Psychology Undergraduate FAQs

Plan designations made on your SFU application form are ‘intentions’ only. As students are not automatically declared into Psychology programs, you must declare a psychology plan by contacting the Undergraduate Advisor after you have commenced studies at SFU.

We declare students via the declaration form here. 

• You can declare into the PSYC Minor when PSYC100, PSYC102 and PSYC201 (C or better) are complete.
• You can declare into the PSYC Extended Minor, Joint Major and Majors when PSYC100, PSYC102, PSYC201 (C or better) and PSYC210 are complete.  Only PSYC201 has a grade requirement. 

NOTE - If you're waiting to declare into the PSYC Extended Minor, Joint Major or Major (PSYC210 currently incomplete) but have PSYC 100, 102 and 201* complete (*with a C or better), we recommend declaring into the Minor first and then switching to a Major. The reason why we recommend declaring into the Minor first is that upper division psychology courses are reserved for students declared in a psychology plan (eg. minor, major) until the beginning of the open enrollment period.

Finally, please note the deadlines for declaration are March 1 (Summer), July 1 (Fall) and November 1 (Spring). 

No. You do not need to retake PSYC201W if you have transfer credit for PSYC 201 (C or better). For prerequisite and declaration purposes, they are the same.

No. The Department of Psychology does not allow courses from other departments to be used towards psychology plan requirements.

You would follow the requirements for the term you declared. If you want to follow the new requirements, you can contact us to update your declaration term. The ability to use requirements from the term you declared is limited to 6 years. More information on Requirment Terms can be found here. 

You are permitted a total of five repeats at SFU, and you may repeat a specific course only once.  Our department does not grant exceptions to this university policy.  Repeats taken at other institutions before arriving at SFU are not counted, however if you repeat a course at SFU which you already took elsewhere that does count as a repeat.  The course repeat policy can be found here.

The higher mark is used to calculate your GPAs. The other mark remains on the transcript, but is not calculated in GPAs. Note that a mark from another institution cannot replace an SFU grade.  The policy can be found here.

The Psychology Department activates waitlists when the course is full.

Registration in upper division psychology courses is restricted.  Students who have declared a psychology plan (eg. minor, major) can register on their registration date.  Students who have not declared a psychology plan can register when open enrollment begins.

Some courses do not allow for prerequisite waivers, please refer to the class notes. Students may request a prerequisite waiver from the instructor teaching the course.  If you have requested the waiver by email, please forward the professor’s email as well as your advising transcript to the Undergraduate Advisor.  All prerequisite waivers are entered into goSFU on the open enrollment date.  A prerequisite waiver does not guarantee students a seat in the course.

All adds, drops, swaps etc. are done by the student via goSFU.  For help with goSFU, click here. 

If a space becomes available in Week 2 and if you have been attending classes, you should contact the course instructor to ask if you can be added to the course late.

If the instructor approves of your late enrollment, please forward the approval email and your Advising Transcript to the PSYC Advisors (psycadvs@sfu.ca). We will enroll students on a first come, first serve basis (unless the instructor states otherwise).

SFU does not permit registrations after Week 3.

Students may be able to drop a course on the goSFU during the first few weeks of classes.  Students must consult the current Undergraduate Schedule for the course add/drop deadlines, refunds, penalties, and notations.  Information on withdrawal due to extenuating circumstances can be found here.

Students must receive instructor permission from both instructors if they want to enrol in a PSYC or COGS course that has a schedule conflict with a course in which they’re already enrolled. Conflicts are typically caused by time of lectures, tutorials, or exams. To complete the time conflict form, click here. 

Please make note of the registration deadlines and review information regarding remote classes (synchronous/asynchronous) here.

For the Fall 2023 term, courses with a P will count towards declaration requirements, program requirements and total credits for a degree. For example, if you choose a P grade for PSYC 201 during Fall 2023, it would meet the minimum grade requirement for PSYC program declaration. P grades will also meet prerequisite requirements for other courses.

CR grades will count for program requirements and total credits required for a degree, however it will not apply to most prerequisites or program/declaration requirements that have a grade requirement (ie. a CR will not meet the minimum grade requirement for PSYC 201).

NC grades will not count towards credit nor program or declaration requirements. For the standard letter grade equivalent, please refer to the table in the general FAQ here.

For the Fall 2023 term, courses with a P will count towards BNS declaration requirements, program requirements and total credits for a degree.

CR grades will NOT count for BNS program requirements nor total credits required for a degree. You can also speak to the BPK Advisor here to discuss the BPK side of the BNS program.

NC grades will not count towards credit nor program or declaration requirements. For the standard letter grade equivalent, please refer to the table in the general FAQ here.

For the Fall 2023 term, after final grades are submitted, students will be allowed to either accept their final course grade, or opt for a “P” grade (Pass), provided they had earned a grade of “C-” or higher, CR (Credit) for a grade of D or “NC” (No credit) for a grade of F.

Students can change their grade to P/CR/NC or F in goSFU once final grades are released near the end of the term in December. 

If you opt into the P/CR/NC grading, P, CR, and NC grades are excluded in the calculations of GPA. Please speak to us if you have questions about your GPAs.

Unfortunately, we do not know how post-graduate programs, including professional schools will assess a P/CR/NC grade on a transcript as it will depend on the specific school you are applying for.

You will receive academic credit for any course with a P and CR grade, but it will not count towards your GPA. You will not receive credit for any course with a NC grade, and it will not count towards your GPA. As such, we highly recommend that you reach out to the program you are seeking admission to for clarification.

Under a Bachelor of Arts, students can have a maximum of 60 transfer credits, including a maximum of 15 upper division credits.  Refer to the SFU Calendar for further information regarding transfer credit. 

The BC Transfer Guide is an accurate source for evaluated coureswork taken at BC institutions. Students who have completed courses at universities or colleges outside of BC can contact Admissions in Student Services to ask whether and how a course has been articulated at SFU.  Students transferring courses to SFU should be prepared to submit the detailed course syllabus for each course they wish to transfer to SFU.

If a course did not have the same content as a course at SFU, you may still be able to obtain transfer credit. PSYC 1XX or 2XX means you have been given lower division credit, and PSYC 3XX or 4XX means you have been given upper division credit in the Psychology Department.

GE is general credit.  The course did not map into a department at SFU, but you have nevertheless been given lower division credit towards your degree.

Yes. If you want the credit to transfer back to SFU, you must apply for a Letter of Permission before taking the course.  A Letter of Permission may take 6 to 8 weeks to process.  Many schools require that you have an approved Letter of Permission prior to allowing you to register at their school.  

Before commencing an appeal, you must read the policies and procedures related to grades and appeals.  Please be aware that if you request a grade appeal, your course work may receive the same grade, a lower grade or a higher grade after re-evaluation.

Briefly, the steps are:

1. Discuss your concerns with the course instructor.

2. If you feel that the grade was unfairly awarded, you may submit an appeal in writing to the Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies, Psychology Department (psyc_undergrad_chair@sfu.ca).  You must submit all original marked assignments.

3. If you feel the Department’s decision was inappropriate, you may submit an appeal in writing to the Dean, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences.  The decision of the Dean is final, subject only to an appeal to Senate.

For concerns regarding grade appeals or any other matter, you may wish to contact the Ombuds Office or the SFSS Student Advocate for further assistance.

Students can apply for graduation via goSFU. If you have withdrawn your application, or if it has been denied, you must re-apply online.   Please see convocation information and student deadlines.

You would apply for graduation in your final term, assuming completion of all programs/courses you're currently enrolled into. At the end of the term, your application will be reviewed.

You can see your graduation application status by reviewing the Convocation FAQ here.

For course planning/graduation checks, please complete the following steps:

    1. Compare your advising transcript with the checklists found on the PSYC website here. The advising transcript only counts completed courses. 
    2. If you are declared into your PSYC programs, the Academic Progress Report (APR) on goSFU is a fairly accurate tool for most students. Use this tool to cross reference/cross-check/double-check with your transcript and checklist. The APR assumes completion of all enrolled courses.

After completing the two steps above, if you have additional questions, we are happy to see you. To make an appointment with us:

    • Please confirm you have completed steps 1 and 2
    • You can book an appointment via Advisor Link here

You can not choose this grading system for PSYC courses.

If you chose the EGS before Fall 2022, you are unaffected.

Unfortunately, we do not know how post-graduate programs, including professional schools, will assess a "P, CR, or NC" grade on a transcript. You will receive academic credit for any course with a "P" and "CR" grade, but it will not count towards your GPA. You will not receive credit for any course with a "NC" grade, and it will not count towards your GPA.

As such, we highly recommend you check with the specific program that you are applying to.