Admission Requirements

Admission into the program requires a good background in French Literature or in French Linguistics, as well as a good command of both oral and written French. Candidates who do not meet these conditions will be required to remedy the deficiency before admission into the graduate program can be granted; this may be accomplished through one or two semesters as a Qualifying Student (see section 1.3.6 of the Graduate General Regulations).

Upon acceptance into the program, each student will be assigned a temporary supervisor.

The program's degree requirements may be completed 'with thesis' or 'with extended essays.' In each case, the student works under the direction of a supervisor, who has been appointed by the end of the first term.

At the time of enrolment in their second term, students must declare their MA option and confirm their supervisor. Required course work, thesis proposal and other requirements are approved by the graduate chair.

Application Procedure

All applications are processed online. The deadlines for applications are:

Summer Semester: March 1
Fall Semester: July 1
Spring Semester: November 1

Before applying, please review the overview of the application process.

General application process and login the application system (Fall 2023, onward).

On the on-line system, you will need to submit:

1. A statement of purpose
2. A recent curriculum vitae
3. Term papers written for previous courses in French Linguistics or Literature, or evidence of projects of other kinds
4. 3 letters of reference, two of which should refer to your potential as a graduate student
5. *Unofficial transcripts from ALL post-secondary institutions you have attended

*Applicants are required to upload digital transcripts (e.g. scanned copy, photocopy etc) showing course titles and grading scales as part of the online application. Please note that all transcripts uploaded by applicants are considered unofficial. Official transcripts are required only after an offer of admission is made and they should be sent directly to Graduate and Postdoctoral Fellows. Official transcripts showing degree completion are required prior to enrolling at SFU. We recommend submitting your transcripts approximately 2 months prior to your first term (If you previously attended SFU, you do not need to submit official SFU transcripts.) For more details about the requirements for official transcripts via mail or email, please see here.

Only completed dossiers will be considered. You are welcome to send directly to the Department any additional material that you think is relevant.

Language requirement

Students must demonstrate a level of competence in written and oral French acceptable to the Graduate Committee.  Students are also expected to demonstrate a working knowledge of English to function within the University community.