Prior to registering in any courses, students are required to consult with the Specialty Advisor (or Research Supervisor if known) regarding a Coursework Plan, and thereby secure approval of the Plan. Students should initially develop a draft plan using the relevant form available on the Forms page. The plan must list the proposed courses and schedule, taking account of course availability (not all courses are offered every year) and term in which they are given (see Course Schedule), and may take account of prior courses and core course substitutions. This will assure adherence to course credit requirements, coursework regulations, an appropriate course load and selection, and no scheduling conflicts. Please be aware of the possibility of relying on CIVL 592 (which needs to be arranged with a particular instructor), and/or a relevant CIVL 598 section (if available, see Course Schedule), and/or on a range of elective courses that are not on the list of approved electives for the specialization. Students are allowed a maximum of six credits from CIVL 592 or CIVL 598.
Course Registration
Students may register directly for all courses using the online registration system, including adding or dropping courses. If you are unable to do so please complete the course request form and obtain the instructor’s signature before submitting it to Graduate Support for the Graduate Advisor’s approval. Graduate students are allowed a maximum six credits of undergraduate coursework to be used towards completion of their graduate program. For these courses, students must fill out the online undergraduate course registration form. For courses in other departments, please contact that department directly.
Audition Courses
Students must be approved to audit (“sit in” on) courses. They are expected to complete all course requirements except the final exam, and may be given a failing grade for the course if their performance is not satisfactory. Students auditing a course may not change to regular status during the term, nor may a regular student change to audit status after the normal date for adding and dropping courses. The code “AUD” will be recorded on the transcript. To audit a course, download and complete the course request form, obtain the approval of the instructor, and submit the form to gradsupport@civil.ubc.ca to obtain the approval of the Graduate Advisor. Note that a course that is audited does not count towards the credit requirements of a program.
Transfer Credits (MASc & MEng)
MASc and MEng programs. Students may apply for a maximum of 12 credits of coursework as transfer credits towards the MEng or MASc programs, for courses taken prior to beginning their program. The courses cannot have been used to satisfy the requirements of another credential; they cannot have been used as a basis for admission to the current program; they must have been taken within five years of admission to the current program; and a standing of a least 74% must be obtained in the relevant courses. Also, for each such course, the Graduate Advisor will need to approve the appropriate course level (i.e. undergraduate / graduate) and category (i.e. civil engineering / other). For courses taken prior to admission, it is important to seek approval shortly after the program commences (using the relevant form available at here), so that there are no undue expectations regarding such courses. For courses to be taken at another institution, either in Canada or elsewhere, after admission, it is critical that approval is obtained prior to finalizing arrangements for taking such courses.
Credit Exemptions (PhD)
For the PhD program, transfer credits are not granted, but instead exemptions may be granted for a maximum of 18 credits of coursework taken after the Bachelors degree for courses with a standing of at least 74%.
Seminar
All graduate students are required to register once in the appropriate section of CIVL 597 Graduate Seminar (1 credit, Pass/Fail mark); however, all students must attend the seminar series (without subsequent registration) throughout the program. All MASc students are required to give at least one seminar presentation within CIVL 597 during the program.
The different specialization seminar series corresponding to different sections of CIVL 597 as follows:
| Section | Specialty |
| CIVL 597-002 | Hydrotechnical |
| CIVL 597-003 | Environmental |
| CIVL 597-004 | Structural & Earthquake |
| CIVL 597-005 | Project & Construction Management |
| CIVL 597-006 | Transportation |
| CIVL 597-007 | Geotechnical |
| CIVL 597-008 | Materials |
Examinations
Most courses have final examinations during the University’s designated exam periods in December and April. Prepare well in advance to write exams successfully. In addition to studying, please be aware of important exam dates, and understand the expectations for student conduct during exams.
The start and end dates of the exam periods are published in the UBC Academic Calendar (and are provided in this handbook). All students should be available for the duration of the exam period – avoid making travel plans until the exact dates of your scheduled exams are known. The detailed examination schedule is released by mid-October for December exams, and by mid-February for April exams. Please note that the first exam schedule released may be subject to change.
A Deferred Examination may be taken when a student misses an exam due to illness or other unforeseeable event, and applies to write an exam at a later date (referred to as an “academic concession”). Instructions on how to apply for academic concession are given here.
Supplemental examinations are not available to graduate students.