Academic Community

Our faculty and students work hard to build community and improve scholarship in a supportive setting.


History Graduate Student Association

The History Students Graduate Association (HGSA) is a group of graduate students committed to supporting graduate student life and community in the History Department

The HGSA Executive is responsible for organizing a number of events — including the Qualicum Conference, and the Burge Lecture as well as internal events for graduate students.

At the start of each academic year, the HGSA holds a general meeting to nominate and elect members to the leadership executive positions.

HGSA Annual Allocation:

Each year, HGSA has operating budget of $1,000 to cover expenses for HGSA meetings/events. Each year, the HGSA needs to have a budget submitted and approved by graduate advisor. All reimbursements to come out of PM005615.

Important – Prior to Reimbursement:

  1. Prior to any reimbursement requests, the HGSA Treasurer must submit an itemized HGSA budget to the Graduate Advisor for Approval.  Once approved, the HGSA must keep a copy of the email approval. (This will be used for the reimbursement approval process below).
  2. Make sure you have set up direct deposit in the Student Service Centre.
    • If you are a UBC employee as well as a student and have already set up direct deposit on Workday, you still have to set it up on the SSC in order to claim an expense as a student.
    • If you don’t do this, your reimbursement will be paid by a cheque mailed to the home address that you have listed on the Student Service Centre (SSC).
    • When you fill in the Arts Service Centre (ASC claim form), enter your student no., not your UBC employee no.

Steps for Reimbursement:

Step#1: Ask the HGSA Treasurer for a copy of the “Graduate Advisor’s email approval of the HGSA Budget”.

After receiving a pdf copy of the “Graduate Advisor’s email approval” from the HGSA treasurer, please follow steps #2-3 for reimbursement.

Prior to any reimbursement requests, the HGSA Treasurer must submit a HGSA budget to the Graduate Advisor for Approval.  The Graduate Advisor will provide written approval of the budget via email. The HGSA treasurer must keep a copy of the email approval, which will be used for the reimbursement process.

Step #2: Prepare your documents

Please make sure to have the following information ready before applying for reimbursement:

  • Copy of Graduate Advisor’s Email Approval of the HGSA Budget (Ask the HGSA Treasurer for this document (See Step #1)
  • All Receipts: All receipts related to reimbursement.
  • Student ID Number
  • On Student Service Centre (SSC), please make sure your most current mailing address is updated on the system.

Step #3: Submit Online Reimbursement Claim:

Submit your request through the ASC (Arts Service Centre) by using the EXPENSE REQUEST FORM.  The ASC has a “student expense report initiator” who will process the reimbursement claim.

Key Details to input into the form:

  • Select “Personal Reimbursement”
  • Department: HIST
  • Payee Name: Enter your First and Last Name
  • Under Employee or Student Number: Input the letter “S” and enter your student ID Number afterwards (Example: S1234567).
  • Contact Email: Enter your contact email for submission.
  • Under “Purchase Summary and Justification of Expense”: Input HGSA Reimbursement approved by Graduate Advisor.  [And then list the event, date, number of attendees, reimbursement amount]
  • Fill in Description of Expenses and Amounts
  • For Speechart/Worktag: Input PM005615
    (Use the form to list all your expenses for reimbursement.)

 

 

  • Under the “Attachment Receipts and other Documents” Sections:
    • Attach copy of “Graduate Advisor’s email approval of the HGSA Budget”. (See Step #1).
    • Attach all receipts listed for your travel expenses.
  •  In the Additional Comments Section:
    • Input HGSA Reimbursement approved by Graduate Advisor. AND;
    • Indicate whether you are a MA or PhD student. (E.g. “MA Student” or “PhD Student”).

Example:

HGSA Reimbursement approved by Graduate Advisor – MA Student
or
HGSA Reimbursement approved by Graduate Advisor – MA Student

(For the student’s reference:  It’s crucial that the ASC reimbursement claim form is identified as a graduate student claim.  This is the reason for instructing the student to input the information in the additional comments section.)

The Qualicum History Conference has been rebranded as the "Shifting Tides Conference".

For more than 40 years, UBC history graduate students have participated in the annual Qualicum Student-Faculty History Conference on Vancouver Island. This conference brings together History faculty and students of the major British Columbia universities for a weekend of intellectual exchange and fun. The conference is generously supported by the Departments of History from the University of Victoria, Simon Fraser University and UBC.

The Burge Lecture is an annual keynote lecture that provides students, faculty, alumni and community members the opportunity to connect with historians and other scholars engaged in exciting research. Past Burge speakers have included Robert Darnton, Ian Miller, Richard White, Tara Zahra, Natalie Zemon Davis, Ann Stoler, and most recently, Audra Simpson from Columbia University.

History Department Research Clusters

The History department organizes various regional and thematic clusters that students can participate in.

History Department Colloquiums

The History department organizes a series of colloquium which students can attend:

History Events

Learn about all the latest events in the Department of History: