Learn how to apply to the VSE’s undergraduate economics programs at UBC. Take your first step towards a career in Economics, apply for admission to the different major programs starting at the end of your first year. Admission to the economics major, combined majors, or honours programs is by application only.
The VSE’s admission to the economics major is a competitive process, which takes into consideration both a student’s academic performance and the types of courses they have taken. Per the UBC Calendar, “selection for admission is based on a weighted average calculated on the grades from all credits of post-secondary coursework attempted”, with the exception of up to 6 credits that may be excluded from the calculation.
In particular, our process heavily weights courses in economics and related fields, while placing a lower weight on courses in other areas. We strongly encourage students who are considering economics as their major to select courses which will have a higher weight in their application. Admission is also contingent on meeting the following minimum standards for application.
There are two timelines for being admitted to an economics major:
- Most students will be admitted following their first year at UBC (27 credits). We call this Year 2 admission.
- Other students will be admitted following their second or later years (48 credits). This particularly includes students transferring to UBC from other institutions, or students changing their major at UBC. We call this Year 3 admission.
- Combined majors and Honours programs have additional requirements, which you can see below.
Please note that all economics programs take a minimum of two Winter academic sessions to complete once admitted. This means that if you apply after your third year, or later, you will extend your degree program beyond four years.
General Year 2 Admission
In order to be considered for admission, you must meet the following requirements:
- 3 credits of Principles of Microeconomics: ECON_V 101 or an approved substitute.
- 3 credits of Principles of Macroeconomics: ECON_V 102 or an approved substitute.
- 3 credits of Writing: e.g., Arts One, ASTU_V 100, 101, CAP_V 100, ENGL_V 100, WRDS_V 150, 151, 350 or SCIE_V 113.
- 3 credits of Differential Calculus: e.g., MATH_V 100, 102, 104, 110, 120, 180, 184, or SCIE_V 001.
- 3 other credits from any of ECON_V, POLI_V, PHIL_V, MATH_V, STAT_V, DSCI_V, or CPSC_V.
- 27 total credits applicable to your intended major.
Students who are missing one or more requirements may be eligible for provisional admission; see below. Specifically required courses (e.g., ECON_V 101) may not be taken on a Cr/D/F basis.
General Year 3 Admission
There are two sets of requirements for Year 3 admission, depending on when you are applying. For students applying after June 2026, the requirements are currently for your information and may be subject to change.
Application after June 2026
In order to be considered for admission, you must meet the following requirements:
- All of the requirements for Year 2 Admission; see above.
- 3 credits of Integral Calculus: e.g, MATH_V 101, 103, 105, 121, SCIE_V 001.
- 3 credits of Intermediate Microeconomics: ECON_V 301 or an approved substitute.
- 3 credits of Econometrics I: ECON_V 325 or an approved substitute.
- 48 total credits applicable to your intended major.
- A minimum average GPA in ECON_V courses of 60% or better.
Students who are missing one or more requirements may be eligible for provisional or conditional admission; see below. Specifically required courses (e.g., MATH_V 101) may not be taken on a Cr/D/F basis.
Admission before June 2026 or Earlier
- 3 credits of Principles of Microeconomics: ECON_V 101 or an approved substitute.
- 3 credits of Principles of Macroeconomics: ECON_V 102 or an approved substitute.
- 3 credits of Writing: e.g., Arts One, ASTU_V 100, 101, CAP_V 100, ENGL_V 100, WRDS_V 150, 151, 350 or SCIE_V 113.
- 3 credits of Differential Calculus: e.g., MATH_V 100, 102, 104, 110, 120, 180, 184, or SCIE_V 001.
- 3 credits of Integral Calculus: e.g, MATH_V 101, 103, 105, 121, SCIE_V 001.
- 3 credits of ECON_V at the 200-level or above, excluding ECON_V 310 and 311.
- 3 credits of Econometrics I: ECON_V 325 or an approved substitute.
- 54 total credits applicable to your intended major.
Students who are missing one or more requirements may be eligible for provisional admission; see below. Specifically required courses (e.g., ECON_V 101) may not be taken on a Cr/D/F basis.
Honours Program Admission
The honours program is highly competitive, accepting roughly 10-15 students per year during the Year 3 admission. You can find information on the application process on the Honours Admission Page.
- Students in Year 2 who are considering honours should take choose to major in a regular Economics major in Year 2
- Then, students should take ECON_V 304 instead of ECON_V 301 in Year 2. Preference will be given for students with ECON_V 304 in evaluating applications.
If you apply for honours you are also automatically considered for the regular economics major as well, and may be offered admission even if you are not selected for the honours program in economics.
Combined Majors Admissions
Admission to a combined majors program is based on meeting admission standards for both of the combined programs at your year-level of application. This means you must meet the requirements for the economics major (above), in addition to:
- Economics and Political Science: no additional requirements.
- Economics and Mathematics: the admission requirements for the Mathematics Major.
- Economics and Philosophy: no additional requirements.
- Economics and Statistics: check department website for other requirements.
If you apply for a combined major, you are automatically also considered for the regular economics major as well; if your application for a combined major is denied, you may still be offered admission to the regular major instead.
Weighted GPA and Ranking
If you meet the requirements for your program, we will consider your application for admission by computing your weighted GPA (wGPA). We rank students according to their weighted GPA, and offer admission to the top students based on the number of seats available in our program – this usually means we admit the top 250 to 300 applicants.
In our calculation, we have four areas: required, priority, non-priority, and ineligible. The required courses are outlined in the requirements for admission for Year 2 or Year 3. For 2026, the other areas are:
- Priority: Economics (ECON_V), Political Science (POLI_V), Philosophy (PHIL_V), Mathematics (MATH_V), Statistics (STAT_V), Data Science (DSCI_V) , Computer Science (CPSC_V).
- Ineligible: NURS_V 180.
- Non-priority: all other courses, including other NURS_V courses.
We drop your lowest 3 credits (Year 2) or 6 credits (Year 3) from the (i) in-eligible, then (ii) priority areas and required courses, conditional on meeting the minimum credit requirements and required courses totals, then we compute your wGPA based on a weight of 80% on the priority and required areas, and 20% on the non-priority areas. In-eligible courses get a weighting of 0%.
- Courses are weighted relative to a standard 3 credit course; for example, a course which is worth 6 credits counts twice as much, while a 1 credit course is only valued at a third.
- This calculation includes transfer credits, IP, AP, and A-levels provided they are reflected on your UBC transcript as appropriate credit. See our support page for more information.
- Year 2 and Year 3 admissions are not compared to one another; the cutoff will be different between the two application timelines.
We periodically re-evaluate the required, priority, ineligible, and non-priority lists and their weighting, in order to ensure that they are current and reflect the VSE’s priorities for attracting a diverse and academically strong cohort of majors students. Any changes will be posted on this page at least one year in advance of any changes.
For both privacy and practical reasons, we do not provide specific wGPA cut-offs in any given year; since admission is based on a ranking process, it depends strongly on the cohort of students applying and the composition of the priority/required lists in a given year – making comparisons difficult.
Provisional and Conditional Admission
If you are missing one or more of the requirements for admission, you may apply for provisional admission as long as you have a plan to complete the outstanding requirement(s) by August 31 of the year of application – for instance, by taking courses during the summer session. Provisional applications are evaluated using the same weighted GPA process as regular admissions – there is no advantage or disadvantage to applying provisionally.
If you are granted provisional admission you will be informed of the required courses or credits outstanding, and after completing them your GPA must remain above the cutoff to be granted full admission. It is your sole responsibility to meet these conditions by the deadline – there are no exceptions or waivers considered, and failure to meet the stated conditions will result in the offer being revoked.
Substitutable Courses
The VSE recognizes a number of non-economics courses as substitutable for certain requirements including admission, graduation, and credit. It is very important to pay attention to which requirements these courses fulfill, as they are not usually exact replacements.
- For example, STAT 200 is substitutable for the graduation and admission requirement of ECON 325, but not the credit requirement; 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.
We strongly recommend students to take the economics version of a course instead of a substitute if possible. You can find out more information on our approved substitutes page.
Continuation Requirements
Students who are admitted into Year 2 of the program must meet the following continuation requirements:
- One of MATH_V 101, 103, 105, 121, SCIE_V 001 or an approved substitute: 3 credits.
- ECON_V 301 or an approved substitute: 3 credits
- ECON_V 325 or an approved substitute: 3 credits
- 48 total credits applicable towards the specialization.
- A minimum average GPA in ECON_V courses of 60% or better.
Students who do not meet these requirements may be required to withdraw from the major. If a student faces extenuating circumstances, they may appeal the decision to withdraw to the School.
Do you need some advice or have more complicated questions? Visit our BA Advising page for more information, or to book an appointment with an advisor!
(Last updated: 2025-06-25)