I'm also at UBC. I'm taking Engineering Physics. If you want to know how UBC Engineering rates as compared to other Engineering programs, I'm afraid I can't really help you there, as I don't know. One good thing about our engineering programs is that they offer the chance for co-op (co-operative education). In a co-op program...you go for work experience within industry at some company or instituition, usually during the summer term. This is excellent expereience for you and prepares you for the real world. Many other engineering programs at other Canadian universities offer co-op as well. University of Waterloo is supposed to be the premiere school for engineering.
Our engineering programs at UBC are civil, mechanical, electrical, computer, mining, environmental, chemical/biological, geological, engineering physics (my program), and finally integrated engineering (a little bit of everything). There is no specific program for aerospace (though I think many with that inclination go into mechanical for undergrad?) A friend of mine told me that a prof had mentioned that we Fizzers (people in engineering physics) could also later specialize in aerospace easily (meaning that our background would be well suited to it). Personally, although astronomy and astrophysics were always my first passion, I chose engineering physics in favour of pure physics for undergrad because it seemed a good compromise between what I wanted to do, and a degree that would be practical/employable etc. It's sort of a hybrid program, engineering + honours physics. It's the hardest to get into, one of the best engineering programs at the university (no, I'm not biased at all
).
I know the physics program is pretty good. UBC is one of the partners in TRIUMF, and the TRIUMF facility is right here on campus. (check it out...URL is
www.triumf.ca). As a result, I've encountered some great profs in particle physics (one of whom taught us E & M, and despite being a researcher/experimentalist, was still a great teacher and actually gave a damn about undergrads!). I think the dept also has a strength in astrophysics (the prof who worked on the MOST project is here, as is one of the control centres for the MOST satellite). I've seen grad students in condensed matter physics, string theory ( ), general relativity/cosmology...I think the dept is doing research in pretty diverse fields.
UBC
Pros: You're right, it's a spectacular campus! It's set against mountains and the ocean. I still occasionally look up from time to time and think "WOW!". Vancouver is a nice city too, very culturally diverse, cosmopolitan, etc. Much better weather than many other places in Canada, though if you're from Norway, you'd definitely be used to it anyways! I'm from Edmonton, Alberta. It's cold there.
Other pros...^Stuff I said above...plus generally good profs, a bus pass as part of your tuition that allows you to go anywhere, anytime, any day. etc. There are other pros as well.
Cons:
I've never seen any mountain lodge! I'm not sure what you're talking about!
HUGE sprawling campus...takes forever to get from one building to another, in general.
Huge campus with 40 000+ students! You will feel a bit overwhelmed at first, but that's true of most universities. Crowding is a problem. Housing is a problem...there is a shortage. But first year students get priority. To live anywhere off campus but close by is expensive (~ $600 Cdn / month for a decent basement room...a bachelor or studio, or whatever it's called). Accomodation farther away is cheaper. UBC is in a fairly expensive area of town.
Things are pretty laid back in Vancouver, and that extends to the UBC administration as well. Dealing with them can be frustrating. You are sort of on your own in the sense that you have to assert yourself to get what you want, even if it seems to you that it is something that ought to be provided/taken care of for you automatically, just from a logical standpoint. They don't care particularly about your specific situation...you're just a student number to them. I think that they leave something to be desired as far as efficiency goes.
That having been said, I'm not trying to scare you away. I just wanted to give you sense of what the university experience can be like. In Canada, and N. America as a whole, the same problems exist, as the universities are trying to deal with more students than ever before.
The major/minor system is easy to explain. A minor just gives you the opportunity to take additional courses in a second subect, usually just for personal interest. So your major is the main focus your degree. The minor is secondary, and to get a minor, I think you only have to take four or five extra courses. Sometimes the major/minor actually make sense, for instance an education degree, with a minor in _______, would be ideal for people who plan to become teachers teaching _________. In my experience, engineering students don't often minor in anything. Our programs are so busy, that we don't have time to focus on any subjects other than what is absolutely required for our degree (plus some additional elective courses). In engineering, it IS possible to minor in commerce, which entails taking a few extra economics/commerce courses. If I minored in commerce, my degree would be a BASc (Bachelor of Applied Science) in Engineering Physics, with a minor in commerce. I hope that makes the concept clear. I don't know what other minors, if any, are available to engineers.
If you need more specific info, or a second opinion, or more clarification...meh...ask zefram.
I've said enough.
