The University of British Columbia, commonly referred to as UBC, is a public research university with campuses and facilities in British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1908 as the McGill University College of British Columbia, the University became independent and adopted its current name in 1915. It is the oldest institution of higher learning in British Columbia and enrolls over 58,000 students at its Vancouver and Okanagan Valley campuses.UBC's 4.02 km2 (993-acre) Vancouver campus is located within the University Endowment Lands, about 10 km (6 mi) west of Downtown Vancouver. The 2.09 km2 (516-acre) Okanagan campus, acquired in 2005, is located in Kelowna.

The University offers degrees and diplomas in over 300 fields of study, and in 2014 granted 12,421 degrees. Most students are enrolled in five larger Faculties, namely Arts, Science, Medicine, Applied Science and the Sauder School of Business. UBC exhibits very high research activity, and with a research budget valued at $564 million, funds 8,442 projects as of 2014. UBC offers several scholarships, notably the Schulich Scholarship for STEM fields, the Donald A. Wehrung International Student Award for scholars from war-torn countries, and the International Leader of Tomorrow Award for scholars worldwide.

One the largest research libraries in Canada, the UBC Library system contains over seven million volumes among its 21 branches and is considered one of the most prolific in North Americae 1968 UBC is home to TRIUMF, Canada's national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics which also houses the world's largest cyclotron. Other facilities include the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, regarded as one of North America's premier performing arts centres, the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, which contains more than 2 million items in its collection, and the Museum of Anthropology, which houses more than 535,000 artifacts.