For admission to the Statistics or Actuarial Science M.Sc. program, the normal minimum requirements are

• a Bachelor's degree
  
• a CGPA of at least 3.0
  
• letters from referees attesting to the ability of the applicant to undertake advanced quantitative work.

For admission to the Statistics Ph.D. program, the normal minimum requirements are

• A Master's degree
• A CGPA of at least 3.5
  
• Letters from referees attesting to the ability of the applicant to undertake substantial original research.

If you are interested in basing your thesis on actuarial science problems, please contact Dr. Cary Tsai (cltsai at sfu.ca).

If you are currently working towards an M.Sc. in Statistics or Actuarial Science at SFU, you may be permitted to transfer to the Ph.D. program in Statistics before completion of your M.Sc. Please contact the Graduate Chair for further information.

• In general, applicants whose first language is not English are required to submit TOEFL or IELTS scores as evidence of their proficiency in English. 
• The department adheres to SFU's English-language requirements for graduate program admission. Applicants not meeting the minimum standard will not be considered.

• Unless specificed below, our department adheres to the general requirements for admission to SFU specified in the SFU Calendar.
• Should you have any further inquiries, we kindly encourage you to consult our FAQ page before contacting the graduate program assistant

• In order to use the online application system, you will need to pay the non-refundable application fee of $90 CAN (students with Canadian transcripts) or $125 CAN (students with international transcripts) by credit card (MasterCard or Visa). If you are unable to pay the application fee by credit card, see How to Pay Your Fees for alternative payment methods.
• We have a single admission cycle per year.  By early January, students apply for admission in the following September. We aim to make our first offers of admission 4 - 5  weeks after the references deadline, and most unsuccessful applicants will be notified shortly afterwards.
• Prospective applicants are not required to find a supervisor before applying. Admitted applicants will be assigned a supervisor. Student-supervisor pairings can be rearranged later by mutual agreement and with the approval of the graduate committee.
• GRE test results are neither required nor considered.
  
• The department does not accept qualifying students, non-degree students or part-time students into the graduate program, nor does it offer a post-bachelor diploma or certificate; however, it does offer second undergraduate degrees. Please contact the Statistics and Actuarial Science Advisor for further details about a second undergraduate degree in Statistics, Actuarial Science, or Data Science. 
• To increase your chances of admission to an M.Sc. program, you may wish to complete advanced coursework for undergraduate majors in Statistics or Actuarial Science. Such coursework can help you to meet admission GPA requirements and to establish a solid background in your field of interest. For further details, please contact the Statistics and Actuarial Science Advisor.  

• You should include the following in your online application:
  
  • Three letters of reference, at least two of which should be from persons familiar with the applicant's academic achievements
  • Unofficial transcript(s) NOT official transcript(s) (see note below)
    
  • A resume or curriculum vitae (optional)
  • A statement of aims, outlining particular areas of interest within the proposed field of study
  • Students could include (but not limited to) the following in the statement of aims: 
    • Introduce yourself and your academic interests. 
    • Why you are pursuing a MSc or PhD?
    • Why you are interested in Statistics/Actuarial Science?  
    • How you have prepared yourself academically for the graduate study in Statistics/Actuarial Science? 
    • Your future career goals and how our program will help you achieve them.
      

• Once your application is submitted, an automatic email will be sent to your referees with complete instructions for submitting their letters of reference. (They will submit their letters directly. )
• You should upload unofficial transcripts and other required documents to the online application. 
• If applicable, you should arrange for your language test scores to be sent directly from the test agency. Request electronic submission to Simon Fraser University (institution code 0999). More detailed instructions are available here.
• Official transcripts are required only after an offer has been made. If offered a position, after completion of your current degree, please arrange for one copy of each official transcript from your post-secondary institution(s) to be sent directly to SFU Graduate Studies.
• Please do not mail hard copies to the department (unofficial/official transcripts, cv, references, unofficial language test scores).