The University of British Columbia Athletics

As a UBC Thunderbird student athlete, you have increased demands on your time, and balancing academics with athletics is key to your success. UBC Student Athlete Services provides a variety of academic supports available to support and enhance your learning experience at UBC.  

In addition to the information below, Student Athletes have access to comprehensive information regarding Academic Supports, Eligibility, Sport Medicine, Mental Health, and Nutrition through their Student Athlete Portal. Current student athletes are added at the beginning of every year in August or when they join a varsity team.
 
Current Students: Go to your Canvas Dashboard at canvas.ubc.ca to find the Student Athlete Portal. If it's not showing for you, please email student.varsity with your full name, student number, and your team. 
 

Thunderstudy - Academic Coaching & Academic Skills Workshops

Varsity Team Academic Coaches (VTACs)

VTACs are upper year undergraduate and graduate students who are experienced in navigating university life. Any student athlete can work with a VTAC, but most new to UBC Thunderbirds (i.e. those in their first year of study at UBC) will have one assigned to them as their go-to peer support for the academic year. Things that your VTAC can help you with include:

• Understanding your course syllabi and tracking your grades
• Preparing your study plan for midterms / finals
• Approaches to multiple choice exams vs written exams
• Structuring your essays and making coherent, persuasive arguments
• Managing your athletics and academic schedule, particularly with competition travel
• How to work with your profs and TAs effectively and respectfully

VTACs operate during the Winter Session (Sep -  Apr) but not during exam period or on stat holidays. If you're interested in connecting with a VTAC but don't have one assigned to you, please contact student.varsity@ubc.ca and we will connect you.


New T-Bird Orientation & First Year Seminar 

New T-Bird Orientation 

To help start the school year off strong, UBC Student Athlete Services provides a comprehensive orientation course that is required for all new Thunderbird student athletes. It is completely online and runs from mid May to the end of June so that you're ready to go in time for Winter registration. It covers important information such as Thunderbird history and culture, important contacts on campus, eligibility, and registration assistance. The amount of work is no more than 30 - 60 minutes of work per module and there are 5 modules total. 

First Year Seminar

This seminar is required for new Thunderbird student athletes whose last school of attendance was high school and some lower year post-secondary transfer students. Running from mid July - mid August, this seminar goes deeper into the skills and knowledge you'll need for a great year at UBC. It is fully online but will require about an hour of work each week.