Please note:

To view the Spring 2025 Academic Calendar, go to www.sfu.ca/students/calendar/2025/spring.

School of Public Policy | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Simon Fraser University Calendar | Summer 2025

Public Policy Minor

The minor in public policy is an interdisciplinary program that offers students the opportunity to learn applied public policy skills and practical analysis. The program provides diverse, interdisciplinary, analytical and applied approaches that prepare students for policy positions in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. Beyond the core courses in public policy, students can choose a variety of complementary courses related to applications of public policy in the real world.

Program Declaration

Students may declare the minor once they have completed the required lower division core courses, and have achieved a CGPA of at least 2.0.

Course Information

For a course to be accepted in the minor, a grade of C- or higher must be obtained.

Program Requirements

A total of 30 units are required to complete the program, of which at least 16 must be upper division as indicated below.

One of

ECON 103 - Principles of Microeconomics (4)
ECON 105 - Principles of Macroeconomics (4)
ECON 113 - Introduction to Microeconomics (3)
ECON 115 - Introduction to Macroeconomics (3)

and one of

PLCY 200 - Introduction to Public Policy (3)
POL 253 - Introduction to Public Policy (3)

Students complete the following upper division core courses

PLCY 300 - Applied Public Policy Analysis (4)
PLCY 400 - Public Policy Capstone Seminar (4)

The remaining units are chosen from the following list of courses, and must include at least eight additional upper division units for a program total of 30 units.

BUS 238 - Introduction to Entrepreneurship and Innovation (3)
CRIM 131 - Introduction to the Criminal Justice System - A Total System Approach (3)
CRIM 135 - Introduction to Canadian Law and Legal Institutions: A Criminal Justice Perspective (3)
CRIM 241 - Introduction to Corrections (3)
CRIM 251 - Introduction to Policing (3)
CRIM 311 - Social Inequalities and the Criminal Justice System (3)
CRIM 340 - Criminal Justice Policy Making and Policy Analysis (3)
CRIM 343 - Correctional Practice (3)
CRIM 350 - Techniques of Crime Prevention (3)
CRIM 380 - Introduction to Cybercrime (3)
CRIM 413 - Terrorism (3)
CRIM 458 - Community Policing (3)
ECON 102 - The World Economy (3)
ECON 104 - Economics and Government (3)
ECON 260 - Environmental Economics (3)
ECON 280 - Introduction to Labor Economics (3)
ECON 290 - Microeconomic Policy (3)
GSWS 200 - Feminisms Without Borders (3)
GSWS 305 - Gendering Economy: Paid and Unpaid Labour (4)
GSWS 312 - Gendering Borders and Belonging in Migration (4)
INDG 286 - Indigenous Peoples and British Columbia: An Introduction (3)
INDG 401 - Indigenous Peoples and Public Policy (3)
INDG 419 - Aboriginal/Indigenous Justice (3)
IS 306 - State Failure and Reconstruction (4)
IS 307 - International Ethics: Poverty, Environmental Change, & War (4)
IS 355 - Refugees and Forced Migration (4)
LBST 309 - Labour and Collective Bargaining (3)
LBST 310 - The Politics of Labour (3)
LBST 311 - Labour and the Environment (3)
LBST 313 - Introduction to Canadian Labour Law (3)
PHIL 120W - Moral and Legal Problems (3)
PHIL 121 - Global Justice (3)
PHIL 144 - Introduction to Philosophy of Science (3)
PHIL 270 - Data, Ethics and Society (3)
PHIL 310 - Logic, Proofs and Set Theory (3)
PHIL 315 - Formal Methods (3)
PHIL 320 - Social and Political Philosophy (3)
PHIL 326 - Topics in Law and Philosophy (3)
PHIL 329 - Law and Justice (3)
POL 150 - Science, Policy, and Innovation (3)
POL 221 - Introduction to Canadian Government (3)
POL 222 - Introduction to Canadian Politics (3)
POL 321 - The Canadian Federal System (4)
POL 350 - Public Policy for Women (4)
POL 351 - Immigration, Integration, and Public Policy in Canada (4)
POL 451W - Public Policy Analysis (4)
SA 200W - Power, Conflict and Change in Canadian Society (SA) (4)
SA 315 - New Information Technology and Society (SA) (4)
SA 325 - Political Sociology (S) (4)
SA 340 - Social Issues and Social Policy Analysis (SA) (4)

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Degree Requirements

For all bachelor of arts (BA) programs, students complete 120 units, which includes

  • at least 60 units that must be completed at Simon Fraser University
  • at least 45 upper division units, of which at least 30 upper division units must be completed at Simon Fraser University
  • at least 60 units (including 21 upper division units) in Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences courses
  • satisfaction of the writing, quantitative, and breadth requirements
  • an overall cumulative grade point average (CGPA) and upper division overall CGPA of at least 2.0, and program CGPA and upper division program CGPA of at least 2.0 on the course work used to satisfy the minimum program requirements. FASS departments may define additional GPA requirements for their respective programs.

For students in other faculties, please check your faculty's overall degree requirements: https://www.sfu.ca/students/calendar/faculties-research.html

Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements

Students admitted to Simon Fraser University beginning in the fall 2006 term must meet writing, quantitative and breadth requirements as part of any degree program they may undertake. See Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements for university-wide information.

WQB Graduation Requirements

A grade of C- or better is required to earn W, Q or B credit

Requirement

Units

Notes
W - Writing

6

Must include at least one upper division course, taken at Simon Fraser University within the student's major subject; two courses (minimum three units each)

Q - Quantitative

6

Q courses may be lower or upper division; two courses (total six units or more)
B - Breadth

18

Designated Breadth

Must be outside the student's major subject, and may be lower or upper division:

Two courses (total six units or more) Social Sciences: B-Soc
Two courses (total six units or more) Humanities: B-Hum
Two courses (total six units or more) Sciences: B-Sci

6

Additional Breadth

Two courses (total six units or more) outside the student's major subject (may or may not be B-designated courses, and will likely help fulfil individual degree program requirements).

Students choosing to complete a joint major, joint honours, double major, two extended minors, an extended minor and a minor, or two minors may satisfy the breadth requirements (designated or not designated) with courses completed in either one or both program areas.