted to register in more than one differential calculus course, or more than one integral calculus course. Any student who does so may be deregistered from all calculus courses.
All of the following differential calculus courses bring students to the same level upon completion: MATH 100, 102, 104, 180, 184, 110. MATH 100, 102,
and 104 are one-term courses for students who have taken a high school calculus
course. MATH 180 and 184 are one-term courses for students who have not taken a high school calculus course; they have extra contact hours to help students achieve the expected level in one term.
While we offer no remedial courses in the Mathematics Department, MATH 110, a two-term course with slower pace and extra contact hours, is designed for students without strong pre-calculus
backgrounds.
All of the following integral calculus courses bring students to the same level upon completion: MATH 101, 103, 105.
UBC Math Courses
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Required High School Academic
Qualifications*
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MATH 100,
MATH 102,
MATH 104
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A high school calculus course, and one of the following.
a) A grade of 80% or higher in BC Pre-Calculus 12 or
an equivalent course.
b) A score of 5 or higher in IB MATH SL or a score of 3 or higher in IB MATH HL.
c) A score of 4 or 5 in AP Calculus AB.
Additional Information:
Students without high school calculus, but who have very strong Pre-calculus
12 grades, may be permitted to take MATH 100, 102, or 104. MATH 100
has applications to Engineering and Physical Sciences, MATH 102 to Life
Sciences, and MATH 104 to Commerce and Social Sciences. Any of them will
act as a prerequisite for MATH 101, 103, or 105.
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MATH 180,
MATH 184
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No high school calculus course, and one of the following.
a) A grade of 80% or higher in BC Pre-Calculus 12 or
an equivalent course.
b) A score of 5 or higher in IB MATH SL or a score of 3 or higher in IB MATH HL.
Additional Information:
MATH
180 has applications to Engineering and Physical Sciences, and MATH 184 to Commerce and Social
Sciences. They are equivalent to each other and to MATH
100, 102, and 104. Either of
MATH 180 or MATH 184 will act as a prerequisite for MATH
101, 103, or 105.
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MATH 110
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No high school calculus course, and one of the following.
a) A grade of 65%-80% in BC Pre-Calculus 12 or
an equivalent course.
b) A score of 2-4 in IB Math HL or SL. Note
that IB Math Studies does not qualify students to take
MATH 110.
Additional Information:
MATH
110 is equivalent to MATH 100, 102, 104, 180, and 184 but
is taught over two terms rather than one. MATH 110 will act as a prerequisite for
MATH 101, 103, or 105.
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*
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UBC Admissions
receives and assesses high school transcripts for incoming
students. It is essential that you make sure
your information is sent to them as soon as your grades
are available and
updated when changes occur so they are current. They can be
reached at admissions.inquiry@ubc.ca. You
can check what our department sees when assessing your
math qualifications in the Student Service Centre (SSC) -
look for your "High School Record". If your High School Record is
incomplete, inaccurate, or out of date, contact UBC
Admissions directly at the email address above to get
things corrected, and then contact our department to let
us know once it has been fixed. Do not send our
department your transcripts or ask us to fix it.
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Which UBC calculus course should
I register in?
Advice concerning 100-level
courses
First consult the table above. Note that registration also depends on availability of spaces, not just on your qualifications.
My high school calculus or pre-calculus course is still in progress.
You may register based on your official interim high school calculus or pre-calculus grade. If your final grade indicates that you should take another course, you will be strongly recommended to take that course. Prerequisites are set so that students do not place themselves in academic jeopardy by taking a course for which they are unprepared. Data indicate that students who do not meet the prerequisites for a calculus course have a very high likelihood of failing that course.
I have
not taken grade 12 pre-calculus math (BC Pre-Calculus 12 or
its equivalent).
All first-year calculus courses at UBC require successful completion of
grade 12 pre-calculus math (BC Pre-Calculus 12 or its
equivalent). UBC does not offer courses equivalent to grade 12 pre-calculus math. Note that IB Math Studies is NOT
equivalent to Pre-calculus 12.
I have
very strong high school math grades and perform well in math
contests such as the Euclid or Canadian Open
Mathematics Challenge.
MATH 120 is a 4-credit enriched course suitable for
students who particularly enjoy mathematics and have
demonstrated considerable talent. The prerequisites for the
course make this clear: students are expected to have a grade of
95% or better in grade 12 pre-calculus math (BC Pre-Calculus 12
or its equivalent) or to have distinguished themselves in a
recognized mathematics contest, or to have some other
distinctive qualification. If you qualify but are unable to
register yourself into this course on-line, please contact the
Undergraduate Chair by submitting a request using our
advising
web form.
I am
taking International Baccalaureate Math or Advanced Placement
Calculus.
If you scored 4 or 5 on AP Calculus AB, you can claim 3 credits
for MATH 100 and proceed to MATH
101, 103, or 105. These courses are given in Term 2; a useful Mathematics course to
take in Term 1 is MATH 221. If you scored 4 or 5 on AP Calculus
BC, you can claim 6 credits for MATH 100 and MATH 101 and take
courses that build on these. Students who score 6 or better in the
"Higher Level Mathematics" course offered by International
Baccalaureate programs can also claim 6 credits of Math 100 and
101. Using your transfer credit is optional; students with AP or
IB credits are allowed to sign up for any regular first-year
calculus course. Experienced instructors suggest that students
with an AP score of 5 are fully prepared to move into subsequent
courses, whereas students with a score of 4 often benefit
considerably by taking a full calculus sequence at UBC.
Students who take one of MATH 100, 102, 104, or
120 even though their transcript already shows 3 credits for AP or
IB Calculus should remember that only one of these choices can be
counted toward their required credit totals for graduation. For
example, a student who scores 5 in AP Calculus (earning 3 credits
for MATH 100) and then passes MATH 100 (a 3 credit course) can
count only 3 of these credits towards graduation, even when both
courses appear on the transcript.
Can I
write a Challenge Exam?
The UBC-SFU-UVic-UNBC
Calculus Challenge Exam provides an alternative
to the transfer credit options above. Only students who have not
yet started College or University are eligible to write it. The
Challenge Examination result is treated just like a UBC course
grade for MATH 100; it appears on the academic record, and
influences the calculation of the grade-point average. Students
may opt to set aside this achievement (receiving neither the
numerical grade nor the credits) and enrol in a full first-year
calculus sequence instead. The examining committee sends all
passing students a letter describing how to claim their grade
and credits and stating relevant deadlines (typically early
September).
Are there enriched courses
for strong math students?
Students who score 75% or better on the Calculus Challenge
Exam or earn 5 on AP Calculus AB are eligible for MATH 223, an
enriched course in linear algebra, in Term 1, and MATH 121,
Honours Integral Calculus, in Term 2. If you qualify but
are unable to register yourself into these courses on-line,
please contact the Undergraduate Chair, quoting your UBC student
number, using our
advising
web form.
What course should I take in
Term 2?
It is possible to take any one of MATH 100, 102, 104, 120, 180, or 184 in Term 1
and follow it with any one of MATH 101, 103, 105, or 121 in Term 2.
(Note that admission to MATH 121 requires a high mark in Term 1.)
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