UBC BFA Film Production admission requirements: English 12, a portfolio and a February 1 deadline

Yes. UBC's Film Production page says students can apply directly from secondary school, and the UBC Calendar says you can apply from high school for first year. You list the BFA Film Production as your first or second choice on the UBC application.

You can also transfer into second year after a year at UBC or another school. UBC doesn't accept transfers into third or fourth year. UBC also runs a three-year Diploma in Film Production, but this guide covers the four-year BFA.

UBC lists one Grade 12 course for direct-entry Fine Arts programs. Ontario students need ENG4U. BC students need English Studies 12 or English First Peoples 12. UBC also lists an audition or portfolio as a degree requirement.

UBC's general rules apply too: high school graduation and at least 70% in Grade 11 or Grade 12 English. UBC names Language Arts, Social Studies and Visual and Performing Arts as related subjects. Plan your courses in our course planner.

UBC doesn't publish a grade range for Film Production. The range field on the program page is empty for Ontario and BC. The Calendar says places are strictly limited, and preference goes to students with strong evidence of creative ability.

Your portfolio carries real weight. UBC also says its review is competitive and looks at all your Grade 11 and 12 academic grades. Check your marks with our Top 6 average calculator, and see our UBC acceptance rate page for school-wide data.

UBC asks for your self-portrait video in your own voice and your own format. The short film must be one where you were a key creative, such as director, writer, editor or cinematographer. UBC strongly discourages co-directed or co-written work. If you send one, you must state your exact role.

UBC says exact credits must be given for every creative piece. It also says sending anything beyond the four items, or changing them, is grounds for automatic disqualification.

You also write UBC's personal profile, since Film isn't on its list of exceptions. UBC asks whether your profile reflects your own words.

Apply to UBC by January 15, 2027. The Film Production supplemental materials are due February 1 at 11:59 pm Pacific. UBC's film page doesn't print the year next to February 1, but it says Fall 2027 applications open in October. UBC says it won't accept late applications.

The department runs open houses online on November 25 and in person on November 27. Compare dates on our Canadian deadlines page.

The UBC Calendar says applicants send a portfolio, a resume and a letter of intent. The Film Production page lists a self-portrait video, a short film, a background statement and a resume, with no letter of intent. Follow the Film Production page, since it describes the current checklist, and confirm with the department.

The BFA takes four years and at least 120 credits. In first year you take CINE_V 100 or FIPR_V 101, needing at least 72% in each, plus THFL_V 100. Second year adds FIPR_V 230, 234 and 233, and screenwriting in CRWR_V 206 and 306. You need a 72% average across all courses to move on.

Upper years include FIPR_V 333 and FIPR_V 433, where you make your own films. UBC says you'll learn in a cohort of 20 students and should have your own camera and editing computer.

UBC's program page lists co-op as not available for Film Production. You learn by working on senior students' film sets. You can earn directed studies credit for internships or projects on the UBC campus.

UBC's calendar lists Fine Arts tuition at $206.69 per credit for Canadian students. International students who start in 2026-27 pay $1,717.68 per credit. Our estimate for a 30-credit year is about $6,201 for Canadian students and $51,530 for international students. That's our math, not a UBC figure.

Film students also pay for their own productions. UBC says you must put at least $2,500 into your FIPR 333 project and $3,500 into FIPR 433. Student fees, housing and gear are extra.

The Rogers Communications Award in Film Production gives a total of $3,000 a year to domestic BFA Film Production students who are First Nations, Inuit or Métis, or who identify as Black. It's open to students entering from high school. You apply with a PDF statement of up to 300 words, sent with your program application.

Most other Theatre and Film awards go to upper-year students. See our scholarship finder for entrance awards.

Pick the BFA in Film Production if you want to make films. Pick the BA in Cinema Studies if you want to study film history, world cinema and audiences. Cinema Studies is a Faculty of Arts degree with an honours option and co-op. In Ontario it lists ENG4U and no portfolio.

UBC also offers BFA programs in Acting and in Design and Production. Compare film schools on our York Film, TMU Film and Concordia Film Production pages.

Plan for at least $6,000 in production costs in upper years, on top of tuition. Your child also needs a camera and an editing computer.

Read our UBC guide for residence and campus context.