Gain an international academic experience. Study at North America's most international university. Meet students from other universities and Canadian students through socio-cultural activities. Learn about Canadian culture and society.
Watch the video from 2019 VSP!
Come and explore our beautiful Vancouver campus and city.
Get to know your campus: methods of transportation, housing, food, events, and attractions.
The Vancouver Summer Program (VSP) is a four-week academic program that offers the opportunity to participate in a program package, consisting of two academic courses, while learning about Canadian practices and culture. Participants will attend highly interactive classes and engage in a variety of social activities while living in residence on UBC's stunning campus, located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish people.
The UBC School of Nursing was ranked one of the top nursing schools in Canada for 2024 by Maclean’s Magazine. Our excellence in health education and research methods is a significant part of our success. No prerequisites are required; however, participants must be proficient in English, have a strong academic background, and be at least 18 years of age at the beginning of the session. Course credit may be granted by the home university. We look forward to sharing with you our commitment to health education, research, and practice at the UBC School of Nursing!
In 2025, we will be offering two packages for the UBC Vancouver Summer Program. Applications will open mid-to-late November and the application deadline is April 4, 2025.
The following two academic courses are offered in Package A:
Field excursions to innovative seniors’ care centres and effective mentorship techniques will provide students with an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take part in the most advanced learning in healthy aging and common health concerns among seniors. A broad range of guests will engage with students, including older adults, healthcare providers, and educators. This course provides a window into normal aging processes and introduces students to some of the main health challenges experienced by seniors, including dementia. Best practices for supporting seniors’ health and wellbeing will be discussed, guided by ethical considerations and principles of personhood. The course includes lectures, workshops, and field excursions.
Students will gain hands-on experience in developing skills to effectively engage with and support seniors in their homes and communities. A wide variety of guests will engage with students, including seniors, family caregivers, and health and social service providers. Students will engage with seniors to consider practical tips to create supportive home environments. This course provides an overview of the key components of supporting the health and well-being of seniors in their home environment. Students will be introduced to issues associated with aging in place, including environmental, policy, and systemic factors. The course will be led by expert faculty in the field of aging. Course content will be delivered through lectures, case studies, discussion groups, and field excursions.
The content covered in NURS Package A: Seniors Health and Home Care is similar to an undergraduate elective course, NURS 270, and foundational pillar courses in the Masters of Health Leadership and Policy (MHLP) Seniors Care program as a whole (NURS 542, NURS 585S). However, this course does not translate exactly into the content covered for either course due to condensed format.
This package is open to all prospective students of various disciplines:
Using a life-course perspective addressing mental health from the prenatal period through older adulthood, students will build their understanding of the various mental health challenges, risk and protective factors, health system challenges and opportunities and evidence-based approaches to mental health promotion, prevention and treatment of common mental health challenges for individuals and their families. This course provides students with a foundation for working with individuals, families, and populations who experience and are living with mental health and substance use challenges. This course includes lectures, discussion groups, and special guests.
Students will have the opportunity to explore knowledge related to stress, stressors, resilience, social support, and strategies to foster physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Key concepts to be explored include the positive and negatives aspects of stress, factors that contribute to stress, physiological and psychological responses to stress, and the various strategies to navigate and manage stress, including the role of social support and self-care. There will be a strong focus on practical strategies to manage stress within the context of students’ current and future lives. The course will encompass a variety of methods including lectures, discussions, field excursions and an interactive assignment will allow students to express their creativity.
The content covered in NURS Package B: Mental Health & Wellness is similar to coursework covered in a few courses, NURS 303 and NURS 180. It is intended to support university students to advance their knowledge about mental health and wellbeing. However, these packaged courses do not translate exactly into the content covered in the courses due to its condensed format.
If you would like more details or have further questions about the VSP in Nursing, please contact:
Please contact vsp@nursing.ubc.ca for general inquiries and applications. More information available at https://linktr.ee/ubcvspnursing.
For Central Office, Office of the Vice-Provost International, please contact vsp.ubc@ubc.ca. Tel: +1-604-827-2957
For East Asia, please contact Rebecca Chiang in our Asia Pacific Regional Office, Hong Kong at Rebecca.chiang@apro.ubc.ca. Tel +852-2111-4401
For South Asia and the Middle East, please contact Faisal Beg in our India Liaison Office, New Delhi at faisal.beg@ubc.ca. Tel: +91-11-46061905
