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SFU Graduate Student Handbook
Effective September 2021 until August 2022
Welcome from the Dean and Associate Provost
Welcome to Simon Fraser University!
In choosing to attend Simon Fraser University — a university which opened in 1965 with a campus that is now recognized as architecturally significant, and which grew to have campuses in downtown Vancouver and in Surrey — you are coming to a welcoming University noted for being student-centred, research-driven and community engaged.
As a graduate student at Simon Fraser University you will join a community of 5,000 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from over 100 countries, a global fabric that reflects SFU’s diversity. You will have the opportunity to further your intellectual development and career opportunities at a university that has a strong academic and community history and is internationally recognized and ranked as one of the top institutions in the world.
Despite this scale, every student is valued, and encouraged to excel in their chosen discipline, both on and off the campus. You will be supported academically and challenged intellectually and given every opportunity to develop and circulate your research. At the same time, we hope the SFU ethos of engaging with the world, and thinking through local contexts and knowledges inspires you. Within this global context, it is significant that SFU is located on unceded, traditional and ancestral Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, Katzie, Kwantlen, Qayqayt, Stó:l Stó:lō, and Kwikwetlem territories: we are honoured to live and work on these Coast Salish lands.
Welcome to SFU. I trust you will make the most of your graduate education and make the university itself a better place.
Dr. Jeff Derksen,PhD
Dean and Associate Provost
Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
Professor of English
Simon Fraser University
SFU Graduate Student Handbook Purpose
This handbook is updated annually and to provide you with an overview of relevant policies, resources and information as you commence your graduate program.
By enrolling in classes at SFU, you are agreeing to following university policies such as academic honesty, student conduct, Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy, as well as the Graduate General Regulations. Learn more about your responsibilities as a graduate student.
There may also be terms and condition applicable to your offer of admission or program that are specified by your faculty, department or program. It is your responsibility to comply with those.
The policies and regulations set out in the SFU Calendar are updated every term. Every graduate student should become familiar with the relevant sections, particularly the Graduate General Regulations. These regulations may change during the course of your program and it is your responsibility to review and follow the current applicable policies. Should the academic program requirements change during your degree, please contact your graduate program chair as you may select to use the program requirements which are most beneficial to you.
Contact Information
Your graduate program assistant is usually your first point of contact for most questions related to your program.
If you need additional assistance, please contact the staff in Graduate Studies.
New to SFU?
Visit Getting Started to help guide your through your first steps as a graduate student.