Each year, 120 students are admitted into the Cognitive Systems Program: 60 B.A. students, and 60 B.Sc. students. Because there are a limited number of seats available in the Cognitive Systems Program each year, satisfying the minimum prerequisites for application does not guarantee admission into the program.
Eligible students (see Admission Requirements) will be admitted to the program only until limited seats are filled, with GPA being applied to determine the order of priority.
B.Sc. Admissions
For B.Sc. students, selection for admission to the COGS program is based on the student’s calculated average in all courses for which they have been awarded a percentage grade by UBC (this includes failed courses, and both UBC-V and UBC-O courses). Courses taken on Cr/D/Fail basis do not count towards this calculation. Supplemental material is not accepted at this time – GPA is applied to determine the order of priority.
Previous admission averages to both BSc specializations within Cognitive Systems may be found here: Historical BSc Specialization Admission Information.
B.A. Admissions
For B.A. students, selection for admission to the program is based primarily on the student’s calculated average in all courses for which they have been awarded a percentage grade by UBC (this includes failed courses, and both UBC-V and UBC-O courses). Courses taken on Cr/D/Fail basis do not count towards this calculation.
A maximum of 12 credits will be excluded in the GPA calculation, provided that:
- the exclusion increases the student’s average,
- the excluded credits do not come from courses taken in COGS, CPSC, LING, PHIL, PSYC, and STAT, and
- the grade point average, after these exclusions, is still based on at least 27 credits of coursework.
If you have recently transferred to UBC from a different institution and you have at least 27 credits on record with UBC, but these credits are not affiliated with a percentage-grade, your UBC admission average will be applied as the percentage for any remaining credits required for the calculation.
80% of available seats in COGS B.A. specializations will be filled on the basis of GPA alone (with the above credit-exclusion applied for all applicants).
The remaining 20% of available seats in COGS B.A. specializations will be filled based on a combination of factors, including both GPA and supplemental material (a resume/CV and a 500-word answer to a personal statement prompt) which may be submitted at the time of application. Personal statement prompts for 2026 will be published on this webpage in January, 2026.
B.A. applicants who anticipate they will have a cumulative average (not term or year average) below 80% (or equivalent if transferring to UBC) are advised to submit supplemental materials with their application.
The following resources may help you prepare your Resume/CV:
- https://students.ubc.ca/career/career-resources/curricula-vitae
- https://www.careereducation.columbia.edu/resources/creating-undergraduate-cv
Please do not reach out to COGS Advising requesting general assistance or advice to complete your personal statement. Each student is responsible for composing their own statement. Please note that the admissions committee has access to your academic record – it is recommended that prospective applicants use the personal statement to paint a fuller picture of who they are, and how they can contribute to a vibrant community and healthy learning environment.
Transferring into COGS
In addition to the 120 new seats in the program each year, a handful of additional seats may become available if current students exit the program during the academic cycle preceding the admission cycle. Due to slight differences in Faculty-level regulations for declaring a major, switching from another program into COGS is handled differently depending on whether you are an Arts student or a Science student.
- For B.A. admissions, additional seats made available due to transfers out of the program are added to the total number of seats available in the program during the next admissions cycle. All students (whether transferring from another program or declaring a major for the first time) will be evaluated on the same basis to potentially be granted one of these seats. For example, if 4 Arts students exit Cognitive Systems over the course of the year, 64 seats in COGS will be available to Arts students in general the following year, regardless of which stream they hope to enter, and regardless of whether they are declaring a major for the first time or attempting to transfer from a different program.
- For B.Sc. admissions, the number of seats available for students transferring into the program is directly dependent upon the number of B.Sc. students who have exited the program since the previous intake cycle. This number is typically small. For example, if 4 students in the B.Sc. Cognition and Brain stream of Cognitive Systems exit the program over the course of the year, 4 seats will be available for Science students transferring from another program into the B.Sc. Cognition and Brain stream of COGS.
- Please note: applications to transfer into the B.Sc. Cognition and Brain stream of COGS are processed by the Cognitive Systems Program. Applications to transfer into the B.Sc. Computational Intelligence and Design stream of COGS are processed by the Computer Science Department. For details regarding applying to the Computational Intelligence and Design specialization, please visit the Computer Science website: How to apply.