Get Grounded

GET GROUNDED

Time to get grounded, find your passion, expand your horizons and embrace all that LFS and UBC have to offer. In your second and third years, you will make more targeted choices about your academic path and build upon your science foundation from first year to focus more tightly on your specialization. You’ll be taking more classes in your area of study, and you’ll really get to know about the “systems” of Land and Food Systems through the LFS core series classes. This is the time to begin seriously considering potential career paths. This is also the perfect time to learn more about yourself and your interests as you get more involved in and find your niche within LFS and UBC.

Things to Think About

Prepare for the Year Ahead

It’s time to declare your major — and it’s time to step up into opportunities for deeper personal and professional development.

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Term 1

Experience real-world problem-solving through the LFS core series. Seek out academic support to keep you on track. Find ways to broaden your learning, and your network.

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Term 2 and Beyond

Check in on your promotion requirements, track your degree progress, and put things in place to make your advancement smoother.

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Prepare for the Year Ahead

Academics

In your second and third years, you will start to build on your first-year science foundation and apply that knowledge in your subject-specific classes as they relate to your major (more about that below). In each year, you will take an increasing number of Faculty- and program-specific courses to meet your degree requirements. You will feel the difference in how you experience your academics as you build your expertise in your subject area. This is an exciting time of exploration and homing in on your academic passion!

When you are eligible for second year, you will be prompted to select (declare) your major. In fact, you won’t be able to register for classes until you do. If you didn’t investigate them last year, be sure to explore which majors are available for your program:

It’s important to follow your program requirements as they are listed. This ensures smooth progress through your degree. Some required courses are only offered at certain times, so slot those in before you register for your unrestricted electives. We’ve got all the program and registration information you need right here.

Term 1

To ensure you can pasta all of your courses…

Embrace the LFS core series and really go deep. The core series gives you a chance to work with students from all majors to collaborate with the wider LFS community on food-system challenges. You know how solving traffic congestion is going to take major thinking from urban planners, carmakers, environmental experts and maybe even psychologists in the coming years? It’s a problem that no one industry alone can address. The same principle applies in food-system issues. The LFS core series aims to give you a more comprehensive understanding of food systems so you can learn how to create solutions that are sustainable economically, socially and ecologically. Learn more about it here.

Make sure you’re taking advantage of the different kinds of academic resources and supports UBC has to offer. Even if last year was a success, there will always be new academic challenges and ways to improve.

Invest in your career preparedness along the way. Find ways to meet and work with your peers and community partners (the LFS core series will help with this); talk to your profs, peers and upper-year students to find out what courses are interesting and fun; and draw on UBC’s amazing career-prep resources to get clearer on your interests and strengths. Within the Faculty, you may also wish to connect with the LFS career strategist in Student Services, or reach out to your designated program advisor (check the webpage for your major) to learn about opportunities in the area(s) you’re interested in!

Develop your roots

It’s time to focus on your personal development. Volunteer, think about getting involved in research, join a club or apply for a Work Learn position on campus. Considering co-op? Ready to assume a leadership role? Want to Go Global? There’s so much you can do. Take some time to go through the Classroom, Community and Campus pages for a roundup of excellent ways to broaden your learning and equip you with the skills that employers are looking for.

Hoping to join the LFS Mentorship Program? This program gets you working with a more advanced student in your program as well as an industry professional. Talk about mentorship! Applications to the program close in mid-September, so you won’t want to miss out.

Keep your eye on your Newslettuce and UBCfyi for notices of info sessions and put these events in your calendar. There’s always new stuff to learn and new people to meet!

Term 2 and Beyond

To ensure you can pasta all of your courses…

Re-familiarize yourself with the evaluation and promotion requirements for your program. This is a good habit to get into on an annual basis. You don’t want to have any surprises in fourth year!

Now that you’ve declared your major, you can use the Degree Navigator tool through your Student Service Centre (SSC) to track your academic progress. It’s good practice to check this any time you make changes to your registration so that you can alert LFS Student Services of any errors. Here’s where you can learn more about Degree Navigator.

Do you want to build out your competencies by adding a minor? Look through the program pages to see what options are available for your program, and make sure you apply online by March 31.

If you’re considering graduate studies, now is the time for you to get to know your professors and/or look to gain research experience in labs. You’ll need solid academic references by Term 1 of your fourth year. UBC Student Services has some great tools to develop your comfort level with relationship-building of all kinds.

Do you plan on taking courses in the Summer Session (May to August)? Most students take a break over the summer and return to classes in September. But if you plan on taking summer courses, you’ll need to review the schedule online in February and register in March, so make sure you do some pre-planning.

Develop your roots

Become active in the Faculty! Attend LFS events like Wednesday Night Dinner or the Research Cafe, or run for a seat in our very alive, very active, ever-evolving LFS|US!

Keep shaping, clarifying and building your career path by attending ACE Team and LFS|US events that focus on career development. It’s high time to network with industry professionals and learn what’s out there!

Want to give back by spreading some of your good energy among other UBC students? Become an orientation leader, or work with the Jump Start program. You can read more about leadership opportunities like these on the Campus page.

Have Questions?

Romaine calm! If you have any questions, LFS Student Services is here to help. Visit, call or email our office.

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