The University of British Columbia, commonly referred to as UBC, is a publicresearch university with campuses and facilities in British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1908 as the McGill University College of British Columbia, the University became independent and adopted its current name in 1915. It is the oldest institution of higher learning in British Columbia and enrolls over 58,000 students at its Vancouver and Okanagan Valley campuses. UBC's Vancouver campus is located within the University Endowment Lands, about west of Downtown Vancouver. The Okanagan campus, acquired in 2005, is located in Kelowna.