The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Canadian public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. The Vancouver campus is located in the University Endowment Lands on Point Grey, a peninsula about 10 km from downtown Vancouver. While the originating legislation created UBC in 1908, the first day of lectures was September 30, 1915. On September 22, 1925, lectures began on the new Point Grey campus.

UBC consistently ranks as one of the top three Canadian universities. In 2006, Newsweek magazine ranked the UBC second in Canada and 27th in the world. In 2007, the Times Higher Education Supplement ranked UBC as second in Canada and 33rd in the world. The UBC library, which comprises 4.7 million books and journals, is the second largest research library in Canada.

Early history

The University of British Columbia, a single, public provincial university created in 1908 was modelled on the American state university, with an emphasis on extension work and applied research.

The University of British Columbia is a non-denominational undergraduate and graduate teaching and research institution. A provincial university was first called into being in Vancouver by the British Columbia University Act of 1908.

The governance was modelled on the provincial University of Toronto Act of 1906 which established a bicameral system of university government consisting of a senate (faculty), responsible for academic policy, and a board of governors (citizens) exercising exclusive control over financial policy and having formal authority in all other matters. The president, appointed by the board, was to provide a link between the 2 bodies and to perform institutional leadership. The Act constituted a twenty-one member senate with Dr. Israel W. Powell of Victoria as Chancellor. Attempts at establishing a degree-granting university with assistance from the Universities of Toronto and McGill saw varying degrees of success.

In the meantime appeals were again made to the government to revive the earlier legislation for a provincial institution, leading to the University Endowment Act in 1907, and The University Act in 1908. In 1910 the Point Grey site was chosen, and the government appointed Dr. Frank Fairchild Wesbrook as President in 1913. The outbreak of war in August, 1914 compelled the University to postpone plans for building at Point Grey, and instead the former McGill University College site at Fairview became home to the University until 1925. The first day of lectures was September 30, 1915. The institution absorbed the McGill-affiliated McGill University College of Vancouver in 1915. University of British Columbia awarded its first degrees in 1916.