Why UBC?

A top university

UBC ranks consistently in the top forty research universities in the world. Through the School of Kinesiology, we have an internationally recognized group of scholars and students working in areas encompassed by the Centre including

  • physical activity and aging
  • sport and peace
  • social justice and access to activity resources
  • community mobilization for inactive populations
  • social, economic, and environmental impacts of large scale sport events
  • sport sponsorship and corporate social responsibility
  • the evolution of politics and public policy in sport.

Sporting excellence

UBC also excels in sport. UBC Athletics and Recreation Thunderbirds have achieved 80 CIS national championships, 150 Canada West championship, and have produced 231 Olympians winning 64 medals. UBC athletes maintain a high academic standard, consistently having a high number of Academic All-Canadians (achieving a GPA of 80%); in 2010-11 they were the highest in Canada with 107 AACs. They manage 8 major facilities and the largest sport field complex in Canada. UBC also has a history of hosting major events. Ice Hockey and Sledge Hockey games were held at UBC during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. More recently, they held a Davis Cup World Group tie in 2012 and will play host to the 2014 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games.

Leaders in sustainability

PlanetSustainedAdUBC leads the way in sustainability. UBC received the first Canadian Gold Star under the STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System) program and the College Sustainability Scorecard placed UBC first in Canada and third in North America in sustainability. UBC has also set the most aggressive carbon reduction targets out of any top 40 University in the world. In a 2008 report by the Sustainability Endowments Institute, UBC placed third out of all North American colleges and universities – recognizing our deep commitment to sustainability. At a 2007 UN conference involving universities from around the world, former US President Bill Clinton named UBC as one of the top three sustainability leaders. The UBC Sustainability Initiative operationalizes sustainability through two cross-cutting themes: “Campus as a living lab” and ” UBC as an agent of change.”