Navigating Your Program

Logging in to Workday

1. First, create your Campus-Wide Login (CWL).
2. Afterwards, use your CWL to log on to Workday at https://myworkday.ubc.ca (formerly the Student Service Centre) where you can:

• • Register for courses
  • Review your financial situation (payments are due May, September, and January)
  • Review your awards and fill in the acceptance form
  • Update your personal information

Workday Guides

Having trouble with any of the above? How-to information for Student Workday can be found at:

• Workday Guides for Graduate Students:  https://www.grad.ubc.ca/workday-student-support
• General & Undergraduate documentation: https://workday.students.ubc.ca

A list of courses offered at UBC can be found in Workday. Find more information at https://workday.students.ubc.ca/course-registration.

Once you are registered, you can obtain a UBC card and U-pass from the UBC Bookstore – bring a photo ID and your student number.

Important Course Registration Information

• Registration / Change of Registration Form: submit to the Student Services Staff for courses that Workday prevents you from registering in.
• Watch your deadlines: Course change & withdrawal dates
• Mandatory courses: All M.A.Sc. and Ph.D. students are required to register for a thesis course all year around (both in Winter and Summer terms) until program completion.

If you are new to Canada, you are required to apply for the BC Medical Services Plan (MSP) soon after your arrival by submitting the application and a copy of your visa. The MSP waiting period is 3 months during which you will be covered by iMED (the mandatory basic health insurance program).

• What is iMED, the BC Medical Services Plan(MSP), and the AMS/GSS Health & Dental Plan?
• Applying for MSP

If you are new to Canada, a Social Insurance Number (SIN) is required if you expect to work on campus (e.g. as a Teaching or Research Assistant) or receive a major scholarship paid through the UBC Payroll system.

• What is a Social Insurance Number (SIN)?

How to apply for a SIN:

Fill in the Employment Contract Form (provided by your employer) and submit it along with the SIN application and supporting documents to a Service Canada Centre.

Remember that a SIN and Study Permit have expiry dates and must be renewed at least 3 months in advance. The ultimate responsibility for maintaining up-to-date documents lies with the student. Remember also that it is your responsibility to ensure that your passport remains current.

What is a Graduate Research Assistantship?

The majority of research graduate students (M.A.Sc. and Ph.D) are offered a Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) by their supervisors. Such assistantship is funded by research grants for specified projects which virtually always constitute thesis projects. A RA may be held in conjunction with a Teaching Assistantship or a scholarship.

Your GRA appointment will be paid out through Workday. The Department's HR team will reach out to you for paperwork which will be used to process your appointment.

To ensure your GRA Appointment is processed

1. Apply for a SIN (see #4)
2. Ensure all your information in Workday Student (formerly the Student Services Centre) is up-to-date (e.g. local address, local phone number, updated email account, etc.)
3. Ensure you have completed the Department Safety Training Requirement – see #8 for more details.

An appointment may take up to five business days after all information is received. Incomplete information may cause a delay in payment.

Graduate students working as Teaching or Research Assistants can apply for a Pay Deduction/Fee Deferral. Please visit the UBC Student Services website to find detailed instructions on how to submit an application.

Requires assisting in undergraduate or graduate courses for in areas such as laboratories, tutorials, marking, and invigilation. These may be held in conjunction with other assistantships or scholarships. Applications for the following academic year will be open from April 1-30. Please check the TA page https://mech.ubc.ca/graduate/teaching-assistantships for more information.

Graduate students working as Teaching or Research Assistants can apply for a Pay Deduction/Fee Deferral. Please visit the UBC Student Services website to find detailed instructions on how to submit an application.

Additional Accident Insurance

The department has a policy that all students, both graduate and undergraduate, must have accident insurance. In fact, we do not allow anyone to use the workshop without insurance. However, even if you never use the workshop, you must have insurance to cover you in case of an accident while working in a research lab or some similar activity.

Additional accident insurance is available to current UBC students, faculty, staff and volunteers under the auspices of UBC (students must be registered at UBC), while participating in sanctioned and approved UBC work-related activities.

Students must have the BC Medical Plan or its equivalent from another province in place (basic medical care) in order to be eligible for this additional insurance.  An excess accident insurance policy only responds after all other insurance policies have been exhausted including provincial health insurance programs.

• UBC Accident Insurance Details: https://srs.ubc.ca/insurance/insurance-programs/accident-insurance

Accessing our Facilities

To gain access to lab, workshop and graduate desk spaces, you'll need to fulfill WorkSafeBC and UBC safety training requirements. This is mandatory whether you are a non-worker student, or employed by the university as a Graduate Research Assistant or Teaching Assistant.

This requirement is enforced by not issuing keys, electronic access or alarm codes until training is complete, however all new employees and non-worker students (who need access to spaces beyond those granted through a course) must complete the training applicable to their workspace regardless of if they need fob or key access.

Required Safety Training

The safety training you need to complete includes mandatory general training for all spaces, site-specific safety orientations for each space you will be using (including desk spaces), and any additional training needed for a higher-risk space.

Visit our Requesting Access page to:

• Take the required courses for all spaces;
• Find Site-Specific Safety Orientation forms - safety orientations for each space you need access to must be conducted by your supervisor or their designated lab manager;
• Take any additional training for higher-risk spaces - discuss with your Supervisor which/if any of these will be required;
• Submit an Access Request, including the completion certificates from your courses and your Site-Specific Orientation form(s).

Please complete the required training and site-specific orientations before requesting access, as you must attach the completion certificates to your request form. Laboratory, workshop, and desk space fob access, alarm codes, or keys will be authorized only after Safety training is completed and we have the record of completion.

NSERC & UBC Affiliated Fellowships (MASc/PhD programs only)

Annual award administration (for NSERC Doctoral Level Scholarship, NSERC Master’s level Scholarship and UBC Affiliated Fellowships) is held during the Winter Term 1 (September to December) and instructions (e.g. internal deadlines) are announced when the time comes. New students in research programs who are planning to apply for these awards are advised to bring some extra final official transcripts from previous institutions for award application.

Other Award Opportunities

The department notifies students about more external/internal awards/scholarships opportunities year round via email. These are also posted at https://mech.ubc.ca/category/awards-funding.

Attend the Orientation for graduate students, as this will have important information on academic advising, safety training, expectations for participation in the program, and more.

The UBC Mechanical Engineering Graduate Association (MEGA) aims to create a tight-knit community of peers for mechanical engineering graduate students. MEGA regularly hosts social events (hikes, games nights, coffee socials, etc) as well as the annual MEGA cruise party. The organization also represents mechanical engineering students in the UBC-wide Graduate Student Society (GSS).

For more information, visit the MEGA website or join the MEGA Facebook group.

The UBC Graduate Student Society (GSS) represents the interests of all graduate students at UBC Vancouver. All students registered in the Faculty of Graduate and Post-Doctoral Studies are automatically members of the GSS. Every year, an Executive Committee responsible for the administration of the GSS is elected by graduate students. The GSS offers many ways to get involved with the graduate student community at UBC.

For more information, visit the GSS website.

The UBC Engineering Mentoring Program matches a junior undergraduate student, senior undergraduate or graduate student, and an engineer from industry or academia together according to related discipline or interests. There are networking events for students and mentors throughout the academic year, which allow participants to build their professional networks and gain insight into the engineering profession. For more information, visit the UBC Engineering Mentoring Program website.

UBC Go Global offers many opportunities for students (both undergraduate and graduate) to study or do research abroad at one of 200+ partner universities. For more information, visit the Go Global website.