Congratulations on your acceptance into 2nd year Integrated Sciences!
Now that you are an Integrated Sciences student it is time to start planning the integrated program you wish to pursue. In order to continue in Integrated Sciences for 3rd year you must have a degree proposal consisting of a vision statement and a curriculum rationale approved by Integrated Sciences. This process is in place to help you focus your studies and ensure that you're meeting specialization requirements.
Here are the steps you should take (Deadlines are for students entering 2nd year in 2025):
1. Create an Integrated Sciences Account
Deadline: July 31, 2025
It is essential that you create an account with a reliable e-mail address as this is how we will contact you with important specialization and course information.
2. Register for 2nd year courses
- Register in the pre-requisites of courses you plan to take in 3rd and 4th year. Integrated Sciences has no specific set of courses required for 2nd year so it is important that you have an idea of the areas you wish to integrate prior to second year registration.
- Register in courses that will allow you to meet progression requirements to 3rd year class standing. Students need at least 15, 200-level and above science credits to progress to 3rd year.
- Register in courses that will allow you to complete the Faculty of Science’s faculty requirements.
3. Begin an Integrated Sciences Degree Proposal
Start putting your ideas online - What do you wish to accomplish with your degree? Why Integrated Sciences? What will you integrate? What issues will your integration allow you to better understand? You can also start listing courses you think would be beneficial to your degree. All of this will allow Integrated Sciences advisors and mentors to get an idea of what you are interested in before they meet you.
4. Contact an Integrated Sciences Advisor
For questions about the specialization or about 2nd year registration please feel free to contact the Integrated Sciences office by e-mail intsci@science.ubc.ca. We can also meet with you via Zoom.
5. Meet with a Faculty Mentor
Contact a faculty member whose area of interest is similar to what you wish to pursue (It doesn't have to be an exact match). This mentor should be a professor at UBC. If the mentor wishes to support you with your proposal they will sign on as your mentor. You may be required to revise your proposal a few times before submitting it for approval.
6. Submit your degree proposal for approval
Deadline: Feb 10, 2026
Once your program is approved the degree proposal becomes a contract between you and the university and you therefore will need to complete all of the courses you have listed (in addition to Faculty of Science requirements) in order to obtain your degree. If you would like to make changes to the contract, you may do so with permission of your mentor and the Integrated Sciences office.
Timeline:
July 31, 2025: All Integrated Sciences students must create a degree proposal account.
January 15, 2026: All Integrated Sciences students must have a mentor by this date. The mentor must sign on to your degree proposal to indicate that he or she is your mentor.
February 10, 2026: All Integrated Sciences students must have completed and submitted their Degree Proposal to their mentor for approval by this date.
March 14, 2026: All Degree Proposals must be approved by the faculty mentor and submitted to the IS office for final approval by this date.
To make sufficient progress in your degree your Degree Proposal must be approved by the time you've reached third year class standing.
2nd Year Registration Guidelines
2nd year students should take pre-requisites to upper-level courses they plan to include in their integrations. In addition they should take courses allowing them to meet the Faculty of Science lower-level and progression requirements.
ISCI 300 is recommended in 2nd year. It is a 1-credit course and can be taken in addition to a full course load.
Common Registration Answers
- NSCI 200 - Restricted to students registered in the neurosciences specialization.
- NSCI 301, 302, 303, 311- These courses are opened to NSCI students first. A limited number of additional seats are opened once NSCI students have registered. If you are planning on integrating something related to neuroscience you'll need to include courses related to the topic offered by other specializations such as PSYC, BIOL, CAPS.
- NSCI 487A and NSCI 487B are available however students will need to meet the listed prerequisites.
- BIOL 200 and 201 Registration - BIOL 200 uses a staggered seat release where about 1/3 of the seats per section per day will be released during the week of 2nd-year registration. For BIOL 200 please register in the primary section (000), then a lecture section (101-105), and finally a tutorial section (TXX). For BIOL 201 please register in a lecture section (201-204) and a tutorial section (TXX). If you have course prerequisite questions please contact the course coordinator:
- BIOL 200 – Please email biol200@biology.ubc.ca
- BIOL 201 – Please email biol201@biology.ubc.ca
- If a course is restricted to a specific specialization register on the waitlist (for example FNH 250).
- For KIN courses please register on the waitlist. Pre-requisites for upper-level KIN courses are waived for Integrated Sciences students.