Navigate your academic journey with peer-to-peer support from Arts Peer Advisors or Arts Peer Academic Coaches.
Arts Peer Advisors
Peer Advisors play an integral role in Arts Academic Advising Services, providing accurate and timely information on academic requirements, campus resources and much more – assisting you to confidently navigate your academic journey and make the most of campus life.
Arts Peer Academic Coaches
Connect with upper-year students that will work with you long term to meet your academic goals..
Our Arts Peer Academic Coaches are friendly, inclusive, and knowledgeable upper-year students who:
- Know what it’s like to learn and study in UBC Arts
- Share a common goal of seeing other students succeed
- Are trained to support student self-reflection and growth
- Can provide you with strategies and resources to improve your academic experience
Coaching topics
- Study strategies
- Time management techniques
- Ways to approach academic tasks
- Campus involvement opportunities
Chat with a coach to set academic and personal goals, discuss study habits, brainstorm ways that you can adapt your approach to learning and studying, and co-create an action plan going forward.
All conversations with a coach are confidential.
Meet with a Coach
Arts Peer Academic Coaches are available to meet with you for one-on-one coaching conversations by appointment or during their drop-in hours in the Coaching Space, located on the third floor of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre. Appointments can be requested via the link below from September to March (excluding exam period).
Drop-In Hours
Monday: 2–4 pm
Tuesday: 11 am–1 pm
Wednesday: 2–5 pm
Thursday: 2–5 pm
Friday: N/A (no drop-in coaching on Fridays)
Have questions? Contact our team at: contact.apac@ubc.ca
Aspire Coaching Program
In this free program, you will be paired with an Arts Peer Academic Coach who will meet with you on an ongoing basis throughout the term. Participants will meet with their coach three times throughout the term and will receive a Certificate of Completion at the end of the program.
Each meeting will have a particular focus, but the content of the conversation will ultimately be driven by you, the coachee:
- Meeting 1: Getting to know your coach
- Meeting 2: Setting SMART goals
- Meeting 3: Wrap-up and looking ahead
Registration for this term is now open, and will close on September 22 at 11:59pm.
Here’s what previous Aspire Coachees have said about the program:
- “It was helpful for me to hear about a senior student’s experiences, as I don’t know much about university life yet. I enjoyed hearing about her experiences and from someone who has already completed most of their academic journey. It was also great to have a conversation with someone who’s willing to hear me out and talk with about academics.”
- “Developing an action plan with someone to hold me accountable makes me feel like I can actually achieve my goals. I also think connecting with an upper-year student 1-to-1 helps me feel more confident in my ability to socially interact.”
- “My peer coach helped me prioritize my concerns. After my meeting I had more insight into what I was going to do, I had someone to help me through and that was very helpful for me!”
Have questions? Contact our team at: contact.apac@ubc.ca
Peer Advisors are student employees that work in the Arts Advising office. If you imagine going to the gym, Peer Advisors are the front desk staff. They'll help you with your gym membership and make sure that you registered properly for that 8 a.m. group yoga class but, beyond maybe offering a few tips, they aren't there to help you workout.
Peer Academic Coaches are those gym regulars that are happy to take newcomers under their wing. They aren't employees but they will go out of their way to show you how to lift weights properly so you don't hurt your back and are happy to share the lessons they learned along the way towards their own academ— or, we mean fitness success.