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Home / 2015 / September / 04 / UBC welcomes first class of its second century
Student Life

UBC welcomes first class of its second century

September 4, 2015

Student life 1915 vs. 2015.

Student life 1915 vs. 2015.

This month, UBC kicks off its 100th anniversary celebrations and as it does, it welcomes 8,337 students as the first class of its second centennial.

The Okanagan campus, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, expects 1,777 first-year students, a 15 per cent increase from last year, for an overall campus enrolment of 8,362.

The Vancouver campus expects 6,560 first-year students, bringing campus enrolment to 52,290.

“It’s a tremendous pleasure to welcome new students to the university at such an important time in UBC’s history,” said Dr. Martha Piper, interim President. “I hope that this year’s events will give them a sense of the long tradition they are joining, and the possibilities that lie ahead of them as they acquire the skills and learning to shape their communities and the world.”

UBC will hold special centennial events throughout the year, showcasing some of UBC’s greatest accomplishments and contributions to society over the past 100 years, as well as how UBC is shaping the world of the future.

UBC’s first century

In 1915, UBC opened its doors to 379 students who attended classes in temporary facilities nicknamed the Fairview shacks. The cheap, wooden structures were formerly occupied by UBC’s predecessor, McGill University College of B.C., and were located on the site of Vancouver General Hospital. Construction had begun on new university facilities at Point Grey but development came to a halt during the First World War.

In its infancy, the university only offered undergraduate programs in Arts, Applied Science and Agriculture and a handful of the 379 students were well on their way to completing degrees, having taken courses through McGill.  In 1916, UBC graduated its first class and its first alumnus was a woman by the name of Jessie J. Anderson. At the time, 60 per cent of UBC students were men and 40 per cent were women. Most were from B.C but 18 international students came from the United Kingdom.

One hundred years later, the university’s student body has swelled to 60,652 and is far more diverse. Today more than 13,300 students come from outside Canada, representing more than 139 countries.

This year UBC welcomes 313 new Aboriginal students.  The university now educates more than 50,000 undergraduate students and 10,570 graduate students and about 55 per cent are women.

New students at UBC’s Vancouver campus participate in Imagine, a one-day orientation event that culminates with a pep rally at 2 p.m.

— 30 —

Media Contact

Matthew Grant
Associate Director
Public Affairs

The University of British Columbia
Okanagan campus
Tel: 250-807-9926
E-mail: matthew.grant@ubc.ca

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About UBC Okanagan

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose traditional, ancestral and unceded territory the campus resides. The most established and influential global rankings all consistently place UBC in the top five per cent of universities in the world, and among the top three Canadian universities.

The Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

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We respectfully acknowledge the Syilx Okanagan Nation and their peoples, in whose traditional, ancestral, unceded territory UBC Okanagan is situated.

 

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