Program Overview

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Overview

The MSc program in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems provides opportunities for students to broaden their knowledge base and gain research experiences. ILSFS students work on diverse and often interdisciplinary research topics that address priority food systems questions and challenges ranging in scope from food production, processing, distribution, access, consumption, to management of food waste. Applied research projects in ISLFS often explore sustainable solutions to food systems challenges and often address environmental, economic or social dimensions of food systems.

What makes the program unique?

The Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems program (ISLFS) is for graduate students wishing to work within emerging interdisciplinary fields.

Quick Facts

• Faculty: Faculty of Land and Food Systems
• Academic Unit: Faculty of Land and Food Systems
• Specialization: Integrated Studies In Land and Food Systems
• Mode of delivery: In person at UBC Vancouver
• Program Components: Coursework + Thesis required
• Tuition (First Year):
  • Domestic: $5,626.02
  • International: $9,883.98
• Median Funding: 50% of students receive $17,766 or more funding per year in the first 2 years, before tuition and fees

Admission Information & Requirements

Program Instructions

Before you apply, please make sure you meet/exceed the admission requirements and most importantly have a supervisor confirmed.

1) Check Eligibility

Minimum Academic Requirements

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants, usually a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC). The graduate program that you are applying to may have additional requirements. Please review the specific requirements for applicants with credentials from institutions in:

• Canada or the United States
• International countries other than the United States

Each program may set higher academic minimum requirements. Please review the program website carefully to understand the program requirements. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as it is a competitive process.

English Language Test

Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.

Minimum requirements for the two most common English language proficiency tests to apply to this program are listed below:

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based

• Overall score requirement: 90
• Reading: 22
• Writing: 21
• Speaking: 21
• Listening: 22

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

• Overall score requirement: 6.5
• Reading: 6.0
• Writing: 6.0
• Speaking: 6.0
• Listening: 6.0

Other Test Scores

Some programs require additional test scores such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Test (GMAT). The requirements for this program are:

• The GRE is not required.

Prior degree, course and other requirements

2) Meet Deadlines

See the graduate degree program listing for additional deadline details.

• Program Name: Master of Science in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems (MSc)
• Intake: September 2026
  • Canadian Applicant Deadline: 10 January 2026
  • International Applicant Deadline: 10 January 2026
• Program Name: Master of Science in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems (MSc)
• Intake: January 2027
  • Canadian Applicant Deadline: 1 June 2026
  • International Applicant Deadline: 1 June 2026
• Program Name: Master of Science in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems (MSc)
• Intake: May 2027
  • Canadian Applicant Deadline: 1 September 2026
  • International Applicant Deadline: 1 September 2026

3) Prepare Application

Transcripts

All applicants have to submit transcripts from all past post-secondary study. Document submission requirements depend on whether your institution of study is within Canada or outside of Canada.

Letters of reference

Applicants have to submit 3 references to apply to this graduate program. Please review our general information on reference letters, including the types of references (e.g. academic, professional) that you may be asked for and how the references will be collected. Additionally, you can view short videos on how to identify and approach reference writers.

Statement of Interest

Many programs require a statement of interest, sometimes called a "statement of intent", "description of research interests" or something similar.

Supervision

Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for this program

All applicants need firm commitment from a supervisor prior to applying.

Research Information

Research Highlights

The Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems programs provide opportunities for students to broaden their knowledge base and gain more advanced research experiences. ISLFS students work on diverse and often interdisciplinary research areas that address priority food systems questions and challenges ranging in scope from food production, processing, distribution, access, consumption and dietary practices, to the management of food waste. Applied research projects in ISLFS often address sustainable solutions to food systems challenges that may address environmental, economic and social dimensions of food systems.

Program Components

Master’s students will complete and present their research proposal along with most of their courses within the first year of their program. Normally they will be expected to defend their dissertation at the end of their second year.

The minimum course requirements for master’s degrees are 30 credits, of which at least 18 must be numbered 500 and above. A maximum of 6 credits at the undergraduate level in courses numbered 300 to 499 may be counted toward the requirements of a master’s degree. The MSc research thesis (LFS 549) is 12 credits.

Coursework, selected in consultation with the student’s supervisory committee, includes graduate courses in Land and Food Systems and from other areas relevant to each student’s research. Please consult the UBC Calendar for course timetable details. Outline of the program for typical students (details of the required courses can be found here):

• MSc
  • LFS 500 (3)
  • electives (15) in consultation with the student’s advisory committee
  • LFS 549 (12)
  • Total Credits 30

Facilities

• Campus partners
  • UBC Sustainability Initiative (USI)
  • Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm
  • The Orchard Garden
  • Think & EatGreen@School
• Community partners
  • British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture
  • The Vancouver Fruit Tree Project
  • Vancouver Food Policy Council (VFPC)
  • Canadian Association for Food Studies
  • Bits and Bytes
  • Farm Folk/City Folk
  • BC Food Systems Network
  • Food Secure Canada

Tuition & Financial Support

Tuition

• Fees
  • Canadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / Diplomat
  • International
• Application Fee: $118.50 (Canadian), $168.25 (International)
• Tuition
  • Installments per year: 3
  • Tuition per installment: $1,875.34 (Canadian), $3,294.66 (International)
  • Tuition per year: $5,626.02 (Canadian), $9,883.98 (International)
• Int. Tuition Award (ITA) per year (if eligible): $3,200.00
• Other Fees and Costs
  • Student Fees (yearly): $1,144.10 (approx.)
  • Costs of living: Estimate your costs of living with our interactive tool in order to start developing a financial plan for your graduate studies.

Financial Support

Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.

Program Funding Packages

Financial support for graduate students within LFS typically comes from one or more of four basic sources:

1. merit-based awards administered by the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (including Affiliated Fellowships and LFS Departmental Awards),
2. teaching and research assistantships,
3. need-based awards and
4. direct awards from external agencies such as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

Effective January 1, 2016, all newly admitted graduate students in research-based MSc and PhD program will be supported by a minimum funding package at $16,000/year for 2 years for M.Sc. students and $18,000/year for 4 years for Ph.D. students provided they maintain good academic standing.

Funding Statistics

Based on the criteria outlined below, 4 students within this program were included in this study because they received funding through UBC in the form of teaching, research, academic assistantships or internal or external awards with a mean of $18,247 and a median of $17,766.

This results in a net balance (any funding provided to the student minus tuition and fees) mean of $10,265 and median of $10,864.

• 1 student received Teaching Assistantships valued at $7,205.
• 3 students received Research Assistantships. Median RA funding based on 3 students was $7,500.
• 2 students received internal awards. Median internal award funding based on 2 students was $5,163.
• 1 student received external awards valued at $17,500.

Career Options

Graduates from the ISLFS MSc program have the skills necessary to contribute to research, evaluation, policy development, advocacy, and practice. Graduates may go on to advanced study including PhD work, and often find employment opportunities in governmental or non-profit organizations.

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

These statistics show data for the Master of Science in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems (MSc). Data are separated for each degree program combination. You may view data for other degree options in the respective program profile.

ENROLMENT DATA

	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Applications	9	12	8	8	13
Offers	1	4	3	2	6
New Enrolment	1	4	3	2	4
Total Enrolment	8	10	12	13	11

Completion Rates & Times

This program has a graduation rate of 70% based on 11 students admitted between 2015 - 2018. Based on 11 graduations between 2020 - 2023 the minimum time to completion is 2.05 years and the maximum time is 5.8 years with an average of 3.43 years of study. All calculations exclude leave times.

Research Supervisors

Supervision

Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for this program

All applicants need firm commitment from a supervisor prior to applying.

Advice and insights from UBC Faculty on reaching out to supervisors

These videos contain some general advice from faculty across UBC on finding and reaching out to a supervisor. They are not program specific.

This list shows faculty members with full supervisory privileges who are affiliated with this program. It is not a comprehensive list of all potential supervisors as faculty from other programs or faculty members without full supervisory privileges can request approvals to supervise graduate students in this program.

• Barichello, Richard (trade policy, evaluation of policy instruments, rural labour markets, agricultural development; trade policy, evaluation of policy instruments, rural labour markets, agricultural development)
• Black, Jennifer (Community Health / Public Health; food banks; food environments; Nutrition; Public health; school food environments; social determinants of health; Community Health / Public Health, Food banks, Food environments, Nutrition, Public health, School food environments, Social determinants of health)
• Carrillo, Juli (Plant-insect interactions; Agroecology; Invasive species; evolution; Ecology; community ecology; Environmental Change; Plant evolution; Population Ecology; Agroecology, Community Ecology, Ecology, Environmental Change, Evolution, Invasive species, Plant Evolution, Plant-insect interactions, Population Ecology)
• Cornelis, Jean Thomas (Pedology; Biogeochemistry; Soil-Plant Interactions; Pedology, Biogeochemistry, Soil-Plant Interactions)
• Gulati, Sumeet (Economics of Human Wildlife Conflict; Economics of Urban Transportation; Effectiveness of Carbon Taxes; Effectiveness of Environmental Policy; International Trade and its Effect on the Environment; Political Economy of Environmental and Trade Policy; Economics of Human Wildlife Conflict, Economics of Urban Transportation, Effectiveness of Carbon Taxes, Effectiveness of Environmental Policy, International Trade and its Effect on the Environment, Political Economy of Environmental and Trade Policy)
• Jovel Ayala, Eduardo (Ethnobotany, mycology, natural product chemistry and Aboriginal health)
• Margulis, Matias (Global Governance; International Political Economy; United Nations; World Trade Organization; Food and Agriculture; Human Rights; International Organization, Globalization, Human Rights and Liberties, Collective Rights, Global Governance, International Political Economy, United Nations, World Trade Organization, Food and Agriculture, Human Rights)
• McAusland, Carol (Interactions between globalization and public good provision, impacts of trade liberalization on environmental politics, potential use of trade policy to stem damages from exotic species introductions and biological invasions Environmental impacts of international trade, implications of skilled labor migration for the global provision of public goods)
• Noack, Frederik (Environment and natural resources economics; Economics of Biodiversity; Economics of Conservation; Fisheries Economics; economic development; Forests; Economics of Biodiversity, Economics of Conservation, Fisheries Economics, Economic Development, Forests)
• Riseman, Andrew (plant breeding; plant genetics; horticulture; roots; stress physiology, Plant breeding, intercrop interactions, nutrient use efficiency, root physiology, biotic/abtioic stressor)
• Robin, Tabitha
• Smukler, Sean (Agricultural ecology; Soil health; Climate change adaptation and mitigation; Ecosystem services; Agricultural ecology, Soil health, Climate change adaptation and mitigation, Ecosystem services)
• Wittman, Hannah (food sovereignty; Sustainable agriculture; socio-ecological systems; Agroecology; food sovereignty, sustainable agriculture, socio-ecological systems, agroecology)

Sample Thesis Submissions

• Development, implementation, and assessment of a student-led restaurant designed to promote student food security at the University of British Columbia's Point Grey campus: a case study
• Bears in the backyard: understanding the human-black bear interactions in British Columbia
• The hidden costs of aquaculture: impacts on wild Pacific salmon in British Columbia
• The impacts of genetically modified crops on pesticide use and toxicity
• The impacts of genetically modified crops on pesticide use and toxicity
• Decolonizing urban alternative food organizations in Winnipeg: centering the voices of Indigenous, Black, and people of colour
• Rural credit and deforestation: evidence from Thailand
• The elephant in the coal mine: infrastructure-led forest clearing and fatal human-elephant conflict in India
• Indigenous land stewards in British Columbia: ways of caring for the land

Related Programs

Same specialization

• Doctor of Philosophy in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems (PhD)

Same Academic Unit

• Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Food Science (PhD)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Human Nutrition (PhD)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems (PhD)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Plant Science (PhD)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Soil Science (PhD)
• Graduate Certificate in Aquaculture (GCAQUA)
• Master of Food and Resource Economics (MFRE)
• Master of Food Science (MFS)
• Master of Land and Water Systems (MLWS)
• Master of Science in Applied Animal Biology (MSc)
• Master of Science in Food Science (MSc)
• Master of Science in Human Nutrition (MSc)
• Master of Science in Plant Science (MSc)
• Master of Science in Soil Science (MSc)

Further Information

Specialization

Integrated Studies In Land and Food Systems

ISLFS students work on diverse and often interdisciplinary research areas to address priority food systems questions and challenges ranging in scope from food production, processing, distribution, access, consumption and dietary practices, to the management of food waste. Applied research projects in ISLFS often address sustainable solutions to food systems challenges that may address environmental, economic and social dimensions of food systems.

UBC Calendar

graduate-and-postdoctoral-studies/degree-programs/land-and-food-systems-integrated-studies

Program Website

msc-phd/

Faculty

Faculty of Land and Food Systems

Academic Unit

Faculty of Land and Food Systems

Program Identifier

VGMMSC-N1

Classification

Medical, health and life sciences » Health sciences » Public and population health » Food security Agricultural and veterinary sciences » Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries » Agriculture, land and farm management Agricultural and veterinary sciences » Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries » Crop and pasture production Agricultural and veterinary sciences » Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries » Horticultural production Agricultural and veterinary sciences » Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries » Fisheries sciences » Fisheries management Agricultural and veterinary sciences » Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries » Fisheries sciences » Post-harvest fisheries technologies (including transportation) Agricultural and veterinary sciences » Animal and dairy sciences » Animal production Agricultural and veterinary sciences » Agricultural biotechnology and food sciences » Agricultural biotechnology Agricultural and veterinary sciences » Agricultural biotechnology and food sciences » Food sciences (including food engineering) Social sciences » Economics and business administration » Economics » Agricultural economics