Substitutable Courses

Important Changes

The VSE has recently changed its guidance around substitutable courses for the majors and program requirements. We have replaced the previous 'approved equivalents' with the information on this page (as of 5 May 2023)

At UBC there are a number of courses from other departments and faculties which overlap significantly with Economics courses.  As a result, we recognize these as substitutable courses for certain admissions, graduation, and credit requirements.  On this page, we provide a list of approved substitutes for certain requirements.   There are three types of requirements:

  • First, admissions requirements: courses which are required for admission to Economics programs.
  • Second, graduation requirements: courses which are required by Economics students in order to graduate.
  • Third, credit requirements: courses which contribute to the total credits at different levels which Economics students require in order to graduate.

One type of substitute does not fulfill any other requirement unless specifically mentioned.  This means that it is important for you to carefully check the courses you wish to substitute before registration, including the required credits at different levels.

Example

You take STAT 200 instead of ECON 325. This meets the graduation requirement and the admission requirement that ECON 325 fulfills, but does not contribute toward your credit requirements; specifically, neither your total economics or upper-level requirements for graduation. You will need to take an additional 300 or 400-level economics course instead to completely replace ECON 325.

 

List of Approved Substitutes

This is a list of approved substitutes for UBC-Vancouver’s Economics application and program requirements.  This list is valid until the end of the 2024/2025 academic year; as the curriculum and content of courses changes over time, we revise this list periodically and reserve the right to make adjustments in future years.

If you wish to inquire about substitutes for non-ECON courses (for example, to meet the MATH or writing requirements for admission), please contact the department offering the requirement.  For the Arts Writing Component, contact Arts Advising.

Approved SubstituteEconomics CourseGraduation
Substitute?
Admission
Substitute?
Credit
Substitute?
Notes
ECON_V 310ECON_V 101YesYesYesOnly grants lower-level ECON credit, not upper-level.
FRST_V 101ECON_V 101YesYesNo
LFS_V 101ECON_V 101YesYesNo
ECON_V 311ECON_V 102YesYesYesOnly grants lower-level ECON credit, not upper-level.
ECON_V 100ECON_V 101 and 102YesYesYes
ECON_V 315ECON_V 301YesYesYes
COMM_V 295ECON_V 301YesYesNoStudents must take ECON 303 if substituted.
ECON_O 204
(UBC-O)
ECON_V 301YesYesYesOnly grants lower-level credit, not upper-level.
ECON_V 309ECON_V 302YesYesYes
ECON_O 205
(UBC-0)
ECON_V 302YesYesYesOnly grants lower-level credit, not upper-level.
ECON_V 316ECON_V 303YesYesYes
ECON_V 327ECON_V 325YesYesYes
STAT_V 200ECON_V 325YesYesNoStudent must take an additional 3.0 credits of ECON 3xx/4xx.
STAT_V 241ECON_V 325YesYesNoStudent must take an additional 3.0 credits of ECON 3xx/4xx.
STAT_V 251ECON_V 325YesYesNoStudent must take an additional 3.0 credits of ECON 3xx/4xx.
COMM_V 291/191ECON_V 325YesYesNoStudents must take ECON 398 if substituted.
ECON_V 328ECON_V 326YesYesYes
STAT_V 306ECON_V 326YesYesNoStudent must take ECON 398 if substituted.
LFS_V 252ECON_V 326YesYesNoStudent must take ECON 398 if substituted.
FRE_V 374ECON_V 374N/AYesNoCross-listed with ECON and FRE; credit is granted only once under one code.
PHIL_V 362ECON_V 318N/AYesNoCross-listed with ECON and PHIL; credit is granted only once under one code.
PHIL_V 363ECON_V 319N/AYesNoCross-listed with ECON and PHIL; credit is granted only once under one code.

Notes

  • We do not recognize COMM_V 290/190, POLI_V 380, and SOCI_V 328 as approved substitutes for ECON 325.
  • The department of Mathematics only recognizes UBC-O’s MATH_O 116 as equivalent to MATH_V 100 if taken after 2025W1.  UBC-O’s MATH_O 116 and 142 a do not satisfy any UBC-V ECON application or program requirements if taken before 2025W1.
  • We do not recognize UBC-O ECON_O 295 and ECON_O 391 as approved substitutes for any UBC-V ECON application or program requirements.
  • We have changed our requirements and no longer recognize STAT_V 203 as an approved substitute for ECON_V 325.
  • For substituted with conditions (e.g., “must take ECON_V 398 if substituted”) this substitution can occur after the course is used for admission, but must occur before graduating.