The University of British Columbia offers Interdisciplinary Studies: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - UBCV, a doctorate in Liberal Arts programme in Vancouver, Canada. 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:Liberal Arts
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
Established in 1971 as Canada's first program of its kind, UBC's Interdisciplinary Studies PhD lets each student assemble three or four faculty supervisors from different departments to design a research path that does not fit within any single existing graduate program, provided a supervisory committee -- including at least one tenured or tenure-track co-supervisor -- is secured before applying. Recent cohorts completed the degree in an average of 6.3 years, ranging from 3.7 to 10 years, with a 60% graduation rate recorded for students admitted between 2012 and 2015. Admission requires a bachelor's degree with a minimum B+ average (76% at UBC), two letters of reference, and, for applicants from non-English-instruction backgrounds, a TOEFL score of at least 90, IELTS 6.5 or Duolingo 125; the GRE is not required. Students admitted from September 2026 are guaranteed a minimum of $40,000 per year in funding for their first four years, against tuition of $5,738.52 domestic and $10,081.65 international, with application fees of $118.50 and $168.25 respectively. Graduates have moved into higher education, healthcare, government and private consulting roles that draw on their cross-disciplinary training.
Requirements
Minimum GPA:76.00 / %
Admission Requirements: UBC's Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies page for the PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies does not itself state a prior-degree subject requirement, but does require, before an application can proceed, that the prospective student bring together three or four qualified faculty from different departments or units to supervise the project, with at least one proposed co-supervisor a G+PS member holding a tenured or tenure-track appointment at Assistant, Associate or full Professor rank. The Faculty-wide minimum overall average is in the B+ range (76% at UBC); meeting it does not guarantee admission since selection is competitive, and the GRE is not required. English-language test scores, valid within the last 24 months of application, must meet: IELTS Academic overall 6.5 with no component below 6.0; TOEFL iBT (CEFR-aligned scale for tests from 21 January 2026) overall 4.5, with Reading and Writing at least 4.5, Speaking at least 4.0 and Listening at least 5.0; or Duolingo English Test overall 125, with Reading and Listening at least 115 and Writing and Speaking at least 120.
Application Details
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.
