New to LFS

Welcome to LFS!

Wondering what it’s like to be an LFS student? Excited to start your journey at UBC? There are lots of ways to meet new friends, current LFS students, staff and faculty all summer long. Whether you are joining us directly from high school, transferring from another post-secondary institution, or joining us from another program at UBC, you are invited to connect with us. We’ve created a variety of online interactive and self-guided welcome and orientation tools to support your transition to LFS and UBC.

Welcome to LFS!

LFS ROOTSS (Reach Out, Orientation, Transition & Study Skills)

The LFS ROOTSS (Reach Out, Orientation, Transition, & Study Skills) program is designed to support your orientation to registration, resources, student life on campus, and the LFS community. ROOTSS is an online program offered through Canvas, which is the platform most UBC classes use, so you’ll get the chance to practice with this tool before your classes start in September. All new-to-LFS students are encouraged to enrol in ROOTSS to access:

  • Registration support
  • Academic resources
  • Information on being an LFS student
  • Opportunities to engage with LFS students, staff and faculty
  • Discussion forums to meet each other

New modules will be released every Monday (#modulemonday) from now until the start of the school year! Follow us on @ubclfs Instagram for exciting content and updates on all things #lfsrootss

ENROL NOW by logging in with your CWL account here

Hear advice from recent grads:

We interviewed a few of our recent grads about their LFS experience and plans for the future. Meet Njoki, Hannah, Misa, Aki, Taryn, Jodie and Francesca and get inspired for what lies ahead for you! We’re so proud of our students, and can’t wait to see what impacts and experiences each of you have in LFS, at UBC and in your communities.

Get Started in LFS:

Curious about what to expect in your first year? We’ve got you covered! ‘Get Started’ here!


Academic Essentials

Start your university journey on the right foot with Academic Essentials. Through free, self-directed online courses, this program helps you develop the learning skills you’ll need to succeed in your first year at UBC and beyond.

Registration is now closed.


Jump Start

Dates: August 31 – September 4, 2020

Your official welcome to life at UBC. Register for virtual Jump Start, a multi-day academic orientation designed to introduce you to the University, your professors, and your classmates. You will spend time with a LFS professor and senior peers from the Faculty, meet other first-year students, and learn more about the UBC services available to you before classes start.

Through Jump Start, you will have opportunities to:

  • Connect with professors (called Faculty Fellows, meet them below)
  • Connect with upper year LFS students
  • Meet other new LFS students, just like you
  • Learn about UBC

REGISTER NOW by clicking here. Registration is now closed.


Meet your 2020 Jump Start Faculty Fellows

These LFS Faculty Fellows are instructors in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, and you will likely have classes with them during your time in LFS!

During Jump Start, you will get to know your Faculty Fellow in your Learning Seminars, and they will help support your academic transition from high school to university.

Dr. Patricia Hingston

Assistant Professor of Teaching

Dr. Siyun Wang

Associate Professor, Food Safety Engineering

I am interested in the virulence factors, stress response, and pathogenesis of microorganisms that post major threats to food safety and public health. I use molecular biology and genomic approaches to develop novel, rapid and reliable detection methods for foodborne pathogens.

Dr. Kristen Walker

Assistant Professor of Teaching

Dr. Ronaldo Cerri

Associate Professor, Animal Reproduction

Effects of nutrition, management, behaviour and welfare, and pharmacological control of the estrous cycle on the reproduction of dairy cattle

Dr. Sandra Brown

Assistant Professor of Teaching

Characterization of soil–water properties of Andean soils; Role of soils in the terrestrial hydrological cycle; Assessing water allocation in Latin America.

Imagine UBC Day

Unable to attend Jump Start? Don’t worry, that’s okay! There are plenty of opportunities to get to know UBC, LFS and meet your classmates through Imagine UBC Day.

On Tuesday September 8, 2020, your first day at UBC, we celebrate Imagine UBC Day. There are no classes this day; instead all new-to-LFS undergraduate students are matched with an upper-year LFS student (called an Orientation Leader) who will connect you online to other students and activities throughout the day. The day will include:

  • Meeting the LFS Dean
  • Meeting LFS faculty members and LFS staff
  • Meeting your fellow LFS students
  • Learning more about resources, support services and LFS student groups

Still Have Questions?

Connect with Thilini Leitan, Student Engagement Officer at thilini.leitan@ubc.ca.