Fees and Funding
All Programs
Tuition Fees
International students pay the same fees as domestic students for graduate regular programs (MASc and Ph.D) per term, while students pay per unit they take each term for graduate specialty program (MEng). Fees are subject to change, subject to provincial legislation, and subject to board of governor’s approval. Tuition fees for domestic and international graduate students are found below.
- Tuition and Fees Explanation and Ancillary Fees
- MASc and PhD (per term) Tuition Fees
- MEng (per unit) Tuition Fees
Normal degree completion times for MEng is 2 years; MASc and Ph.D are 2-3 years, and 4-6 years, respectively.
Financial Aid
Bursaries
Bursaries are a supplemental source of funding for students with demonstrated financial need; that is, they should not be treated as your primary source of funding.
Bursaries are available to Canadian and International students. You should be aware that you may not be awarded a bursary every term. Due to the high volume of applications received each term, payment of funds may not occur until the middle of the term of application. We encourage you to plan accordingly.
Work-Study Program
The Work-Study Program is an opportunity to participate in research-based projects and earn a supplemental income. You will also gain valuable experience connecting with various members of the SFU community. Because a student’s first commitment is to study, Work-Study hours are flexible, on campus and supervised.
Loans & Grants
Students enrolled in eligible programs can apply for a variety of government-issued student financial assistance, including student loans and grants (non-repayable funding). We encourage students to explore the different financial resources available for them.
MASc and PhD Programs
Funding Promise/Package
Individual faculty members support students as research funding, paid from research grants. Intending applicants may contact potential supervisors to ascertain the possibility of such support. The research funding for MASc and Ph.D lasts for 2 and 4 years respectively.
There is additional limited amount of funding through teaching assistantship (TA) positions, scholarships, and graduate fellowships (GF). However, these are competition-based and are not guaranteed.
Admitted students' funding promises/package will be indicated on the admission letter. The funding usually provided through research funding only, or in a combination of research funding, TA and GF.
Scholarships, Grants and Awards
There are scholarships and awards available for our students. Most of the awards are available to research-based students only. Below are the types of awards.
- Internal Awards
- GF
- TARA
- Entrance Scholarships
- Donor's Awards
- External Awards
- Tri-Agency (NSERC/SSHRC/CHRC)
- Trudeau and Vanier Scholarships
Please visit Graduate Studies (GS) for all other awards, or visit the student resources page for application process.
External Scholarship Holders
Applicants who hold major external scholarships such as NSERC scholarship may be admitted to a research program without a funding promise. The scholarship holders may be eligible for a top-up from Faculty of Applied Science.
For Canadian Students an important one to apply is the NSERC scholarship. Information about the NSERC scholarship with program details and deadlines can be found at: http://www.nserc.ca/.
International Students who are not Canadian citizens and who require financial assistance to attend SFU must seek such assistance in their country of origin before arrival in Canada.
Many of the outside awards offered to students at SFU (for instance, NSERC) are restricted to Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
Graduate Student Funding Policy
Policy is available here. (Revision in progress)