Year 2 Entry

Students currently at UBC Vancouver must complete the following prerequisites in order to be eligible for second-year entry:

• 3 credits of a course applicable to the Writing Component of the Faculty of Arts Writing & Research Requirement (ArtsOne, ASTU 100, ASTU 101, ENGL 100, WRDS 150, or WRDS 350): there are no accepted substitutions for these specific course codes
• 9 credits (3 courses) from the BMS First-year Requirement list: 
  • ARTH 101 Ways of Seeing: Introduction to Visual Studies: Drawing on examples from across history and around the world, this course deals with the role of the visual in society, culture, and everyday experience.
  • CINE 100 Introduction to Cinema Studies: Basic aesthetic, economic, sociological, and technological aspects of film.
    • Note: the CINE subject code at UBC is new, and the BC Transfer Guide may only reflect correspondence with courses under the FIST subject code that it replaced. CINE and FIST courses with the same numbers are fully interchangeable.
  • CPSC 100 Computational Thinking: Meaning and impact of computational thinking. Solving problems using computational thinking, testing, debugging. How computers work.
  • CPSC 103 Introduction to Systematic Program Design: Computation as a tool for systematic problem solving in non-computer-science disciplines. Introductory programming skills.
  • CPSC 110 Computation, Programs, and Programming: Fundamental program and computation structures. Introductory programming skills. Computation as a tool for information processing, simulation and modelling, and interacting with the world.
  • CRWR 206 Introduction to Writing for the Screen: Techniques of and practice in creating, developing, and writing a screenplay. Manuscript submission is not required for admission.
  • CRWR 208 Introduction to Writing for Graphic Forms: Techniques of and practice in creating, developing, and writing the graphic novel, manga, and other forms of illustrated writing.
  • CRWR 213 Introduction to Writing for the New Media: An exploration of and practice in writing for new media, including podcasting, blogging, and writing for websites, games, and online environments.
  • FIPR 101 Introduction to the History of Film Production: The history of film and film production by decade with a strong emphasis on filmmakers and advances in production technology.
  • INFO 100 (De)coding Information and Why it Matters: Information and data as concepts and aspects of everyday experience. Creation, sharing, authorization, and valuing of information with implications for society. Critical perspectives and practices to engage with data, information, and technologies for personal productivity, scholarly inquiry, and civic engagement.
  • JRNL 100 New Media and Society: Development of new media technologies, their applications, and their cultural, political, and social impacts.
  • MDIA 100 Media Objects: Multidisciplinary perspectives on contemporary media objects and their effects.
  • VISA 110 Foundation Studio: Digital Media: Foundation instruction in techniques and approaches to digital practice. The nature of digital technologies and their role in contemporary culture will be examined.

The Media Studies stream of the Coordinated Arts Program (CAP) fulfills all prerequisites for second-year entry. 

If you have not met the pre-requisite requirements, you may still be considered for admission to the year 1 cohort. If you do so, you would be starting in the first year of a four-year program, regardless of the number of credits already completed. Current UBC–Vancouver students are not eligible for the 'appeal to consider alternative preparatory coursework' process.

If you are currently a student at UBC–Okanagan, you must first submit your Change of Degree Program/Campus request by January 15, 2024 before submitting your supplemental application. The BMS cannot proceed with evaluation of a supplemental application if the change-of-campus request is not filed.

The Okanagan campus does not offer courses that apply to the Faculty of Arts Writing Component; this requirement must be met by registering for WRDS 150 or WRDS 350 in term 1 of your second year, if you are admitted.

To validate completion of sufficient preparatory coursework, you must complete 9 credits of coursework from the following subject codes:

• ARTH (Art History and Visual Culture)
• COSC (Computer Science) 
• CMPE (Computer Engineering) 
• CCS (Creative and Critical Studies) 
• CRWR (Creative Writing)
• CULT (Cultural Studies) 
• DATA (Data Science)
• DIHU (Digital Humanities)
• FILM (Film)
• MDST (Media Studies)
• VISA (Visual Arts)

You will be asked to upload a printout of your grades through 2023 Winter term 1 on your supplemental application. The "appeal to consider alternative preparatory coursework" process is not available to students currently studying at UBC Okanagan.

Note that completion of this coursework only validates your preparation for Year 2 of the BMS curriculum; whether departments and schools at UBC Vancouver accept UBC Okanagan courses as prerequisites toward advanced study in their subjects, or towards the course requirements of minor programs, is at the discretion of the unit. If you have not met the pre-requisite requirements, you may still be considered for admission to year 1 of the program; this would require four additional years of study, regardless of the number of credits already completed.

If you're attending an institution in British Columbia:

• Take as many courses at your current institution that the BC Transfer Guide identifies as corresponding to the UBC courses on the first-year requirement list—if 9 credits are available to you, you will only need to specify that you've completed counterparts to these courses:
  • ARTH 101 Ways of Seeing: Introduction to Visual Studies: Drawing on examples from across history and around the world, this course deals with the role of the visual in society, culture, and everyday experience.
  • CINE 100 Introduction to Cinema Studies: Basic aesthetic, economic, sociological, and technological aspects of film.
    • Note: the CINE subject code at UBC is new, and the BC Transfer Guide may only reflect correspondence with courses under the FIST subject code that it replaced. CINE and FIST courses with the same numbers are fully interchangeable.
  • CPSC 100 Computational Thinking: Meaning and impact of computational thinking. Solving problems using computational thinking, testing, debugging. How computers work.
  • CPSC 103 Introduction to Systematic Program Design: Computation as a tool for systematic problem solving in non-computer-science disciplines. Introductory programming skills.
  • CPSC 110 Computation, Programs, and Programming: Fundamental program and computation structures. Introductory programming skills. Computation as a tool for information processing, simulation and modelling, and interacting with the world.
  • CRWR 206 Introduction to Writing for the Screen: Techniques of and practice in creating, developing, and writing a screenplay. Manuscript submission is not required for admission.
  • CRWR 208 Introduction to Writing for Graphic Forms: Techniques of and practice in creating, developing, and writing the graphic novel, manga, and other forms of illustrated writing.
  • CRWR 213 Introduction to Writing for the New Media: An exploration of and practice in writing for new media, including podcasting, blogging, and writing for websites, games, and online environments.
  • FIPR 101 Introduction to the History of Film Production: The history of film and film production by decade with a strong emphasis on filmmakers and advances in production technology.
  • INFO 100 (De)coding Information and Why it Matters: Information and data as concepts and aspects of everyday experience. Creation, sharing, authorization, and valuing of information with implications for society. Critical perspectives and practices to engage with data, information, and technologies for personal productivity, scholarly inquiry, and civic engagement.
  • JRNL 100 New Media and Society: Development of new media technologies, their applications, and their cultural, political, and social impacts.
  • MDIA 100 Media Objects: Multidisciplinary perspectives on contemporary media objects and their effects.
  • VISA 110 Foundation Studio: Digital Media: Foundation instruction in techniques and approaches to digital practice. The nature of digital technologies and their role in contemporary culture will be examined.
• If you only have 3 or 6 credits of coursework that directly corresponds, you will be able to propose other courses for consideration through the "appeal to consider alternative preparatory coursework" process below. When planning your course registration, consider the tips for students attending institutions outside BC below.
• It is recommended, but not mandatory, to take a course that is listed as corresponding to UBC Vancouver's WRDS 150, which would fulfill the Faculty of Arts Writing requirement.
  • Note that the specific focus on discourse studies in this course means that other courses where writing takes place, especially literature courses, are not accepted as substitutes.
  • If you have not taken a corresponding course, you will need to register for WRDS 150 or WRDS 350 in term 1 of your first year at UBC.
• Keep all your syllabi, and include week-by-week plans and assignment breakdowns when available.
• Ensure you apply to UBC and pay the application fee through the EduPlannerBC portal by January 15, 2024.

If you're attending an institution outside British Columbia, you will automatically be directed to the "appeal to consider alternative preparatory coursework" process below. When planning your course registration at your current institution, consider the following:

• Register in the media-related courses you're able to access at your institution, particularly those in similar subject areas or covering similar topics to those required of students (cinema/film, computer science, visual arts, creative writing, journalism, etc.).
  • You need 9 credits of coursework to meet the program's minimum preparatory threshold; note that 9 North American credits are equivalent to 18 credits under the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).
  • Your courses should have media—whether creation of your own media products or analysis of existing ones—as the core focus of the course; courses where media is simply one topic among many do not qualify.
• Keep all your syllabi, and include week-by-week plans and assignment breakdowns when available.
• Ensure you apply to UBC and pay the application fee through the EduPlannerBC portal by January 15, 2024.

Students attending institutions other than UBC must still demonstrate completion of sufficient preparatory coursework to be eligible for Year 2 entry. Students currently studying at either campus of UBC are not eligible to submit appeals under this process. Note that the program cannot provide verification or evaluation of external coursework in advance.

Your appeal will be submitted as part of the supplemental application, and reviewed by the Admissions Committee as part of the adjudication process. 

On the supplemental application, you will need to provide:

• An upload of your transcript(s), and 
• A list of up to 12 credits, or up to 4 distinct courses (in case one is not approved) that you're requesting the program consider to validate your preparation for year 2 entry;
• A syllabus for each course proposed (ideally with a weekly schedule)
• Indication of whether you wish to be considered for Year 1 entry if the Admissions Committee does not consider your proposed coursework to provide adequate preparation for Year 2 entry. (This means admission to the first year of a four-year program, regardless of how many credits you've already completed.)