- Large public institution
- 9 campuses, some of which are ranked top in the world
- Campuses are UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz, UC Riverside, and UC Merced
- All campuses are research-oriented, strong in STEM, Humanities and Social Sciences subjects
- 238,000+ students and 190,000+ faculty and staff
- Each campus has many clubs, events and activities to participate in
- UC Berkeley is where the The Free Speech Movement started in 1964 and led to a college campus phenomenon that was first inspired by the struggle for civil rights
Visa + Requirements|Travel advice + advisories
Partner university’s areas of study
Eligibility and Timing
Terms Offered
Who can go?
- Please know that you will be applying to the UC System, not a specific campus
- Campus assignment is determined by the University of California Admissions
- Students must have a minimum 75% cumulative average to attend this partner university
- Priority will be given to students who wish to participate in a full-year exchange
Term Dates
Individual campuses operate on different semester systems:
- Most UC campuses operate on the quarter system: 10 weeks of instruction
- Fall quarter (September – December)
- Winter quarter (January – March)
- Spring quarter (April – June)
- One full academic year is three quarters
- UC Berkeley (UCB) operates on the semester system: 15 weeks of instruction
- Spring semester (January – May)
- Fall semester (August – December)
- One full academic year is two semesters
- Note: Students that attend UC campuses for the FALL Quarter only will receive less than a full UBC semester's worth of credits; if a student takes 12 units at UC they will only receive 8 UBC credits; if a student takes 16 units at UC, they will only receive approximately 10 or 11 UBC credits (exception: Berkeley which is on the Semester System)
Timing
- What term to list on your Go Global Application when applying to general UC campuses:
- Term 1 = Fall quarter only: September – December
- Term 2 = Winter quarter & Spring quarter: January – June
- Full Year = Fall quarter, Winter quarter, & Spring quarter: September – June
- It is not possible to take only the Spring Semester
- Students will indicate their top 3 choices to the UC system once nominated by Go Global and accepted into the UC system
- Please note that placements at campuses are done by the UC admin team. Go Global cannot guarantee your placement at any specific campus.
- View the UC student guide for most inquiries related to studying at a UC campus
Credits
Summer programs
Course equivalency formula
- Quarter units x 2/3 = UBC credits
- Berkeley = same as UBC credits
Credit transfer process
The transfer credit process takes approximately 16 weeks following each submission deadline. You should allow sufficient time to meet important deadlines that may affect you (e.g. application for graduation, registration in courses that require prerequisites that you took on exchange, entry to a major/honours program, etc.)
Passing grade
D- = 0.7 Grade PointsCourse Information
* Students who have special requirements or require academic accommodation should contact a Go Global advisor regarding their needs at least six weeks prior to the application deadline.
Type of Go Global Experiences
Course information and restrictions
- Ensure that there are at least three campuses at UC with courses that you are interested in. Please review their list of majors.
- When selecting courses, ensure that they are available in the semester for which you are applying
- Students wanting to study Computer Science at UC should be Computer Science majors at UBC as CS courses are in high demand at UC.
Transfer Credits And Equivalent Courses At This University
Check out the courses that previous students have transferred back to UBC in the last 5 years using our Course Search Tool. If you don't see a particular course you listed, it simply means you need to submit it as a new course request through the Transfer Credit Portal while on your Go Global experience. For more information, please visit the Go Global Transfer Credit webpage.
Exchange Tuition
- 15 credits or equivalent full-time program fee per term, paid to UBC
Scholarships and awards
The Go Global Award $1000
All students accepted to Go Global for Exchange, Research Abroad, or Study Abroad travel programs are automatically considered for this award. If you meet the eligibility criteria, you'll be notified of your award after you're accepted to Go Global and after you get nominated to apply to the partner university.
Additional awards
Students who are eligible for awards may receive one UBC or UBC-affiliated international learning award. If you're eligible, you are always offered the highest-value award. Unless stated otherwise, you need to meet eligibility criteria set out by the University Senate regarding awards.
Check out international learning awards and eligibility.
- Fulbright (for Graduate students that are Canadian Citizens)
- Killam Open Competition Award (for undergraduate students that are Canadian Citizens)
Information for US students:
If you are a student from the United States, please check the US Department of Education Lookup Tool to ensure that any partner institution you wish to attend on Exchange is Title IV ‘eligible’ for Federal Student Aid for the year in which you intend to study there. For institutions outside of the US, select “Foreign Country” from the “State” dropdown menu.
If you attend an eligible institution, then you may receive Title IV federal student loans while on Exchange.
If you attend an ineligible institution:
- You will not be eligible for US federal student loans,
- You may invalidate any US student aid you have previously received for your studies at UBC,
- You may be required to immediately begin repaying your US student loans, and
- You may not be eligible for any future US student aid for the remainder of your studies at UBC.
Additional Fees
- Each campus may have some additional student service fees which may vary according to campus
- All students attending UC – both domestic and international — are required to have health insurance, therefore you will be automatically enrolled in the UC Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) and this health insurance premium will be charged to your UC student account
- If you wish to be covered under a plan other than the SHIP plan, you must request a waiver (exemption) within the announced deadlines - please ensure that you research the SHIP waiver requirements to ensure that your insurance from home meets all requirements (please note that the exemption is not automatic and the exemption may not be approved)
- UC health insurance coverage, waiver information and effective dates are available on the Reciprocal Exchanges web page - Pre-arrival Instructions - See Campus-Specific Instructions and Information
Types of accommodation available
Housing notes
- These are the minimum amounts needed for the host UC campus to issue a certificate of eligibility (DS-2019) for visa application
- These amounts are estimates which vary with lifestyle and cost of travel is not included
- Students should document the highest amount for their campus choices - if possible, we also recommend that students document funds allowing for a ten to fifteen percent increase in the figures provided, as amounts are subject to reevaluation and may change before the issue of the certificate of eligibility
- Students who are accepted will receive more information about accommodation in their letter of acceptance from the UC system
- Estimated cost of housing near UC campus