Degree Proposal Deadlines for 2nd Year Students
- September 8, 2026 (updated from July 31): All Integrated Sciences students must create a degree proposal account.
- September 8-15, 2026: Sign up for a peer mentor
- 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 13, 2026: All Integrated Sciences students must have completed and submitted their Degree Proposal to their mentor for approval by this date.
- March 15, 2026: All Degree Proposals must be approved by the faculty mentor and submitted to the IS office for final approval by this date.
To be promoted to third year your Degree Proposal must be approved.
Required Components of the Degree Proposal
- Proposed Integration
- Vision Statement, Curriculum Rationale, Course list
- Faculty Mentor
- Peer Mentor
Degree Proposal Overview
Once you've thought about your educational goals, the areas you would like to integrate, and the courses you might want to take, you will need to formulate your plan in a Degree Proposal. Your Degree Proposal will consist of two essays (a Vision Statement and a Curriculum Rationale) which will help you plan your specific course of study. You should use these essays to help finalize your course selection, and as a starting point for discussions with an advisor.
The Degree Proposal consists of three sections: Vision Statement, Curriculum Rationale, and Course List. Please refer to the details below for each section.
Degree Proposal Process/Stages
Selecting Courses
As an Integrated Sciences student, you have the flexibility to select your own upper-level courses, as there are no predetermined course lists for specific integrations. Your mentor and the Integrated Sciences administration will assist you in ensuring that your chosen courses align with the overall goals of your program. To help plan your course of study, please refer to our Curriculum Requirements for a comprehensive list of requirements. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to your mentor or an Integrated Sciences administrator.
Creating Disciplines
After you have created your list of courses, organize them into two or three areas of science based on topic or theme. Don't restrict yourself by organizing courses by department. Be creative and come up with your own discipline titles! Look for groupings of courses that include 400-level courses in order to gain a deeper understanding of a few selected disciplines, rather than taking only a spectrum of 300-level credits.
Once you have created disciplines start prioritizing courses. Check the current timetable and try to make sure the courses you have selected are offered in the term you selected them, and that none conflict with one another (remember the timetable might change somewhat, although large changes are unlikely).
Finding a Faculty Mentor
It is the student's responsibility to find and secure a faculty mentor. Identifying a mentor is a required component of the degree proposal process and demonstrates a student's ability to engage with faculty whose expertise supports the proposed integration.
Finding a faculty mentor can be overwhelming. Here are some suggestions to help you get started:
Explore Research Areas
Browse this list of current research on campus: UBC Current Research. If you find research related to your proposed integration, consider contacting a faculty member associated with that lab or research group.
Use the Peer Mentor Network
Ask your peer mentor to introduce you to their faculty mentor either in person on zoom or in an e-mail introduction.
Reach out to current Instructors
Your current instructors can be excellent starting points. Even if they cannot mentor you themselves, they may be able to recommend colleagues whose expertise aligns with your integration.
Look beyond the Faculty of Science
The faculty mentor does not need to be from the Faculty of Science. We have had mentors from Land and Food Systems, Medicine, Arts, the School of Population and Public Health, and the school of Kinesiology.
Craft a thoughtful outreach e-mail
When contacting a prospective mentor:
• Briefly describe your proposed integration
• Explain why you are reaching out to them specifically
• Show that you understand their research area
• Request a meeting (in person or on Zoom) to discuss potential mentorship
If a faculty member declines or is unavailable, thank them and ask whether they can recommend someone else in the field.
If the faculty mentor has never mentored in Integrated Sciences before please direct them to the prospective faculty mentor page.
Once you have a mentor, your mentor will comment on your essays and help you develop your curriculum by assisting you with questions such as selecting courses that suit your goals, organizing Directed Studies Projects (448s) or resolving issues with co-op, prerequisites, courses with science credits in other faculties, etc.
Your proposal will evolve through discussions that you have with your mentor.
Finalizing your degree proposal
Once you have drawn up your curriculum, re-examine your whole program. Does it still appeal to you? Check all pre-requisites. There is no single model for your program, because you are creating it. The discipline credits should contain courses that relate to each other, but they might be drawn from different departments. However, it should be clear why you chose them. The remaining courses might cluster around one separate but equally represented topic, or they might represent several topics. Have you used your essays as a planning tool? Your second essay should help you clarify why you want to take the courses you are proposing.
Once your mentor is satisfied with your essays and has agreed to your proposed curriculum you can submit your proposal to your mentor for approval. Once you have submitted your proposal, your mentor can sign off, which means that the proposal will be reviewed by another Integrated Sciences mentor. The reviewer comments will be sent to you and you may need to address the comments and resubmit your proposal to your mentor for approval. Your mentor will then forward your proposal for final approval to an Integrated Sciences administrator. The administration may accept your proposal, return it to you for revision, or reject it. If you are asked for changes, these should again be made in consultation with your mentor. Your mentor can then resubmit your proposal after you have made any necessary changes. Once your proposal is approved it is referred to as a program contract.
Changes to approved Integrated Sciences programs
During students' tenure in the Integrated Sciences, changes to their program may be necessary for various reasons, e.g. because students can't get into some of the courses in their program, or because some courses are not offered anymore, or because students' interests change.
Changes are possible, but they have to be discussed with and approved by the mentor. In case a student makes substantial changes to their Integrated Sciences curriculum as a consequence of a change of interest, the mentor may require the student to justify the suggested changes by rewriting the essays.
Procedure for Degree Proposal changes: E-mail your Faculty Mentor with the course changes and rationale. Please include a rationale for each course you are adding. The Faculty Mentor can then make the change directly to your Degree Proposal or e-mail intsci@science.ubc.ca to make the changes. If you don't receive a response from your Faculty Mentor please contact the Integrated Sciences office with your course change request.
Download the course change request form for a template to request Degree Proposal updates.
Contract Deadline
IMPORTANT: ALL CHANGES TO INTEGRATED SCIENCES DEGREE PROPOSALS MUST BE APPROVED BEFORE THE FIRST DAY OF THE LAST TERM OF A STUDENT'S INTEGRATED SCIENCES PROGRAM. If changes are made after that time, or without the approval of the mentor, students may fail to be approved for graduation.
Be aware that the degree proposal process may take months of revisions and review. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that the proposal is approved before the start of the last term of study. Degree Proposals not submitted or still under review at this time will be rejected. Therefore it is recommended that Degree Proposals are submitted (for the first time) at least 4 months before the deadline.