The 2025/26 Bachelor of Education (BEd) program is now underway, with more than 750 students enrolled across UBC’s various teacher education pathways. This September, the Teacher Education Office welcomed teacher candidates over two days of orientation events on the UBC Vancouver campus—with a marked increase in enrolment over previous years. With the demand for certified teachers rising in the Lower Mainland and rural communities, the Faculty of Education is responding with expanded opportunities and programs.
UBC’s Faculty of Education delivers the largest teacher education program in British Columbia, educating nearly half of the province’s incoming teachers. The UBC BEd program offers the most diverse range of program options in the province and the most comprehensive teaching areas, including highly sought-after subjects like technology education, business education, home economics, and French. Students may pursue the 11-month Elementary & Middle Years or Secondary program at UBC Vancouver, the Dual Degree option for UBC undergraduate students, the four-year Indigenous Teacher Education Program (NITEP), the Nelson-based West Kootenay Rural Teacher Education Program (WKTEP), or the two-year hybrid Rural and Remote Teacher Education Program (RRED).
This year, NITEP opened a new field centre in Prince Rupert for its full four-year BEd program. Developed in partnership with the Lax Kw’alaams First Nation, and supported by the Rideau Hall Foundation and the Ministry of Education, the centre welcomed 38 Indigenous students from the Lax Kw’alaams, Gitwangak, Gitxaat’a, Old Masset, Nisga’a, Metlakatla, Inuit, Gitga’at, and Haisla Nations. NITEP also maintains field centres in the Okanagan, northern BC (Burns Lake area), and on the Vancouver campus.
The Rural and Remote Teacher Education Program (RRED) is preparing to launch a new northern cohort in Vanderhoof in 2026. Applications for this third cohort will open in October 2025. At UBC Vancouver, the 11-month program added a new cohort of Elementary & Middle Years students in EDID, while the Secondary program launched a pilot Digital Pedagogies & AI option in partnership with the Vancouver School Board. This innovative pilot is offered to students with teachable subjects in English and/or Social Studies.
Together, these initiatives highlight the Faculty’s ongoing commitment to addressing the province-wide demand for teachers while adapting programs to meet the evolving needs of today’s classrooms. By expanding pathways and forging community partnerships, UBC’s Faculty of Education continues to prepare the next generation of educators to make a lasting impact in schools across British Columbia.