Frequently Asked Questions

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.

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.

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 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.

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).

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.

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.

Students with a Grade 11 Math background (and no higher) can take MATH 335. 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.

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.

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

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. 

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. 

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.

No. You cannot use ECON 326 to count towards, for example, a 6 credit requirement in MATH, STAT or CPSC courses numbered 300 or higher.

The Mathematics Department generally enforces course prerequisites and faculty-specific academic rules (e.g. BSc and BA students may not repeat a failed course more than once with the exception of first-year calculus which may be repeated twice, nor may they repeat a passed course for higher standing). Students who do not satisfy prerequisites are allowed to register at the Student Service Centre (SSC) with warnings but may be removed from the course later.

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.

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.

You can withdraw from a one-term winter-session course within six weeks; and from a two-term course, within 12 weeks. (A withdrawn course will appear as a "W" on your record, but will not affect your average.) See the Student Services page on Course change & withdrawal dates for details.

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

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.

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.

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.

A one-term winter-session course can be dropped within the first two weeks; and a two-term course, within the first three weeks. (Dropped courses will not appear on a student's record.) See the Student Services page on Course change & withdrawal dates for details.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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).

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 who do not meet the requirements of a given program may be removed from that program and be required to switch to another one. The Combined Major in Sciences (CMS, formerly General Sciences Program) can often be used by BSc students.

Students register for courses in a session starting on a date determined by their year and average. The order is year 1, 4, 3, and 2 for winter sessions, with students with higher averages registering first within each year. The details of registration timing are posted in the Calendar. No one, not even an administrator, can register a student for a course before the student's registration date. Most students register immediately upon the arrival of their registration date.

Yes. Some advisors (Richard Anstee, Eric Cytrynbaum) maintain their own pages with general advice and suggestions on specific topics. Some of that material may appear in this FAQ as well. You may also email an advisor or the Undergraduate Chair from the advising page.

Promotion is considered in May of each year. If students satisfy all requirements for promotion, they are notified of their new status sometime before the end of summer (usually August). Students can be promoted directly from 2nd to 4th year provided all requirements are met. Details for BSc students are available in the Calendar under Promotion Requirements. Program specific requirements for BSc mathematics:

• The MATH 220/226 requirement must be satisfied before promotion to 3rd year is granted
• CPSC 111/211 (along with all 1st, 2nd year requirements) must be completed before promotion to 4th year.

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.

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

Whenever a program's requirements change, students are allowed to satisfy the original requirements or the new ones; see the UBC regulations for further details. Students may not pick and choose from different versions of program requirements; they must satisfy one complete set of requirements.

The UBC SSC has a list of currently offered MATH courses

All of MATH 110, 100, 102, 104, 180, and 184 are accepted as prerequisites for a follow-up course in first-year integral calculus, namely MATH 101, 103, and 105. Integral calculus courses are offered at UBC in the summer, so if your program requires such a course you may still take it before your second year. Contact an advisor in your home faculty if you have further questions about implications for your degree program. 

Normally no. MATH 110 is not meant for students with a strong high-school mathematics background. However, if you feel MATH 110 is the most appropriate course for you to take, you may request permission to take it from the Mathematics Department's Undergraduate Chair (send an email message to ug-advise@math.ubc.ca). 

Yes. Watch for announcement in class or by email.

The Mathematics Department generally enforces course prerequisites and faculty-specific academic rules (e.g. BSc and BA students may not repeat a failed course more than once with the exception of first-year calculus which may be repeated twice, nor may they repeat a passed course for higher standing). Students who do not satisfy prerequisites are allowed to register at the Student Service Centre (SSC) with warnings but may be removed from the course later.