PhD in Contemporary Arts

This is a rundown of the Fall 2024 fees (they tend to go up a bit each year). The application fee is $110 for applicants with Canadian transcripts, $150 for applicants with international transcripts. If accepted into the program, a deposit of $250 is needed to secure your place. It is a per-term fee schedule, not per-unit. Please note: international students pay the same tuition as domestic students.

These are the 2024 Fall Term fees in CND:

• All terms:
  • U-Pass BC Transit pass Fee $184.00
  • GRAD Student Athletic Fee $86.64
  • GRAD Student Activity Fee $77.68
  • GRAD Student Services Fee $52.01
  • GRAD Tuition T2202A $2107.43
  • Graduate Graduation Fee $12.00
• Fall Term Only:
  • Grad Health Plan Dental $290.00

  • Grad Health Plan Medical $210.00

• 1st Fall Term Only (For international students only)
  • International Medical Guard.Me Insurance $281.00 (This is a temporary insurance before the BC Provincial MSP basic medical insurance is setup. Please see the International Medical Insurance information at these links:
    • Fees
    • International & US Graduate Students

Fall Total International: $3,300.76 + $75 Per Month BC MSP Health Fee

Fall Total Domestic: *3,019.76

Spring Total: *$2,458.09 (+ $75 Per month BC MSP Health Fee is only for International Students)

In the Spring and Summer Terms, students are not charged for the Graduate medical and dental plans because they are an annual fee, so roughly: *$2,458.09 CND for the other two terms of the year. Living expenses are separate.

More details on tuition and fees can be found on the SFU Graduate Studies website.

International students pay the same tuition rate as domestic students.

SFU and SCA are not waiving application fees at this time.

Information on housing can be found here:

• Housing Options
• Off Campus Housing

Students enrolled in the PhD program in Contemporary Arts are expected to complete the program in 12 to 15 terms. Students in the program will be funded for 12 terms.

Students will receive guaranteed minimum funding in the amount of $28,000 for the term of the funding guarantee provided in 1. The School will review the level of minimum funding annually to determine whether the minimum can be increased in consideration of rising cost of tuiiton and cost of living.
Continued funding is contingent upon:

• maintaining a CGPA of 3.5 or higher
  
• satisfactory progress in the program as documented in the annual progress review
  
• applying for at least one major (>$10,000) award by the end of term 6
  
• applying to and being available for in-person teaching and research employment at SFU.

Individual student funding packages will be comprised of a combination of awards (including major entrance scholarships), fellowships, teaching assistantships, research assistantships and, where possible, sessional instructorships.

Students can also apply for travel and research funds ($500 – $1500 per annual cycle) over the course of their degree. SCA Travel and Research Awards (TARA) and unrelated arts grants are *not* counted toward the student’s guaranteed funding amount.

Students in the practice-based stream can also apply for limited funding to support the presentation of their thesis projects.

For more information, please read the PhD in Contemporary Arts Minimum Funding Policy (PDF).

Yes. As international students have two additional costs, the SFU Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) of which all TAs are members, can provide support for these costs while graduate students are working. More details can be found HERE.

International applicants will not be required to complete an English-language test if they have completed a degree at an institution where the language of instruction and examination was in English in a country where English is the primary language. All University Graduate English proficiency requirements can be found on the SFU Graduate Studies website.

The Duolingo English Test (DET) has been approved on a provisional basis, effective Summer 2024 through to the Fall 2026. The minimum required score for the DET is 130 overall with a minimum of 120 in each section. 

All applicants must meet the Graduate English proficiency minimum requirements. Please note, meeting the minimum scores does not guarantee entrance into the SCA grad programs.

The SCA Graduate programs do not require GRE results.

Due to the high volume of applicants, Staff and Faculty are not able to review application materials. The review process is part of the application process.

Before accepting a student into the program, the School will consider the proposed research in relation to faculty resources in the field. Students will be matched with a supervisor upon admission, so supervisory capacity and fit is an important consideration for us.

Yes, but only if an applicant is selected for an interview. The program selection committee reviews all applications in an initial round of assessment. Successful applicants from this initial assessment are then contacted for an interview.

Due to the high number of applications each year, SCA does not accept applications past the application deadline.

At this time SCA will not be granting deferrals for starting the following year.

Yes, we have a waitlist for this program.

Normally 4 to 5 years.

Approximately 3 per year.

No. All SCA Graduate programs start in the Fall Term.

No. All course credits for each SCA Grad program are to be taken during the span of the program.

No, SCA Graduate courses are in-person only.

Please see the SFU Return to Campus Website HERE.

SCA Undergraduate courses can be taken with permission from the instructor. However, credit for these courses will not count towards your graduate degree. Many students opt to sit in the class or audit the course instead.

For the purposes of lowering costs and saving paper, unofficial transcripts may be uploaded to an application for review. If an offer of acceptance is given, all official sealed transcripts will be required.

The Research Statement should be limited to 2 single-spaced pages in not less than 11-point font, and with margins of at least 2 cm.

The average number of portfolio items is 5 to 7. More can be included, but please keep in mind the selection committee will be reviewing a fair number of other applications

Yes. It is much easier to review applications where links to sound recordings and videos are provided in a .pdf file. It is best to provide these examples in the order of importance/relevance to your application. If the videos or sound are hosted on a specific artist website, provide a link to the page where the video is rather than just a link to the entire website. Links to other media sites such as Soundcloud, YouTube, Vimeo, etc. are fine also.

Yes, SCA will consider non-academic references from professionals; however, it is preferred that there is at least one academic referee.

It is best to meet the requirements of the University prior to submitting all of the application material. As many official transcripts will not have been received within the application period, a condition of receiving the official transcripts will likely be included in the letter of offer as detailed HERE.

As soon as possible, but definitely by July, before enrolment opens. Many conditions will prohibit enrolment in classes until they have been met.

Due to the high volume of applicants, Staff and Faculty are not able to provide feedback on applications.

There is usually an in-person information session each November. For the last couple of years, we have hosted our information sessions online. If you have missed the latest information session you can request a link to the video from the Graduate Program Coordinator at sca_gpa@sfu.ca.