University of Alberta vs University of British Columbia

University of British Columbia aces University of Alberta in terms of rankings. However, if an international student finds it difficult to choose between the two universities listed below are some of the major factors that can help in decision making:

Overview Comparison
University of AlbertaThe University of British Columbia
Collegedunia Score5.7 Out of 106.7 Out of 10
ranking (overall)# 109 Times Higher Education 2024
# 111 QS World University 2024
# 110 QS World University 2023
# 34 QS World University 2024
# 41 Times Higher Education 2024
# 35 US News 2023
Subject Strength# 90 for Engineering by Times Higher Education 2024
# 69 for Medicine by QS World University 2023
# 101 for Law by Times Higher Education 2024
# 49 for Engineering by Times Higher Education 2024
# 22 for Medicine by QS World University 2023
# 37 for Law by Times Higher Education 2024
ProgramsUG Programs -72
PG Programs -63
Doctorate Programs -8
UG Programs -75
PG Programs -104
Doctorate Programs -3
Acceptance Rate66.0 %69.0 %
Exam ScoreGMAT - 550
IELTS - 6.5
PTE - 61
TOEFL - 90
GMAT - 550
IELTS - 6.5
PTE - 65
TOEFL - 90
Cost to StudyAverage Tuition Fees   22125
[For UG Program]
Average Tuition Fees  13972
[For PG Program]
Hostel + Meal - 15600 Per Year
Average Tuition Fees   46295
[For UG Program]
Average Tuition Fees  9500
[For PG Program]
Hostel + Meal - 29650 Per Year
placement (average package)

Graduate employability Ranks QS: #99

It is ranked #110 in QS World University Rankings 2023.

Bachelor (Other)

$66,000 

Bachelor of Science

$57,000 

Other Degree

$51,000 

Masters in Science

$47,000 

Bachelor of Arts

$46,000 


Top recruiters at UBC were Deloitte, P&G, Labatt, Netsle, Telus, GE Healthcare, etc. Base salaries offered were around $160,000 for Executive MBA,$91,000 for Master in Finance, $80,000 for MBA,$68,000 for Other Degrees,$67,000 for Master Of Science,$68,000 for Master Of Arts


Campuses and B-SchoolsSchool of Business, University of Alberta
Sauder School of Business
The University of British Columbia, Okanagan
CollegeDunia Reviews7.6/10 Read 14 reviews7.2/10 Read 94 reviews
General Facts Comparison
General FactsUniversity of AlbertaThe University of British Columbia
Type of UniversityUniversity
University
Established1908
1908
Student:Faculty Ratio0:1
15:1
Male:Female44% Male, 56% Female46% Male, 54% Female
Location Facts

Six campuses, with main (north campus) located on the edge of North Saskatechwan river. 
Surrounding areas offer a variety of cuisine from vegan to halal as well as authentic Canadian
The river valley offers a variety of sporting options like skiing, biking etc


Two campuses: Vancouver and Okanagan; Vancouver is the main campus located at the western tip of Point Grey Peninsula.


Library

Eight million volumes
1.9 million ebooks
140,000 scholarly journals
120,000 digitized books


More than 7 million printed books, over 2.1 million ebooks, 5.3 million microforms, and 923000 other multimedia materials.


Campus Life

Aboriginal Peoples Network, BearsDen (online student community), Fraternities and Sororities, Graduate Students' Association, Peer Support Centre, Sport Clubs, Student Music Ensembles, Students' Union, and Volunteer Opportunities


The campus has Astronomy Club, Beads and Craft Club, Chinese Students and Scholars Association (Great Wall Club), Food Society, Photographic Society, Red Cross International, Ski and Board Club and Vancouver Student Entrepreneurship Association.


Hostel#Single Room - $12400
#Shared Room - $4855
#Connected Single Room - $5712
#Single Room - $6133
#One Bedroom Apartment - $6452
Famous Alumni

One Nobel laureate, four justice of supreme court, and 68 Rhodes scholars
Rona Ambrose (Former member of the Canadian house of commons), Daryl Katz (Canadian businessman), Paul Gross (Canadian actor), Don Iveson (Mayor of Edmonton), Tak Wah Mak (Canadian geneticist), Jordan Peterson (clinal psychologist), Dinee Hinshaw (chief medical officer for health in Alberta).


Justin Trudeau (PM of Canada), Rick Hansen (Paralympic athlete), Kim Campbell (Former PM of Canada), Evangeline Lilly (Actress), William Gibson (Fiction writer), and Albert Bandura (Psychologist).


City Life

The capital of Alberta, Edmonton has the lowest unemployment rate in Canada
For the last 5 years, Alberta’s Edmonton is responsible for 25% of the total new jobs located all across Canada
For the last 5 years, it has had three times higher GDP, population and income growth than Canadian Average.
Downtown has a total public and private investment of around $5 billion.


Vancouver itself serves 7.5% of Canada’s economy. Due to its prosperity, the freshers get good opportunities across Vancouver. The GDP is around 137 billion CAD. Some of the highly popular industries located in Vancouver are tourism, technology, housing and construction.


Weather
Comparison Notes

Both UAlberta and UBC are two of the top ranking universities in Canada. When opting between either of the two universities, apart from the above mentioned data, an international student can compare universities on the following qualitative and quantitative aspects:

Studying at UBC

  • Overall ranking of UBC is better than U of A. This includes both national and global rankings.
  •  Better library collection.
  • Pursuing education through Univesity of British Columbia will help you land into jobs more easily with universities reputation.
  • Vancouver is culturally more diverse city.
  • Larger alumni community for help and support.
  • Endowment funds received by UBC are more. 
  • Better research opportunities
  • Hostel fees is slightly lower
  • Engineering and MBA program at UBC is ranked better than University of Alberta

Studying at U of A

As per the above description, it can be clearly concluded that a students decision for opting between U of A or UBC should be inclined towards University of British Columbia. However, the only factors that can affect this decision include higher cost of study at UBC and higher standadized test score requirements. For international students who have been selected by both the universities, enrolling with University of British Columbia must be opted over enrolling with University of Alberta.