A degree from UBC opens a world of possibilities
Wondering where you want to pursue your engineering degree? No matter where you are living now, your best choice for quality, diversity, reputation, career opportunities and value for money is most likely a university in Canada.
More specifically, and for reasons we’ll get into below, the University of British Columbia should be at the top of your list.
Why you should study in Canada
The most popular countries for students who want to study abroad include the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Germany. Canada consistently stands out for its high-quality universities, diversity and open-mindedness, safety, political and economic stability, and opportunities to succeed professionally.
“I’m originally from the UK, but grew up in India, the UAE and South Africa,” says Harry Riley, who graduated from UBC Engineering in 2024. “I thought about applying to the Netherlands, where many of my friends ended up, or the US. However, I liked the political environment in Canada and applied to a few Canadian schools. I chose UBC after being offered the International Major Entrance Scholarship.”
(Read about Harry’s time at UBC, including his involvement with the Formula SAE Racing Team, which set him up to land a position at Koenigsegg Automotive in Sweden after graduating.)
For students from outside the country who are coming to Canada to study, the post-graduation work permit enables skilled workers (like engineering grads!) to work for up to three years after completing their studies.
Four reasons UBC should be at the top of your list
Canada is a great place to study. And UBC is one of the best places to study engineering in Canada. Here’s why:
UBC is the most international university in Canada
In the 2025 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, UBC was ranked the top international university in Canada.
The ranking is based on four equivalently weighted measures:
- the number of international students,
- the number of international professors,
- the number of collaborations the university has with universities around the world, and
- the university’s international reputation.
How does it benefit you to be studying at an international university like UBC?
As an engineering student, you will be learning how to use your knowledge and skills to solve some of the world’s toughest challenges. One of the best ways to set yourself up to do that is by learning alongside a diverse cohort of students, and learning from professors with diverse personal and professional backgrounds who are collaborating with leaders in their fields from around the world.
UBC is highly esteemed by international industry leaders
The fourth factor that Times Higher Education used to calculate UBC’s international ranking – its international reputation – is a “measure of the proportion of votes from outside the home country that the institution achieved in THE’s annual invitation-only Academic Reputation Survey, which asks leading scholars to name the world’s best universities for teaching and research in their field.”
UBC has a stellar reputation among the world’s scholars. It also has a stellar reputation among the world’s industry leaders.
In November 2024, the Times Higher Education released results of a survey of more than 13,000 recruiters from 30 countries to identify which of the world’s universities created “the most employable graduates.”
UBC placed an impressive 36th on the list. It’s a ranking that’s consistent with where we’ve placed in earlier surveys, and it’s a mark of UBC’s international reputation for excellence.
(Read our article Why study engineering? And why study engineering at UBC? for more detailed information on the global employability ranking and how UBC Engineering sets you up with the skills and experience top employers are looking for.)
These two rankings tell you that UBC is held in high esteem by leading researchers and employers outside of Canada.
That’s important: it means that a degree from UBC is recognized and respected the world over.
So if you decide to apply for a job or graduate school outside of Canada after you complete your studies at UBC, you can rest assured that employers and graduate programs admissions officers will recognize and value your degree.
Want to study or work abroad? You can do that from UBC
Let’s go back to the ranking that said UBC is Canada’s top international university. The article accompanying the rankings elaborate on the value this brings to students: “Research suggests that diverse communities of students improve the teaching and learning experience, while opportunities for students to spend time abroad better prepare them to become global citizens.”
With all its international connections, UBC is a great choice if you are interested in studying abroad for a semester or pursuing an international co-op or work internship.
That’s because we have long-lasting relationships with international universities, researchers and employers.
Through UBC’s Go Global program, Raeiti Azarkeyvan studied for a semester at the Technical University of Denmark. “It was an amazing experience that made my degree so much more valuable to me. I took four master’s-level courses and got credit at UBC for all of them. I travelled a lot and met so many people – I now have friends from all around the world.”
Through UBC’s Applied Science Co-op program, you can pursue international opportunities at all the big name companies, as well as smaller start-ups and non-profits. To take just three recent examples, Brendan Chong worked on the material flow team at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Austin, Texas; Sijan Poudel worked for Kisui Tech in Japan to bring robotic technology to the agricultural sector; and Emily Flaschner did a co-op term Switzerland doing research for ETH Zurich on cell signalling.
UBC’s Go Global UBC’s Applied Science Co-op program
UBC is located in British Columbia, one of the most beautiful places on earth!
OK, we’re biased. But it’s hard to beat British Columbia for sheer beauty, liveability and opportunities to have a well-balanced life. UBC Vancouver is located in Vancouver (recently named North America’s most liveable city by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2025 Global Livability Index) and UBC Okanagan is located in Kelowna, about a five-hour drive from Vancouver.
As we wrote in our article Build a well-balanced life as a UBC Engineering student, there are countless factors beyond a university’s reputation and rankings that should be considered when you’re deciding where to study.
When you choose UBC, you’re choosing to live in a province that’s known as being more relaxed and friendly than other places (there’s a reason people talk about the West Coast lifestyle!) and where your fellow students have lots of interests and passions outside the classroom. This is a place where you can reach your potential in all facets of your life – academically, professionally and personally.
Read more about our two campuses and what makes them both such great places to live and study.
Choose Canada. Choose BC. Choose UBC Engineering.
We have the same advice whether you are a Canadian high school student or international high school student wondering where you should study engineering: Choose Canada, choose BC and choose UBC Engineering!
