At The University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, Geography: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - UBCV is offered as a doctorate in Arts, Design & Architecture programme. The programme is delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 10,082 per year (CAD 5,739 per year for local students).
At a glance
Degree:Doctorate
Field:Arts, Design & Architecture
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 5,739 / year
International tuition: CAD 10,082 / year
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
UBC's Geography doctorate is described by the department as flexible, research-intensive and student-driven, built around an independent dissertation developed with a faculty supervisor. Candidates specialize across a wide span of the discipline, including biogeography, climatology, geomorphology, hydrology and glaciology, economic geography, feminist geography, historical geography, Indigenous geographies, political geography, social and cultural geography, urban geography, geographic information science, and environment and sustainability. Departmental themes cut across these areas, taking in climate and global change, cities, forests and people, geopolitical security, and water and ice systems. Research facilities include the Geographic Information Centre and the Biogeomorphology Experimental Laboratory. Graduates go on to academia, government, non-profit organizations and the private sector.
Requirements
Minimum GPA:76.00 / %
Admission Requirements: Admission follows UBC's Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies baseline of a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC); individual programs may set higher standards, and meeting the minimum does not guarantee admission given competitive selection. Applicants from non-English-instruction institutions must submit a test from the last 24 months: IELTS Academic 7.0 overall with no component below 6.5, TOEFL iBT 5.0 overall on the scale from January 2026 with no section below 4.0, or Duolingo English Test 130 overall. A statement of interest, a CV of up to three pages and three letters of reference are required; the GRE is not required, and no supervisor commitment is necessary before applying, though contacting faculty members is encouraged.
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.
