Now that you have received an admissions offer from UBC this could become your new backyard. We are truly looking forward to welcoming you to UBC in Vancouver.
As Dean pro tem of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, it is my sincere pleasure to welcome you to the University of British Columbia and congratulate you on your admission to UBC. If you are new to the UBC community, welcome; and if you are already a UBC alumnus, welcome back! A special welcome as well to those of you who are coming internationally – in addition to resources in our unit and at UBC International Student Development, we have a vibrant and inclusive community of international graduate students and professionals that are here to support you.
UBC has a longstanding history of excellence, and consistently ranks among the top three Universities in Canada, and top 40 globally. The fact that you have been admitted to UBC is proof that you exhibit the same attributes of excellence, and that we are confident that you will continue to uphold the virtues of this great University to make outstanding contributions to UBC and society as a whole. You are now part of more than 10,000 graduate students at the UBC Vancouver campus across more than 300 different graduate offerings, which speaks to the breadth of possibility here at UBC. I invite you to explore everything that we have to offer, both academically and non-academically.
Academia in particular, and society as a whole, has experienced rapid change in the past few years. I recognize that the graduate student experience and needs of today are very different from when I was a student. At UBC, we have taken a leading role in envisioning change and supporting the graduate and postdoctoral community in the evolution of our response to these changing needs. We have changed the way that we view and nurture the relationship between graduate students and their supervisors and instructors, we have promoted more flexible and targeted methods of instruction and assessment, we have taken great steps to enhance graduate student wellbeing, and we have made it a priority to advance Indigenous inclusion and integrate Indigenous ways of knowing. We have also been at the forefront of reimagining graduate and postdoctoral education through initiatives such as our Public Scholars Initiative which supports doctoral students to undertake collaborative research for the public good. These are all examples of UBC’s commitment to supporting and encouraging academic success, work-life balance, and the development of competencies to prepare our graduates for the myriad career opportunities available in the years to come.
Finally, I strongly encourage you to do things other than what is required for your degree. Too many times I have heard of graduates say that they wish they had done more, or tried new things. Many of us have regretted missing out on something because we just need to “read another paper” or “analyze this dataset,” or because “it isn’t in my specific area of interest, so won’t be relevant to me.” You never know what you will learn from a seminar, event, or opportunity outside your discipline, or where that may take you. You are also fortunate to now live in one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. Get out and enjoy everything that Vancouver and its natural splendor have to offer.
So, again, on behalf of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at UBC, congratulations, welcome, and all the best as you start this next phase of your journey.
Dr. Michael A. Hunt, Dean pro tem
