Leaves & Withdrawals

Any student who is considering or planning a leave or withdrawal, or requires specific information on registration should read the following information closely.

Leaves

Leave is granted when a student is best advised for personal, health, or other reasons to have time completely away from their academic responsibilities. Leaves of absence must be approved by the graduate program in which the student is registered.

Categories of Leaves include:

  • Parental Leaves
  • Health Leaves
  • Personal Leave
  • Leave to Pursue a Second Program of Study

For more information on Leaves, please see our Policy and Procedures Manual and the Academic Calendar.

Students with loans or bursaries should consult Student Services (sis.ubco@ubc.ca) prior to requesting a leave of absence. To request a Leave of Absence, please complete our Leave of Absence Form.

Prior to requesting a leave of absence, we recommend that international students contact an International Student Advisor (ubco.global@ubc.ca) as a leave can impact your status, health insurance and eligibility.

Please note that:

Withdrawals

A withdrawal may be required when a student is experiencing issues that may make it best to withdraw from a course or from the program.

Categories of Withdrawals include:

  • Required Withdrawal for Academic Reasons
  • Voluntary Withdrawal
  • Withdrawal for Non-Registration
  • Required to Withdraw for Non-Academic Reasons

A student who cannot withdrawn themselves from a course must use the Late Withdrawal Request Form. Late withdrawal requests are not normally approved unless you meet the requirements for an Academic Concession.

A student wishing to withdraw voluntarily from the University must submit a signed Voluntary Withdrawal Form to the College of Graduate Studies. A student who does not complete formal withdrawal procedures will be liable for all assessed fees until such procedures are completed. Retroactive withdrawal requests will not be approved by the College of Graduate Studies unless the graduate program confirms in writing that the student did not attend or use any university resources as of the requested effective date of withdrawal.

For more information on Withdrawals, please see our Policy and Procedures Manual and the Academic Calendar.