Get Focused

GET FOCUSED

It’s your final year. You’re near the finish line and you want to finish strong! Now’s the time to do all the things you’ve been telling yourself you’ll get around to, like taking the opportunity to Storm the Wall, be an orientation leader, or visit the Museum of Anthropology (free of charge!). It’s also a time of reflection: how has your LFS journey been so far? How powerfully have you expanded your network? What more do you want to accomplish, learn or add to your competencies before you head off into the career world?

Things to Think About

Prepare for the Year Ahead

year ahead photo

Get your graduation requirements in line, build out your career-ready competencies, and dig deep into your specialized LFS courses.

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Term 1

term 1 photo

Check your degree requirements! Find mentorship, present a paper, position yourself for employment, and register to graduate.

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Term 2 and Beyond

term 2 photo

Put the academic supports in place to help you finish strong, kick out the jams at graduation, and keep shaping the LFS program as an alumnus.

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Prepare for the Year Ahead

Academics

Now that you’re in your fourth and final year, most of your courses will be subject-specific and will let you to really focus on your passion. You’ll be in the most program-specific academic year of your degree, so you should be loving the courses you’re taking.

You are a registration and academic planning pro by now, so you know that you have to plan in advance and ensure you’ve met all the necessary graduation requirements with your fourth-year academic plan. This way, you’ll have enough time to make any necessary changes to your timetable.

Outside the classroom

It’s exciting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s also a bit intimidating knowing there is potential uncertainty after graduation. If you haven’t already been thinking about your post-graduation plans, be sure to pay special attention to events geared toward career prep, and continue to build and improve your career-ready skills through work and volunteer experiences. You may also wish to make an appointment with the LFS Career Strategist in Student Services to chat about your next steps.

Term 1

To ensure you can pasta all of your courses…

Double check your Degree Navigator to ensure you’re on track for graduation, and notify LFS Student Services if you see any errors or have any questions. You don’t want to be seeing little red Xs at this point in your degree!

In your final year, courses in directed studies or an undergraduate thesis are good options if you’re interested in research and mentorship from a faculty member. You can learn more about them here. If you’ve already written a paper and feel proud of what you’ve accomplished, consider submitting it to an undergraduate journal for publication, or presenting at the UBC Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Conference (MURC).

If you’re thinking about grad school, you’ll have to be mindful of deadlines and requirements. (You have been developing your relationships with your profs, haven’t you?)

Deepen your roots

Now is the time to get out there and do all the things you have on your UBC bucket list! Monitor your Newslettuce and UBCfyi for events or activities that will help you cap off your UBC experience — there are truckloads of them.

Reflect on what you’ve learned, and the skills and competencies you’ve acquired. Think about how you will present yourself to potential employers. Not sure how to pull this all together? Check out the many workshops and online resources provided by the UBC Centre for Student Involvement & Careers to help you prepare for the next steps.

Apply for graduation

Whether you’re graduating in the fall or the spring, you need to apply for that to actually happen. Familiarize yourself with the graduation timelines and next steps here.

Get your grad photos taken so we can include you in the annual grad composite that hangs in the halls of the MacMillan Building. Check out the Graduation section of the LFS Undergrad Blog for up-to-date info.

You can request that LFS Student Services complete a graduation check for you (to confirm that you’re on track and will meet graduation requirements) only after you’ve finalized your registration. Please send your request via email.

Term 2 and Beyond

To ensure you can pasta all of your courses…

It can sometimes be hard to stay motivated when the cherry blossoms start blooming and you’ve already applied for graduation, but you’re on the home stretch. (Or as we say in LFS, the crop is just about ready for harvest.) You’ll want to finish strong, so stay focused and don’t hesitate to reach out for help if you need it. It’s never too late to access an academic resource that’ll help you complete well.

Lettuce celebrate!

Attend your graduation reception and ceremony! Graduation is a special time of celebration with your family, friends, peers and the LFS community. We love seeing our students engaged in this powerful moment of recognition and accomplishment.

Branch out

You may be leaving the LFS nest, but you are always part of the LFS family. Come back as a mentor with the LFS Tri-Mentoring program, or stay active with the LFS Alumni by volunteering, offering presentations, or even hiring students down the road. You’ll have a direct hand in shaping new LFS grads — and in broadening the excellence of our faculty’s work.

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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