The University of British Columbia (UBC) was founded in 1908 by an Act of the provincial legislature — making it the oldest university in British Columbia and one of Canada's largest. Before UBC opened, higher education in BC was provided by denominational colleges affiliated with the universities of McMaster, Toronto, and McGill. In 1910 a site at Point Grey was selected for UBC's Vancouver campus. Through its association with McGill, the university was provided with the nucleus of its first staff and basic curriculum in arts, science, and engineering. Its Vancouver campus officially opened in 1925. 

The University of British Columbia is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada. With an annual research budget of CAD 893 million, UBC funds 9,992 projects annually in various fields of study within the industrial sector, as well as governmental and non-governmental organizations. The Vancouver campus is situated on Point Grey campus lands, an unincorporated area bordering the University Endowment Lands, approximately 10 km west of Downtown Vancouver. 

The University of British Columbia attracts, nurtures, and inspires more than 72,000 students from Canada and 155 countries around the world. UBC's global alumni network has more than 410,000 individuals representing 160 countries. UBC counts 8 Nobel laureates and 71 Rhodes Scholars among its alumni, including three Canadian Prime Ministers. UBC is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion to strengthen its community, the quality, relevance, and impact of its research, and the opportunities for the full pool of potential participants in the research ecosystem. 

UBC is also home to TRIUMF — Canada's national particle and nuclear physics laboratory — which boasts the world's largest cyclotron. In addition to the Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute, UBC and the Max Planck Society collectively established the first Max Planck Institute in North America, specialising in quantum mechanics. UBC's Faculty of Medicine delivers medical doctor training at 80+ training sites across British Columbia. One of Canada's largest research libraries, the UBC Library system has over 8.3 million items among its 21 branches. 

Those affiliated with UBC include eight Nobel laureates, 75 Rhodes Scholars, 231 Olympians with 65 medals won collectively, and 306 fellows to the Royal Society of Canada. Among UBC's alumni are Canadian Prime Ministers John Turner, Kim Campbell, and Justin Trudeau. Faculty Nobel laureates include Michael Smith (Chemistry), Har Gobind Khorana (Physiology or Medicine), Daniel Kahneman (Economics — foundational work in behavioural economics), Hans G. Dehmelt (Physics), and Carl Wieman (Physics).