Application Evaluation

Please note: admissions into the B.Sc. CPSC specialization of COGS are processed by Computer Science. For details regarding application evaluation for this specialization, please contact Computer Science Advising. 

Each year, 120 students are admitted into the Cognitive Systems Program: 60 B.A. students, and 60 B.Sc. students. In addition to these 120, a handful of additional seats may be granted to students transferring from a different major into COGS. The number of transfer seats available in the program (for both B.A. and B.Sc. students) will be dependent upon the number of students who have exited the program since the previous intake cycle. Please note that this number is typically small.  

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 will be admitted to the program only until limited seats are filled, with GPA being applied to determine the order of priority.   

Selection for admission to the 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. 

A maximum of 12 credits will be excluded in this evaluation, provided that: 

1. the exclusion increases the student’s average, 
2. the excluded credits do not come from courses taken in COGS, CPSC, LING, PHIL, PSYC, and STAT, and 
3. the grade point average, after these exclusions, is still based on at least 27 credits of coursework. 

A note for transfer students: if your transfer credits are on record with UBC, but you do not have 27 percentage-grade credits on record, your UBC admission average will be applied as the percentage for any remaining credits required for the calculation.
 

Pilot: New Admission Process for B.A. Students  

For the 2025 admission cycle (accepting applications February – May 15th, 2025, for September 2025 intake into the program), the Cognitive Systems Program is piloting a new admission process.  Most students will still be admitted based on cumulative average (with a 12-credit exclusion applied), but approximately 20% of available seats will be allocated based on a combination of factors, including grades and supplemental materials. In the first instance this new process will be piloted only for the B.A. streams of the program.  If the pilot is successful then we hope to implement a similar change for admission to the B.Sc. stream, but we don’t yet know when (or if) this will happen. 

B.A. applicants who anticipate that 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. There will be optional sections within the application form that enable you to submit:

1. A copy of your Resume/CV
2. A written answer to two personal statement prompts.