The office is open to all Bachelor of International Economics (BIE) students. It is specifically catered to helping students navigate their degree requirements, finding their academic interests, and building an individual learning plan that will improve their undergraduate experience and career outcomes.
The office provides exclusive access to a team of peer advisors and peer tutors offering valuable advice and support for a wide range of academic-related issues for BIE students.
Advising Services
All advising staff will be working with a hybrid of online and in-person methods. We will be available in the office most days of the week and will be available via email, Zoom, and other remote measures when working remotely. Please feel free to email us and we will respond to your request and set up an online or in-person appointment if necessary.
BIE Peer Academic Tutors and Advisors will be holding office hours online and in-person. In-person office hours will be held in the BIE Advising lounge in front of Triny Shen and Sarah Gregory’s offices (IONA 231 and 233). Virtual office hours will be held via Zoom. Links to their Zoom meetings are available on the exclusive BIE Facebook page and through email.
BIE students can also access Arts Advising through their self-serve online advising services or advising services listed on their webpage.
Advising Contacts
BIE Academic Advisor
Triny Shen
As the BIE academic advisor, I work with prospective students to determine if BIE is the right program for them; with newly admitted and current students to explore university-wide learning opportunities and build their learning plans. Feel free to email me or drop by my office if you need any assistance.
BIE Academic Assistant
Sarah Gregory
As the BIE academic assistant, I am here to answer your general questions about the BIE program and get you connected with resources to help you succeed. If you have questions about admission, classes, timetables, or resources available to BIE students, send me an email, and I’ll help you get the information you need.
BIE Peer Academic Advisors and Tutors
The BIE Peer Academic Advisors and Tutors are a team of BIE students who can help offer their peers the tools they need to make the most of their BIE experience! Our Peer Academic Advising services help students better understand course requirements, course selection, UBC resources, co-op and exchange opportunities, and general tips to succeed and have a great undergraduate experience. Our Peer Academic Tutoring services are available to help students with their core courses ranging from Mathematics to Economics to Commerce, including group review sessions for specific subjects to prepare students for midterms and final exams.
The BIE Peer Advisors and Tutors will be working in a hybrid in-person and online model. Virtual hours will be held on Zoom. In-person office hours will be held in the BIE Advising area in front of Triny Shen and Sarah Gregory’s offices (IONA 233 and 231). For Zoom links, please contact the emails listed below.
Please see the office hours below for 2023W Term 2.
Note: All times listed are in Pacific (Vancouver) time
Office Hours (Online and In-Person):
Camila Dall Bello
Hi, I am Camila. I am currently in my fourth year in BIE as an international student from Brazil. I am happy to advise you about course scheduling, degree planning and all UBC has to offer, as I am one of your BIE Peer Academic Advisors for this year. I am also available to help with first-year courses. Feel free to drop by during my office hours to ask anything!
Office Hours:
- Monday 12am-1pm
- Tuesday 11am - 12:30pm
- Wednesday 10am-11am (online)
- Thursday 11am-12:30pm
Renéyah Brown
Hi, I'm Renéyah! I'm a fourth-year BIE student from Toronto and one of the Peer Academic Advisors for this year. I'm also one of the presidents of the Women in Economics & Policy Club and a Residence Advisor. I'm here to help you navigate the first few years of BIE, including degree planning, Arts Co-op, Go-Global applications, and any other questions that arise. I look forward to getting to know you!
Office hours:
- Monday 3:30-4:45pm
- Tuesday 9:30-11:00am
- Tuesday 12:30-1:30pm (online)
- Wednesday 3:30-4:45pm
BIE Peer Academic Advisors and Tutors
The BIE Peer Academic Advisors and Tutors are a team of BIE students who can help offer their peers the tools they need to make the most of their BIE experience! Our Peer Academic Advising services help students better understand course requirements, course selection, UBC resources, co-op and exchange opportunities, and general tips to succeed and have a great undergraduate experience. Our Peer Academic Tutoring services are available to help students with their core courses ranging from Mathematics to Economics to Commerce, including group review sessions for specific subjects to prepare students for midterms and final exams.
The BIE Peer Advisors and Tutors will be working in a hybrid in-person and online model. Virtual hours will be held on Zoom. In-person office hours will be held in the BIE Advising area in front of Triny Shen and Sarah Gregory’s offices (IONA 233 and 231). For Zoom links, please contact the emails listed below.
Please see the office hours below for 2023W Term 1 Exam Period.
Note: All times listed are in Pacific (Vancouver) time
Office Hours (Online and In-Person):
Nolan Petroff
Hello, I'm Nolan! I'm a 4th year BIE student and one of your Peer Academic Tutors for this term. Feel free to drop by if you need any help with your core courses or want to chat about the program. I'm also in the process of applying for Master's programs so am happy to share what I've learned about that process. Looking forward to meeting all of you!
Office Hours:
- Tuesday 10:30-11:30am
- Tuesday 3:45-4:45pm
- Thursday 11:30-1:30pm
- Friday 10:30-11:30am
- Friday 11:30am-12:30pm (online)
Esha Vaze
Hi, I'm Esha! I'm a third-year BIE student and I'll be one of your Peer Academic Tutors this year. I'm here to help you with your BIE core-courses, and also with upper level math and history. I'm currently working as a Research Assistant, and I'm also the Managing Editor for the IONA Exchange this year. Feel free to drop by my office-hours whenever you need help, or just want to chat about the program.
Office Hours:
- Monday 12:30-2:30pm
- Tuesday 9:30-10:30am
- Wednesday 12:30-2:30pm
- Thursday 9:30-10:30am (online)
Co-Op Advising
BIE Leave Policy
UBC students in good academic standing may normally request up to one year of leave. While this is automatically granted in most programs, this is not the case in the BIE, for reasons related to classroom and program capacity. The program has the ability to place conditions on leaves, or to refuse them altogether. UBC’s full policy on academic leave is here: http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/vancouver/index.cfm?tree=3,289,0,0
The constraint that the BIE faces is the capacity of our classrooms and the size of our courses. One major reason you enrolled in this program is its limited class size and its cohort model. In particular, no section of ECON 494 will exceed 25 students and COEC sections will not exceed 50 students. The instructional quality you signed up for, as implemented through small group teaching and personal contact with your instructors is to be upheld.
UBC Policy is that no student in a graduating year may be excluded from a course necessary to meet degree program requirements because of lack of space (this rule does not apply to elective courses or preferred sections of courses). What this means is that students going on leave cannot be guaranteed space in required program courses upon their return unless it is their graduating year. If space is available in required courses, we will allow students returning from leave to register in them. However, we will not prioritize leave returnees over students in their own entrance cohort. If there is no space for you upon returning from leave, you will have to wait until the following year to take that course. This may materially impact your graduation timeline.
We cannot, and do not want to, be arbiters of anybody’s personal situation. We will therefore not be setting criteria for what constitutes a justifiable or unjustifiable leave. We will grant all requests for academic leave, and will require students to sign a written statement to the effect that
1) they understand that there may not be space for them in required courses upon their return;
2) that this may have a negative impact on their graduation timeline.
If there is not enough space to accommodate all leave returnees, available seats will be assigned by registration priority, with ties broken by random draw.
Students requesting leave must contact the BIE Academic Advisor to request and sign the Statement of Understanding.
Frequently Asked Questions
General
BA (Hons) and BIE are both rigorous and challenging undergraduate programs and the admission standards for each will be higher than for BA (Majors). The BIE curriculum includes a few business fundamentals component that, in addition to making a student very employable immediately after graduation, leaves open a wide avenue of opportunities such as professional degrees (business, law) without precluding the possibility of graduate school in economics. The BIE is also a direct-entry program with only 100 students per cohort. BIE students do not need to declare a major.
BIE students will take courses offered by the Sauder School of Business; however, the BIE program is an economics degree in the Faculty of Arts, not a business degree. BIE students will learn the tools of economics – theoretical and empirical skills – and will learn how to use those tools to analyze the operation of the complex global economy in which we all live and work. Through internships, co-op, research mentorships – and especially in your graduating paper – you will have the opportunity to put into practice the skills that you have learned to become an economist.
Yes, UBC provides opportunities for undergraduate students with other universities. Please consult the Go Global Office and the current UBC calendar (under Alternative Study Options) for further information. However, if you are an Economics Majors student you must have your program of study approved by the Economics Undergraduate Advisor. You must ensure that your academic plans take into account the need to schedule course prerequisites in a way that allows you to graduate in a timely manner. In particular, no student is permitted to take Econ 490 before they have completed the prerequisites for this course (Econ 301, Econ 302, Econ 325, Econ 326, Fourth-year standing). Econ 326 and Econ 490 can never be taken concurrently, for any reason. Also Econ 325 must be taken before Econ 326, so Economics students must take the three-term sequence Econ 325-Econ326-Econ490 into account in all their Exchange arrangements. It is essential for Economics students on Exchange to have full School advice on their academic programs to make sure the requirements of the Vancouver School of Economics are taken fully into account. Please call 604-827-4052 or send an email to vse.undergrad@ubc.ca to book an advising appointment with an Economics Academic Advisor.
Course Planning
UBC's degree audit system, degree navigator, is designed to help you make informed decisions regarding your academic program. If you have ever wondered, "how many courses do I have left?" or "does that geography course meet the science requirement?" - this is the tool you need!
To get started with the degree navigator, log into the Student Service Centre and locate "Registration." Scroll down the list to "degree navigator - Vancouver."
Transfer credits will be automatically applied towards your degree requirements.BIE students will receive ECON first year general credits from IB, AP, or A-Level curriculum and NOT specific course equivalency for ECON101 and 102. See First-year credit page.
Only COEC courses and COMM transfer credits that are equivalent to COEC courses will be accepted towards the BIE degree.
MATH100/101/104/184/105 transfer credits can be applied towards the MATH104/105 requirement. However, it is recommended that BIE students consider taking MATH104 and 105 at UBC as a solid foundation in MATH is crucial for studying economics.
At least half (50%) of the following must be completed while registered as a Faculty of Arts student at UBC:
- total degree credits
- total upper-level requirement (300 and 400-level courses)
- total upper-level requirement (300 and 400 level courses) for your specialization(s) (major/minor)
No. Elective courses for the Bachelor of International Economics may be taken from the Faculty of Arts or other faculties at UBC (with the exception of the Faculty of Commerce).
BIE students are allowed a maximum of 27 credits of COEC courses towards the completion of their BIE degree but cannot take any other credits in the Sauder School of Business.
To graduate with the BIE degree, a student must include in the 120 credits required for the degree at least 60 credits but no more than 72 credits in the fields of economics and Commerce. You may take more than 72 ECON and COMM credits but they will not count towards the 120 total credits required to graduate.
Students may construct their program to include any minor available to students in the Faculty of Arts, other than the Minors in Economics or Commerce. See Calendar.
Note: A maximum of 9 credits numbered 300 and higher may be shared between a minor and the B.I.E. See Double-Counting.