Find a place to live in Vancouver
We consider Vancouver one of the most beautiful places in the world. Finding housing can be challenging. Start early and look at the various options on campus. http://vancouver.housing.ubc.ca/getting-started/graduate-students/
Get to know the city by looking for housing off campus: http://vancouver.housing.ubc.ca/other-housing/off-campus-housing/
Register for Courses
Has Graduate and Post-doctoral Studies (G+PS) received all your official documents? You may not be allowed to register for courses until they receive official documents. Remember to send transcripts that state your degree is conferred.
Students without an MSc are required to register for 12 credits of course work. MICB 506C will make up 6 credits of the required 12 credits of course work. Students with an MSc are required to take 3 credit MICB 506D. Course choices should be discussed with your supervisor and fellow graduate students.
Get Paid!
All Stipends are set up by the Graduate Program office. You will need to fill in a “New Hire form”, a copy of your Social Insurance Number (SIN) and a Direct Deposit Form to the Graduate Program office in order to have your pay processed. International students must provide a valid study permit to the Graduate Program office. The Department employs graduate students as Graduate Research Assistance (GRA) unless they are supported by scholarships over 30K. Scholarship disbursements are generally governed by G+PS through your SSC. You must set up a separate Direct Deposit through SSC.
Stipends
MSc students while working towards their degree are guaranteed a stipend of $21,848 + 1.3 K fees + tuition for a maximum of 3 years.
PhD students while working towards their degree are guaranteed a stipend of $24,969K + 1.3K fees + tuition for a maximum of 5 years.
TAships
Students are required to complete 1 full TAship while working towards their degree and may have an opportunity to complete others. TAships are assigned in early summer of each year to students in their second year and beyond. The department employs graduate students in additional TA roles as required. There is no citizenship requirement for teaching assistantships. A list of offered MICB TAships is available here.
Scholarships
Graduate students receive financial support from a variety of sources. The University, on a competitive basis, awards scholarships. Graduate scholarships awarded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, etc., are tenable in the Department. Scholarships are an important supplement to a student's CV and income. A complete list of Graduate Student Awards is available on the Graduate Studies website. The Graduate Program Coordinator will send updates and reminders to current students via the Microbiology and Immunology email list.
Pay
Pay: In order for you to be paid, you need to submit your bank information on Workday. You can upload your direct deposit form to workday or edit your banking information following the instructions below:
Pay update for Workday:
1. Log into Workday using CWL (https://hr.ubc.ca/working-ubc/welcome-workday)
2. Click on “Pay” under Applications section and select “Payment Elections”.
3. Under “Accounts” section, find your current direct deposit bank account information and click “Edit”.
4. Enter new direct deposit information and click “OK”. You will be returned to the previous page with the updated information and get emails from Workday regarding the change in Payment Elections.
To change the info on SSC, click on “Banking Details - Direct Deposit” under Financial Summary to access the form.
Visit our financial awards page: https://www.microbiology.ubc.ca/graduate/professional-development/financial-awards
UBC Card
Once registered at UBC your UBCcard is your Library, student ID, transit, and access card as well can be a food and debit card and your voting identification for student elections. Students who have access on the Student Service Centre (SSC) should apply in person at the UBC Bookstore. Students should know their student number and must bring one piece of photo ID, such as a passport or driver's license.
Please visit http://ubccard.ubc.ca/ for open hours and more information.
Internet Access for UBC Student and CWL
All registered UBC students are entitled to a Campus-Wide Login (CWL), which enables access to many UBC online services. To activate your CWL account, sign up by following the steps found on the UBC IT services website. All graduate students are eligible for the lifetime Email Forwarding Service (name@alumni.ubc.ca). For the UBC Hosted Mailbox Service, aka (FASmail) (name@mail.ubc.ca), email itsupport@microbiology.ubc.ca with your CWL and employee number.
Please visit http://ubccard.ubc.ca/ for open hours and more information.
Keys
A key request form must come from your supervisor (in the LSC) or Lab Manager. A key requisition form will then be prepared for you. You may be required to pay a deposit for your keys. For key pick up visit https://parking.ubc.ca/building-access.
Student Accident Insurance
The department will pay Student Accident Insurance (SAC) for coverage for all current graduate students while conducting research in a laboratory and certain field work. Coverage is worldwide. A basic BC Medical Plan or its equivalent must be in place as SAC only provides a measure of excess medical coverage. More information can be found in the PDF document.