The Department of Microbiology and Immunology at UBC and the Biotechnology Program at the BC Institute of Technology (BCIT) offer a five-year joint degree Co-operative Education Program that integrates academic study at both institutions with related and supervised work experience. Enrolment is limited. Entry into the specialization is at the second-year level and requires completion of the first-year prerequisites listed below with at least the minimum admission average set by the UBC Faculty of Science for transfer into second year Honours specializations.
Student must apply for the specialization. See BCIT Biotechnology for details.
The first year of the specialization can be taken at UBC or another institution. The second and third years (taken at the BCIT campus) include two four-month work terms along with academic and technical studies. The fourth and fifth years (taken at the UBC campus) include two four-month work terms and advanced studies. Students must meet the Faculty of Science requirement to continue in this Honours specialization (see Honours Specialization requirements). Completion of the requirements for the first three years of the specialization earns a Diploma of Technology in Biotechnology.
Completion of the requirements for the entire five-year specialization earns an Honours Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology. The credentials are awarded jointly by UBC and BCIT. Students who fail to maintain the Faculty of Science requirements for continuing in Honours specializations in their fourth or fifth year need to request transfer credit for their BCIT courses if they intend to enrol in the other specializations such as the Microbiology and Immunology Major.
Honours (1136): Biotechnology
| First year | |
| Two of BIOL_V 111, 112, 1211 | 6 |
| CHEM_V 121 (or 111, 141)2 | 4 |
| CHEM_V 1232 | 4 |
| Communication Requirement3 | 6 |
| MATH_V 102 (or 100 or 104)4 | 3 |
| PHYS_V 100-level5 | 3 |
| Electives6,7 | 4 |
| Total Credits8 | 30 |
| Second and Third Year at BCIT Campus | |
| BIOT_V 280 | |
| BIOT_V 380 | |
| BIOT_V 3988 | |
| BIOT_V 3998 | |
| Total Credits8 | 60 |
| Fourth and Fifth Years8,9 | |
| Biotechnology selection list: | |
| Five of BIOC_V 402, 403, 410, 440, 450, 460, BIOL_V 421, 436, 440, 458, 462, 463, MEDG_V 420, 421, MICB_V 301, 306, 308, 402, 407, 408, 418, 425 | 15 |
| One of MICB_V 404, 406, 412, 413, 43010 | 3 |
| MICB_V 405 | 3 |
| CHBE_V 419 | 3 |
| One of MICB_V 421, 447, 448, 471,47510,11 | 3 |
| Two of COMR_V 383, 388, 457, 465 | 6 |
| MICB_V 398, 399, 498, 4998 | 6 |
| Electives6,7 | 9 |
| Total Credits8 | 42 |
| Total Credits for Degree1 | 132 |
| 1 Students without Biology 11 or 12 must take BIOL_V 111. Applicants from other universities and colleges may substitute 6 credits of introductory biology courses for two of BIOL_V 111, 112, 121. | |
| 2 Applicants from other universities and colleges may substitute 3 credits of introductory chemistry that includes a lab. Students who do not have BC high school Chemistry 12 (or its equivalent) must write the UBC Chemistry Basic Skills Test and may be required to take CHEM_V 100. CHEM_V 110 and CHEM_V 115 may substitute for CHEM_V 111. CHEM_V 120 and CHEM_V 115 may substitute for CHEM_V 121. CHEM_V 130 and CHEM_V 135 may substitute for CHEM_V 123. | |
| 3 A total of 6 credits of coursework is required to meet the Communication Requirement. For a full list of acceptable courses see Communication Requirement | |
| 4 Students must take one differential calculus course during first year of studies at UBC. MATH_V 180 or 184 or 120 may substitute for any of the specified differential calculus courses listed by decreasing the electives by 1 credit. MATH_V 110 may substitute for any of the specified differential calculus courses listed by decreasing the electives by 3 credits. | |
| 5 Students require 3 credits of 100-level PHYS_V beyond PHYS_V 100. Students lacking Physics 12 must take PHYS_V 100 in first year. Another 3 credits of PHYS_V may be taken at any time during the specialization but PHYS_V 100 must be taken during first year. | |
| 6 Elective credits together with required courses must fulfill the Faculty of Science’s: a) Foundational Requirement; b) Laboratory Science Requirement; c) Science Breadth Requirement; d) Science and Arts Requirements; e) Upper-level Requirement; f) General Degree Requirements. Note that BCIT credits include 9 UBC Arts credits and 3 credits equivalent to UBC STAT_V 200. | |
| 7 Students should be aware that BIOL_V 140 is a prerequisite for many upper-level BIOL_V courses at UBC. To maintain flexibility in their ability to study at UBC, students should consider including BIOL_V 140 in their first year at UBC even though this course is not required in the Biotechnology specialization. | |
| 8 The credit for the work terms is not included in the academic credits needed for the degree or the totals for the academic year. Students must take at least one work term as either a Fall work term or a Winter work term. The remaining work term may be done as a Fall, Winter, or Summer work term. The Biotechnology specialization normally ends with a final study term. Students must complete 3 of the 4 possible co-op work terms: MICB_V/BIOT_V 398, MICB_V/BIOT_V 399, MICB_V 498 and MICB_V 499. If only 1 co-op work term is completed during 2nd and 3rd year at the BCIT campus, then at least 2 must be taken during 4th and 5th year. If 2 co-op work terms are completed at BCIT, students must complete at least 1 work term during 4th and 5th year. | |
| 9 Some courses only fit particular timetables. Plan schedules to have a minimum of 15 credits in each academic term in the winter session of year four. Students graduating in May at the end of year 5 only need to take enough academic credit to fulfill the requirements of the specialization. | |
| 10 If more than one of these courses are taken, the extra courses can count as part of the 6 credits of courses from the Biotechnology selection list. | |
| 11 MICB_V 448 would normally be 3 credits. It may be taken as 6 credits if the total number of electives in fourth and fifth years is lowered from 9 credits to 6 credits, so the total required credit remains at 42 credits. | |
Co-operative Education Program: Biotechnology in Microbiology and Immunology
See the Microbiology and Immunology program.