Frequently Asked Questions

Academic concessions for final assignments and exams are handled through your Faculty Advising Office. For in-term concessions, fill in and submit the form here to your instructor.

The First Year Calculus Options tool directs you toward appropriate choices.

All sections of MATH 100 share a common core and fulfill the same prerequisite function. All sections of MATH 101 share a common core and fulfill the same prerequisite function. Lecture sections with the letter "A" have applications to Physical Sciences and Engineering. Lecture sections with the letter "B" have applications to Biology and Life Sciences. Lecture sections with the letter "C" have applications to Commerce and Social Sciences.

MATH 180 is equivalent to MATH 100 but designed for students without high school calculus.

MATH 110 is a two-term course equivalent to MATH 100 but designed for students with lower grades in Grade 12 Math. Any student who achieves a grade of 80% in MATH 110 is guaranteed a seat in MATH 101 in the following summer.

MATH 120 and MATH 121 are enriched first-year calculus courses. They are more challenging than other first-year calculus courses, but final grades are generally adjusted upward based on elements of the final exam common to all first-year calculus courses.

Any courses at the 300+ level can be used toward the 18 credits required for the BSc minor except for a few whose descriptions in the Calendar rule them out (e.g. MATH 335). MATH 200, 215 and 221 are the most common prerequisites for 300+ courses so it is almost certain that you will have to take some of these as well. These courses will also help you get a better sense of your interests. In general, talking to your peers, particularly those a year or two ahead of you, is a good way of finding out about courses that may interest you.

The Calendar has general rules for BSc Minors. For this declaration the Faculty of Science has paper forms that require the signature of an authorized Departmental advisor. For non-BSc Math Minor declarations, you should first contact the faculty to determine whether the minor is permitted and the requirements, and then contact the Mathematics Department for any necessary approval.

Some courses are offered only in particular terms, or only every two years. See the department's record of course offerings.

The Faculty of Science credit-exclusion list gives sets of courses for which credit may be claimed for only one. Credit exclusion does not indicate that the courses are interchangeable with regard to program requirements or satisfying prerequisites.

Applied Science students take similar mathematics courses to Science/Arts Mathematics students. Many of these are treated by the Mathematics Department as equivalent for the purposes of prerequisites (PQ) and/or program requirements (PR).

These equivalences apply only to courses that are required for Mathematics specializations (PR) or are prerequisites for MATH courses. If you are an Applied Science student who wants to make similar kinds of replacements (e.g. MATH 221 instead of MATH 152), you must contact the Applied Science Advising Center to get official permission to make any such changes. Similarly, this list does not apply to prerequisites for non-MATH courses (e.g. APSC 160 may not be a valid prerequisite replacement for CPSC 111 for a second year CPSC course; permission must be granted by a CS advisor).

Students with a Grade 11 Math background (and no higher) can take MATH 335. Even though Education students may take MATH 335, it is not specifically intended for Education students, and no student will be manually registered into the course past its size cap.

Science students should not take MATH 335, and will not receive credit for taking it. Non-Science students may take MATH 335 for credit, but only if they have not previously taken any UBC math course. MATH 335 is a challenging course intended for students who want to learn some advanced mathematics, but who lack the prerequisites to take a calculus course.

Prerequisites for UBC Math courses are strictly enforced. You will be removed without notice from any course for which you are not qualified. If your interim grade in Pre-calculus 12 (or equivalent) is between 65% and 79%, you should initially register in MATH 110. 

Yes, these two courses are entirely equivalent. In particular, STAT 302 can be used as one of the 6 courses for a Math Minor.

If you are a BSc student, declaration of a Math Major specialization is handled by the Faculty of Science's common application process. Contact Science Advising for details. If you are a BA student, you may apply to declare this specialization using the online application.

Students require special permission to declare a Double Major. Rules for BSc Double Majors (Faculty of Science) are described in the Calendar under Degree Requirements in the sections on Graduation Requirements and Program Requirements. For this declaration, the Faculty of Science has paper forms that require the signature of an authorized advisor.

If you are from outside of British Columbia and don't know what your equivalent grade is, look up your record on the online Student Service Centre. Please review the grade listed as PREC 12 or MATH 12. If there is an error, send an email message to admissions.inquiry@ubc.ca to have the error corrected. 

This is up to you. One option is to take MATH 120, an enriched calculus course. Another option is to take credit for MATH 100, opening up room for an additional Math course such as MATH 221 or MATH 223. Finally, some students prefer to take MATH 100 anyway, to firm up their knowledge.

BSc students declare their specialization when registering for their second year. BA students declare their specialization when registering for their third year. Students may, when online declaration is permitted, declare their specialization for a given session as early as their registration date for that session and change it until the end of the add/drop period for the first term of the session. BSc students cannot declare specializations online. If you are a BA student, see this page.

Students wishing to declare Combined Honours Computer Science and Mathematics should contact an advisor in the Computer Science Department. Student with interest in all other Honours Mathematics degrees should contact the Undergraduate Chair. In the case of Combined Honours specializations, approval by both departments is required.

Contact the Transfer of Credits & AP Exemptions Advisor. Contact details can be found on the Transfer Credits page.

All BSc degrees in Mathematics require at least 3 credits of first-year Physics. Students who have not taken Physics 12 in high school must take 6 credits. A BA degree in Mathematics does not have this requirement. See the individual program listings for details (Science, Arts).

Information about this specialization is available on the Programs of Study page. Watch for information sessions on this topic.

For Majors or Honours students, CPSC 110 and CPSC 210, or CPSC 110 and MATH 210. For Minors, there is no Computing Requirement. Also, some combined programs do not have a Computing Requirement.

Eligible math courses can be found at the Writing and Research Requirement web page.

Suppose your interim grade is below 80% and you register in MATH 110. If your final grade is between 80% and 85%, you may remain in MATH 110 or move to another calculus course for which you are eligible. If your final grade is above 85%, you are required to move to another calculus course for which you are eligible.

Suppose your interim grade is at least 80% and you register in MATH 100, 102, 104, 180, or 184. If your final grade is between 70% and 80%, you may remain in your course. If your final grade is below 70%, you are required to move to MATH 110.

Please see the department's Putnam Exam information page, as well as the information page and Putnam Exam FAQ from two of our Putnam faculty coaches.

A Cr or D standing in a Credit/D/Fail course is equivalent to a passing grade in that course and so will be treated as such for prerequisite purposes. However, if a follow-up course requires a high grade in the prerequisite course (e.g. MATH 320 requires 80% in MATH 220), a Cr or D will not suffice.

You must contact your Faculty with a request for an increase. Departments cannot override credit allowances.

Monitor sections for available seats. The Math Department generally does not operate wait lists.

Some departments give individual instructors the ability to sign a student into a full section or register in a section despite a prerequisite failure or conflict. In the Mathematics Department, these issues are handled by the Undergraduate Chair; use the advising contact form.

A list of options can be found on the department's website, in the Undergraduates tab, under Programs of Study.