Select UBC graduate programs are re-opening their applications from April 14–18, which are aimed at recruiting students from the United States.
This announcement comes within the backdrop of budget discussions at the recent March 31 Board of Governors meeting.
During the meeting, governors heard from Provost Gage Averill who noted that the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Applied Science are operating in deficits mainly due to the decreased number of international applicants from India and China.
Faculty Governor Anna Kindler and student Governor Kamil Kanji both expressed support for filling these international student gaps by turning to the US.
The United States is in a unique position because of its recent funding freezes amid the Trump administration’s investigations into universities’ inability to “protect Jewish students on campus.” Most recently, the Trump administration has frozen over $1 billion in funding to Cornell University and $790 million to Northeastern University over these civil rights investigations.
Research cuts have also caused prominent schools to reduce graduate admissions and rescind acceptances.
UBC Assistant Dean of Strategic Technologies and Business Initiatives Jens Locher explained that this initiative was launched in response to an increase in graduate applications from US students this year.
“As of March 1, our data indicated a 27% increase in graduate applications from US students compared to last year,” he wrote in a statement to The Ubyssey.
“This is the first time we’ve taken the extraordinary step of temporarily extending or re-opening applications.”
Locher wrote that participation in this applicant week is left to the discretion of each graduate program. These considerations are also based on capacity and other logistics. Applicants in thesis-based programs will need to negotiate faculty member availability to supervise incoming graduate students.
There are no formal admission targets as the initiative is designed to “provide an opportunity for American students that may be considering new options due to arising political or social shifts.”
Outreach efforts have included a dedicated launch page, created on April 7, and collaboration with faculty members who have networks and research collaborations with US institutions, according to Locher.
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