Eligibility & Priority

ELIGIBILITY

Eligibility to live in residence is generally based on two things: academic credit load, and age requirements.

Academic Load Requirements

    • Undergraduate students: You must be and remain registered in Winter Session for a minimum of 18 credits—9 credits in each of Term 1 and Term 2.
    • Graduate students: The College of Graduate Studies must confirm your full-time status.

Age Requirements

You must meet the age requirement by December 31 of the year you move into residence.

Residence Minimum Age
Cassiar, Kalamalka, Nicola, Purcell, Valhalla, Skeena, Nechako None
Similkameen Place None
Lower/Upper Cascades None
Monashee Place—four bedroom None
Monashee Place—studio, one bedroom 19 years

Summer Housing

  • Summer Stay-Through: available to students who have a Winter Session Residence Contract and would like to stay on campus for the summer. There is no minimum age and no application fee. Summer course registration is not required.
  • Summer Residence: reserved for students and visiting students who do not hold a current Residence Contract. Eligible students must belong to ONE of the following groups:
    • Okanagan students registered in summer credit courses or in a graduate program.UBC Okanagan students employed in a research capacity (copy of appointment notice required).Full-time students from other universities performing research with a UBC Department (proof of sponsorship and student status required).

Early Arrival

Students with a Winter Session Residence Contract may be eligible to arrive early. The following groups must apply online to be considered (proof of registration required):

  • Early starting academic programs
  • Athletic commitments

 

PRIORITY

Two groups of applicants are prioritized in residence at UBC. We assign rooms to these applicants first.

  1. Prospective undergraduates who are incoming first-year students and meet all requirements
  2. Priority Access Students

A spot in residence is not guaranteed if you do not meet the following requirements, but you can still apply.

FIRST YEAR GUARANTEE

Base Criteria
(must meet ALL requirements)

  • You are eligible to live in residence based on your age and academic credit load (see above).
  • Your application to UBC and application for Winter Session residence were received on time– May 1. First year students can open a residence application as soon as they complete their application to UBC.
  • You must receive and accept UBC’s offer of academic admission by June 1.

Additional Considerations

  • You are entering UBC directly from high school or CEGEP. (i.e., you graduated within the last year, between this June and the previous June – and you have not completed any post-secondary coursework.
  • You are a newly admitted first or second year international undergraduate student (excluding post-baccalaureate degree programs).

PRIORITY ACCESS

Priority Access groups are also given first consideration for rooms in residence during the Winter Session.

Base Criteria
(must meet ALL requirements)

  • You are eligible to live in residence based on age and academic credit load (see above).
  • Your application to UBC and application for Winter Session residence were received on time– May 1. First-year students can open a residence application when applying to UBC.
  • You must have received and accepted UBC’s offer of academic admission by June 1.

Additional Criteria

  • You are a newly admitted student who identifies as an Aboriginal person of Canada.
  • You are a new student and have a disability or ongoing medical condition that significantly affects your housing needs. Students may indicate they are eligible on the residence application form, then must demonstrate eligibility by completing a separate application and providing medical documentation confirmed by the Disability Resource Centre.
  • You are participating in a reciprocal university student exchange programs through Go Global.
  • You are a newly admitted graduate student who received one of the following awards or fellowships: ILOT, KIMLOT, DWISA, Mastercard Scholar, NSERC, MRC, SSHRC, Commonwealth, NHRDP, CIDA. Put the title of your award and your home institution on the comments section of the application. Please submit supporting documents.

Please contact Student Housing for more information about Priority Access.