Visual Arts: Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree (BFA) - UBCV is a bachelor's degree in Visual Arts programme offered by The University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. The programme runs for 4 years, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 51,530 per year (CAD 6,201 per year for local students).
At a glance
Degree:Bachelor's Degree
Field:Visual Arts
Duration: 4 years
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 6,201 / year
International tuition: CAD 51,530 / year
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
The Bachelor of Fine Art in Visual Art focuses on visual art practice, critical theory, and art history while providing an excellent foundation in a variety of fields involving the making and understanding of visual art and contemporary aesthetics. You will explore art-making in at least four different media areas: digital art, photography (digital and analog), painting, drawing, sculpture, and print media. The Visual Art program equips you with the tools and skills necessary to work professionally in a wide range of contemporary visual art fields, to pursue a Master of Fine Arts, or to go on to further studies in related fields, such as education, architecture, and interior design.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Entry is through UBC Vancouver's direct-entry Fine Arts stream. English Studies 12 or English First Peoples 12 is the only Grade 12 course prerequisite for Canadian secondary-school applicants; no further subject courses are required beyond those for general admission, and the program-specific assessment uses Language Arts, Visual and Performing Arts and Social Studies grades. An audition or portfolio is required in addition to the academic record. International applicants present the equivalent qualifications from their own curriculum: UBC applies the same degree requirements to international curricula, and applicants from an English-medium secondary school must also show at least 70 per cent in Grade 11 or Grade 12 English. Everyone must meet UBC's English Language Admission Standard - for example IELTS Academic 6.5 with no part below 6.0, or TOEFL iBT 90 with 22 in reading and listening and 21 in writing and speaking for a test sat before 21 January 2026, or 4.5 overall with 5 in listening, 4.5 in reading and writing and 4 in speaking on the 1-6 scale that replaced it from that date.
Application Details
Start Date:September
Application Deadline:Domestic and international undergraduate applicants both apply through EducationPlannerBC for Winter Session 2027/28 (September 2027 entry) and Summer 2027: applications open in early October 2026 and the equal-consideration deadline is 15 January 2027, 11:59 p.m. PST, the same date for both groups; a few programs keep reviewing late applications on a space-available basis afterwards. Earlier dates apply only to entrance-award consideration -- 15 November 2026 for the International Scholars Program and 1 December 2026 for Presidential/Centennial/Beyond Tomorrow scholars. Several limited-entry programmes -- Law, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Nursing (advanced entry), Occupational/Physical Therapy, Social Work and Teacher Education -- set their own earlier deadlines from October 2026 through February 2027. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
