The Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) at UBC's Sauder School of Business is one of UBC's most selective and sought-after undergraduate programmes, requiring a specific application beyond general UBC admission. Sauder's global reputation, combined with Vancouver's position as a Pacific Rim business hub, makes Commerce one of the most competitive programmes at a university that is itself consistently ranked Canada's third-best behind the University of Toronto and McGill.
This guide covers what UBC publishes on Commerce's acceptance rate, cost, requirements, English-test rules, and career outcomes.
Acceptance Rate: What UBC Actually Publishes
UBC does not publish one official university-wide acceptance rate, and third-party aggregate estimates conflict significantly (commonly ranging from roughly 44% to 71% depending on campus and methodology), so UBC's own university profile leaves this figure as officially unpublished rather than estimated from unreliable secondary sources.
For Commerce specifically, this site's own programme-level breakdown of published UBC admissions data gives a more useful figure:
- Commerce (BCom, Sauder) acceptance rate: approximately 20-25%, requiring a specific application beyond general UBC admission, and one of the most selective undergraduate programmes at UBC
- This is considerably tighter than the broad Arts (60-65%) or Sciences (55-65%) averages, and among the most selective figures across all of UBC's undergraduate programmes, alongside Computer Science and Engineering Physics
See UBC's full acceptance rate breakdown by faculty and programme for the complete picture across UBC's programmes.
On the grades side: UBC's own general admission standard cites a floor in the high-60s to low-70s percentage range as the absolute minimum to be considered, while competitive benchmarks for Sauder Commerce specifically run from the high 80s into the low-to-mid 90s (percentage average), with IB applicants typically expected in the low-to-mid 30s (out of 45) and A-Level applicants around B/B+ or higher.
Fees and Cost of Attendance
| Cost Item | Amount (USD/year) |
|---|---|
| International tuition (BCom) | $47,076 (approximately CAD $66,678) |
| Domestic (BC-resident) Arts/Science rate | $4,378 (not comparable to the international rate) |
| Living expenses | $16,164 (IRCC's official minimum proof-of-funds threshold) |
| Estimated total cost of attendance | $63,240-$66,700 |
Sauder Commerce is UBC's most expensive standard undergraduate programme, priced above even Applied Science/Engineering. Living expenses above use Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's official minimum proof-of-funds threshold for a single study permit applicant (CAD $22,895/year, effective since September 2025) as a standardized, well-documented proxy, since UBC's own first-year cost estimator is an interactive online calculator without one fixed published annual figure. UBC's application fee is CAD $173.25 (approximately USD $122) for applicants on a Canadian study permit.
Admission Requirements
Commerce requires a specific application beyond UBC's general undergraduate process, run through UBC's own Applicant Portal (myapplication.ubc.ca):
- UBC Applicant Portal application, UBC's own online system (no UCAS, Common App, or BC-wide centralized portal)
- Official Grade 11 and Grade 12 (or final two years of senior secondary school) transcripts
- Self-reported grades, later verified against official transcripts after an offer is made
- Personal Profile, UBC's required holistic written supplement
- English language proficiency test scores, unless exempt (see below)
- Precalculus 12 (or equivalent), Sauder's program-specific senior secondary prerequisite
The application deadline is January 15 for most direct-entry Vancouver campus programmes, with decisions rolling from February through June.
How to Get Into UBC's Commerce Programme
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Target the high 80s to low-mid 90s percentage benchmark, since Sauder Commerce is one of UBC's most competitive programmes, sitting well above UBC's general admission floor in the high-60s to low-70s range.
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Complete Precalculus 12 (or your curriculum's equivalent) as a hard prerequisite. Sauder specifically requires this course, so missing or underperforming in it can disqualify an otherwise strong application regardless of overall grades.
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Write a genuinely specific Personal Profile. Sauder's admissions committee reads a very large, highly qualified applicant pool for a limited number of Commerce seats, and generic "I want to study business" responses don't differentiate a file the way concrete leadership, initiative, or business-adjacent experience does.
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Apply well before January 15, and consider UBC's early submission window (roughly October 1-November 30) if eligible for the Presidential Scholars Awards or a First Round Offer.
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Clear the IELTS/TOEFL requirement comfortably, since Sauder's case-based, discussion-heavy first-year courses lean on stronger Speaking and Writing skills than a bare-minimum English score reliably signals.
English Proficiency Requirement (IELTS/TOEFL)
Commerce follows UBC's standard undergraduate English-proficiency requirement:
- IELTS: minimum 6.5 overall, no band below 6.0; recommended 7.0
- TOEFL: minimum 90 overall (for tests taken before 21 January 2026); recommended 100
- Waiver: available for four or more consecutive years of full-time study in English at a school in Canada or another UBC-approved English-medium country/curriculum, qualifying grades in specified courses, six transferable university-level English credits, or a prior degree taught and examined in English
For the complete breakdown of UBC's testing policy, see UBC IELTS requirements and UBC TOEFL requirements.
Career Outcomes
UBC does not publish outcomes broken out specifically for Sauder BCom graduates in its undergraduate-wide data, but the university's broader undergraduate recruiter data gives a strong proxy, since Commerce graduates are typically among the most heavily recruited within UBC's undergraduate population:
- Top recruiters (university-wide undergraduate): Amazon, Accenture, Deloitte, KPMG, Bloomberg, and BMO Capital Markets, several of which (Bloomberg, BMO Capital Markets, Deloitte, KPMG) are classic finance and consulting destinations for Commerce graduates specifically
- Sauder's own separately published MBA cohort data (Class of 2023) reports a median salary of CAD $101,431 within roughly 90 days of graduation, though this figure describes Sauder's MBA cohort, not undergraduate BCom outcomes, so treat it as directional context about Sauder's employer network rather than a BCom-specific figure
- Employment rate and average starting salary specific to undergraduate Commerce graduates are not published in our research
FAQ
What is UBC's acceptance rate for Commerce specifically? UBC does not publish an official programme-level rate, but this site's own breakdown of published UBC admissions data estimates Commerce (BCom, Sauder) at roughly 20-25%, one of the most selective undergraduate programmes at UBC.
Does Commerce require a separate application from general UBC admission? Yes. Sauder Commerce requires a specific application beyond UBC's general undergraduate process, including Precalculus 12 as a hard prerequisite.
What percentage grade average do I need for UBC Commerce? UBC's general absolute minimum sits in the high-60s to low-70s percentage range, but competitive Sauder Commerce applicants typically need the high 80s to low-mid 90s (IB applicants in the low-mid 30s out of 45, A-Level applicants around B/B+ or higher).
What IELTS or TOEFL score do I need for UBC Commerce? The standard UBC undergraduate minimum applies: IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) or TOEFL iBT 90 overall.
How much does UBC's Commerce degree cost for international students? International tuition is approximately USD $47,076/year (CAD $66,678), UBC's most expensive standard undergraduate programme, with an estimated total cost of attendance around USD $63,240-$66,700/year including living expenses.
Is there a combined Business and Computer Science option at UBC? Yes. UBC offers a Business and Computer Science Combined Major (BCom), jointly run by Sauder and the Department of Computer Science, for applicants interested in both fields rather than choosing one exclusively.