FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

You can find details on internal transfer requirements here.

If you are declared in a Department of Mathematics program and the requirements for that program subseuqently change, you are not subject to the change. Your requirements remain as they were in the term in which you declared your program. You can view an archived calendar here that shows each term's program requirements.

If you instead wish to follow the new program requirements, you are allowed to do this, though it is best to inform the undergraduate advisor of your intention to do this.

The mathematics advisor is available to review degree progress with you. Please call 778-782-4980 or email math_advice@sfu.ca to make an appointment. If possible, book your appointment for the second month of the term to avoid longer wait times.

It is also important for you to continually check your own degree progress using the planning tools available online. The advisor can help you learn how to do this.  

Students must submit a Course/Exam Conflict Application if they want to enrol in a MATH course (100 - 400 level) or MACM course (200 - 400 level) that has a schedule conflict with a course in which they’re already enrolled. Conflicts are typically caused by time or location of lectures, tutorials, or exams.

As of Spring 2021, the Elective Grade System became temporarily available for students, where the grade P, CR or NC option can be used for electives and the P, CR or NC grades do not impact GPA. Please read the Elective Grade System Policy page for more information.

Note that even though you may be taking a non-program required course, please be aware if you need the course as a prerequisite with a grade requirement (e.g. MATH 155 & 157 has a prerequisite of a C grade for MATH 100 and a P grade is equivalent to C-). Also, if you intend to transfer to the MATH department, please do not opt-in for the Elective Grade System for program required courses as they would not be accepted.

For more information, please contact SFU Student Services.

If you have been admitted to the university as a second degree student, you will not receive a transfer credit report showing the courses you completed in your original degree. If your first degree was unrelated to your second degree, this may not be an issue for you. However, if your first degree contains courses you want to use as pre-requisites for courses in your second degree, then you need to have course waivers assigned. Course waivers are notes on your transcript showing that you have previously completed particular courses.

The department responsible for evaluating your transcript for waivers is the department that matches the subject of the courses being evaluated. For example, if you want a waiver showing you have previously completed a computing science course, you would contact the Computing Science Department. If you want a waiver showing you have previously completed a MATH course or MACM course (200 – 400 level), you must email your transcript and course outline (in English) to math_advice@sfu.ca.  Clearly state your name and student number.

Note that the evaluation of this documentation can take a significant amount of time. You will be notified of the evaluation results via your SFU email account.

You must submit and have approved a Third Time Permission Application.

Requests for sixth or subsequent duplicates are reviewed by the faculty where the student’s program is administered (eg. Computing Science majors must apply to the Faculty of Applied Science.) Contact your department or faculty to start the process.

If you are not a student in the Department of Mathematics, and if the MATH/MACM course in question has previously been taken a single time only (including any equivalent courses), then you do not need permission from the Mathematics Department.

Generally speaking, you should simply take the pre-requisite course first. There is a pre-requisite waiver application you can submit, but these are not commonly approved. 

Submit your transcript/s to SFU Admissions and see what credit (if any) they assign for your courses. 

These are all different versions of Calculus I.

• Math 150 and 151 are for sciences and applied sciences. Math 150 has a review component, Math 151 does not.
• Math 154 is for life sciences (BISC, etc.)
• Math 157 is for social sciences (ECON, BUS)

These courses have different prerequisite grade requirements in Math 12 or Math 100.

Be sure that you check with your program advisor before making your course selection.

If you have completed, or have in progress, all other academic requirements for the PDP admission application, please contact the mathematics advisor during drop-in hours or send an email to math_advice@sfu.ca to seek permission to enrol in MATH 190.

Intended PDP students are the only students we allow to enrol in MATH 190 after having done calculus.

The main student group affected will be students who are in a previous requirement term that requires MATH 310. These students will see MATH 310 listed for their program requirements, but be unable to complete it because it's no longer offered.

The solution:

Department of Mathematics students who need MATH 310 for their program requirements (and have not yet taken it) should take MATH 260 in lieu of MATH 310. This will replace the MATH 310 requirement. However, students must still complete the minimum number of upper division program units, which means that an addition upper division MATH/MACM course must be taken to increase the upper division unit count to the total required for the program.

If you have any questions about this, please contact the undergraduate advisor.

If you don’t know what FAN is or what your options are for satisfying it, speak with an advisor in Student Services. Book an appointment here, or visit during their drop-in hours.

If you need help enrolling in FAN X99, contact the mathematics advisor. Please make sure to indicate the error message the enrolment system is giving you.

If you want to register for the Q Placement Test, visit the test website here.

There’s a distinction between FAN from a transfer course and the actual SFU FAN X99 course. Your issue with enrolment may be because you have FAN derived from a transfer course, but not the actual SFU FAN X99 course. You can contact the mathematics advisor or Student Services Academic Advising for clarification.