The Vancouver Summer Program with UBC Science provides students with the opportunity to study at a top international research university and experience local Vancouver culture.

What you might expect/course format

Courses with UBC Science include in-class and lab portions taught by UBC faculty members, graduate students, and guest lecturers. Courses also include short field trips and other engaging learning opportunities. Students can expect team-based learning activities and assignments.

July 2026 Course Packages

Foundations of Statistical Reasoning, Exploratory Analysis and Reproducible Research

In this course, students will develop their statistical literacy and reasoning, while also building up practical skills for exploratory data analysis and reproducible research. They will learn to frame research questions, design studies, and collect representative data. Students will gain a fundamental understanding of study design, data exploration, data visualization, and introductory R programming. They will also learn how to organize their analysis projects using reproducible tools such as R JupyterLab for automated analysis reporting. The course learning objectives are: i) build data literacy and statistical reasoning; ii) improve students’ ability to formulate data-driven problems; iii) design studies; iv) perform exploratory data analysis in R; v) produce appropriate visualizations and interpret trends and patterns; vi) write reproducible analysis workflows and clear exploratory reports.

Statistical Inference, Modeling and Foundations of Machine Learning

In this course, students will transition from exploratory data analysis to formal statistical modeling and inference. They will learn how to evaluate the strength of statistical evidence, conduct hypothesis testing, and fit and interpret statistical models. Students will also learn about foundational machine learning concepts, including supervised vs. unsupervised learning, bias-variance trade-off, predictive performance assessment, and high dimensional methodologies. The main learning objectives are: i) conduct statistical inference using t-tests and ANOVA; ii) fit and interpret linear models; iii) evaluate model assumptions and diagnostics; iv) understand and apply basic and high dimensional machine learning methods; v) assess model performance and communicate results clearly.

Prerequisite: Previous experience with coding in R is useful, but not a requirement. Course 1 will start with R basics for any beginners.

Additional information: Please bring your laptop to class, as most in-class work will involve using in Jupyterlab.

For more information

For VSP Statistics and Data Science-specific questions, email Kaique Barros at vsp@stat.ubc.ca.

Program overview video describing the Vancouver Summer Program in Statistics and Data Science at the University of British Columbia, including coursework, projects, and student experience.

Short promotional video introducing the Vancouver Summer Program in Statistics and Data Science at the University of British Columbia, highlighting hands-on learning, team projects, and student experience.

Student testimonials

“I intend to find an internship abroad in the first half of this year, and the VSP grade letter and supporting documents help me a lot with preparing my resumes and CVs. Thank you once again for the wonderful experience at UBC which gave me the courage to apply for it.”

– VSP STAT Student

“I deeply appreciate the high evaluation you gave me—it motivates me to continue working hard and furthering my academic growth in statistics. The knowledge and skills I gained from this program have been invaluable, and I’m excited to apply them in my future studies. The one month I spent in Vancouver will remain one of the most beautiful and unforgettable memories of my life. This experience was not only meaningful and fulfilling but also a perfect blend of learning and living, for which I am truly thankful to you. Thank you once again for your encouragement and support throughout the […]

– VSP STAT Student

“I had the privilege of participating in your course during the summer research program, where I earned an A+. The experience I gained under your guidance has been invaluable, expanding my research capabilities and deepening my understanding of Data Science. Your mentorship has greatly influenced my academic and research pursuits.”

– VSP STAT Student

“Thank you very much for your knowledge in UBC VSP project, the application of R language and the knowledge of statistics have greatly influenced me. In the future, I will continue to explore the application of statistics in the field of finance and constantly improve my programming ability. The one-month study at UBC is the most precious memory of my life. I look forward to visiting you again in Canada in the future.”

– VSP STAT Student

“During my one-month academic journey at UBC, I developed a strong interest in statistics and coding, which stimulate my interest in research and inspire me to put analysis and programming into my long-term career. Therefore, I wanted to ask if you would be willing to write a strong letter of recommendation for my research applications. I would like to thank you for everything you have presented in class and for the inspiration you have brought to the field of analysis.”

– VSP STAT Student