Biology Course Registration Information

General Information:

  • Registration Questions: Please do not contact course instructors about registration issues, as course registrations/ waitlists are managed by the Biology Program Office.  If you have a biology course question that does not involve blocked courses or wait-lists, please email tammy.tromba@ubc.ca.
  • Blocked Courses: When a course is blocked from registration it means the course is full and there is a waitlist to get into the course.  If your desired course is blocked, please register yourself on the waitlist.   If the waitlist is full, please either choose a different course or keep checking the waitlist for space to become available.
  • Wait-lists: A waitlist will have a “W” in the section number like 1W1 or 2W1.  If the waitlist for your desired course is full, please keep checking the waitlist for space to come available. Biology course waitlists are not automated.  For most Biology courses, wait-listed students are manually moved in chronological order from the waitlist into the course as space becomes available.  For Biology courses with labs or tutorials, the waitlists are managed by checking to see which labs/tutorials have available space and then chronologically checking the waitlist for the first student who can fit the available lab /tutorial space into their timetable.  Please be aware that timetables may be modified to allow for conflict-free registration and that it’s the student’s responsibility to check SSC for registration changes. Students will not be added to full waitlists, information on wait-list positioning will not be provided & being on a waitlist does not guarantee you a space in the course. Waitlists are managed every other workday during peak times and once a week during non-peak times.
  • Labs and Tutorials: If a course has required secondary and/or tertiary activities (i.e., lab/tutorial) students must register themselves into the available lab/tutorial seats or they will be waitlisted by the Biology office if no available lab/tutorial seats fit into their timetable.  Additionally, students’ timetables may be adjusted to suit available labs and tutorials. Students cannot register for labs or tutorials while they are registered on a waitlist.
  • Course Conflicts: Students may not register themselves for conflicting course activities and students may only register for one section of a course not multiple.  Students may be removed from courses or waitlists if they are registered in a conflicting course activity.
  • Course Prerequisites: Students may not register for a course without the required prerequisite(s) unless they have received permission from the course instructor via email and a copy of that email has been sent to the Biology Program Office to tammy.tromba@ubc.ca.  Once the email has been received then the student will be registered for the course or waitlist if there is space by the Biology Program Office.  If a student is registered for a course and has a Standing Deferred status for the required course prerequisite, they will be waitlisted until their final grade has been submitted and re-added to the course if there is space. (Note:  BIOL 200 and BIOL 201 prerequisites cannot be waived.)
  • Course Section Switches: Direct course section switches are not permitted when a section of the course is blocked with a waitlist.  To switch sections a student must drop themselves from their original section and then add themselves to the waitlist of their desired section.
  • Transfer Credits: The UBC registration system does not count transfer courses with exemptions like “BIOL 1st 8 credits with exemptions for BIOL 111/121/140” as satisfying course prerequisites.  You may need to contact the Biology Program for registration assistance.
  • Registration Warnings: If you believe you have the necessary prerequisites for a biology course and receive a yellow registration warning, please ignore the warning, and proceed to register for the course.  However, please be aware that if you do not have the necessary prerequisites for the course, you will be dropped from the course.  If you believe you have the necessary prerequisites to take a biology course and receive a red registration warning, please contact the Biology Program.

Course-Specific Information:

  • BIOL 112: For BIOL 112 course registration, prerequisite, or transfer credit articulation information please click here.  If you have further inquiries please contact the BIOL 112 course coordinator Dr. Karen Smith at karen.smith@ubc.ca
  • BIOL 121: This course will use a staggered seat release where about 1/3 of the seats per section per day will be released during the week of 1st-year registration.  A few seats in each section will also be released during the week of 2nd- year registration.  
  • BIOL 180: BIOL 180 has replaced BIOL 140.  Sections 101 (Term 1) and 201 (Term 2) are the primary sections of this course (there is no meeting time for either of these sections). After registering in the primary section (101 or 201) you must also register for a lab that fits your timetable. If there is no room in the lab section that fits your schedule, register on the waitlist for that section. Students will be moved regularly into sections as space becomes available but there are no guarantee students on waitlists will get into the course. If there is no room on any waitlist that could fit your schedule contact BIO180.register@ubc.ca. Be sure to include your name and student number in the lab section you are requesting.
  • Biology 200 & 201: BIOL 200 uses a staggered seat release where about 1/3 of the seats per section per day will be released during the week of 2nd-year registration.  For BIOL 200 please register in the primary section (000), then a lecture section (101-105), and finally a tutorial section (TXX).   For BIOL 201 please register in a lecture section (201-204) and a tutorial section (TXX).  Students with a seat in BIOC 202 will be removed from the course and waitlist of BIOL 201!  If you have course prerequisite questions please contact the course coordinator:
  • Biology Laboratory Courses: In most of the Biology Laboratory selections courses (i.e. for 2023W: BIOL 306, 326, 331, 337, 340, 341, 351, 352, 363, 402, 403, 404, and 437, etc.) half of the seats are reserved for 3rd-year Biology students and half of the seats are reserved for 4th-year biology students.  Priority will be given to 4th-year Biology students on the waitlist who need a 2nd lab course to graduate if any seats become available in the lab courses after the 3rd-year Biology students have registered.  Biology students are only permitted to complete or be registered in two biology laboratory courses or waitlists.  Non-biology students interested in taking these courses are to register themselves on the waitlist and will be considered after all biology students are successfully registered into the course from the waitlist.

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