Advising & support

Learn how to connect with SIAT's undergraduate advising team and other SFU support services.

Academic Advising

Drop-in advising: SIAT advisors are available for in-person drop-in sessions on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 12:00–2:00 p.m.

Booked sessions: Booked one-on-one advising appointments are available either in-person or online. See our advisors' available hours below. Appointments can be booked through Advisor Link.

Email: If you would like to ask a question over e-mail, please contact our advising team (contact information below). If you are a current student, please send your question via your @sfu.ca e-mail address and include your SFU student number, a copy of your advising transcript, and your reason for advising.

LiveChat: SIAT advisors are also available for LiveChat advising. See below for hours.

For all advising appointments, please bring a copy of your advising transcript available at go.sfu.ca.

Printing your advising transcript

Please bring a copy of your advising transcript with you.

  1. Visit go.sfu.ca
  2. In your main dashboard, click on the dropbox other academics
  3. Select Transcript: Advising
  4. *Sort By: Both
  5. Go

Undergraduate Academic Advising Team

Faria Rajput

Faria Rajput

First Year Student Advisor

Email: iat-one@sfu.ca
Phone: 778-782-7435
Office: Room 2747, SFU Surrey Campus

Faria advises prospective IAT students (including SFU internal transfer students), and declared IAT students with 30 credits or less. 

Faria is available during the following times:

  • Drop-in sessions: Wednesdays and Thursdays from 12:00-2:00pm.
  • Booked appointments: Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. To book an appointment, please schedule through Advisor Link.
  • LiveChat: Tuesdays and Fridays from 1:00-2:00pm.

Naomi Loo

Naomi Loo

Undergraduate Advisor

Email: siatadv@sfu.ca
Phone: 778-782-9748
Office: Room 2745, SFU Surrey Campus

Naomi advises declared IAT students with 30 or more credits. 

Naomi is typically available for booked appointments Monday through Friday. To book an appointment, please schedule through Advisor Link.

Undergraduate Majors Checklist

* SIAT Major Checklist.pdf
Download the checklist

Advising resources

  • SIAT grading scale
  • SFU students (grad & udergrad) can access free, immediate support 24/7 (chat or phone) with My SSP (Student Support Program).
    • Option to phone and pre-book appointments - request video, phone or in-person appointments, as well as language options. 
    • Download the My SSP app to access articles and strategies to stay healthy and connected.
    • Call 1.844.451.9700 (CAN/ US) or 001.416.380.6578 (international, charges may apply) to access My SSP by phone.

Other SFU advising & support

As an SFU student, there are additional advising and support options available to you.

 

FAQs

Enrollment

When should I enroll?

Your enrollment appointment is emailed to your SFU email account two weeks before the start of enrollment. Courses fill up quickly. We recommend enrolling / adding yourself to the waitlist on your enrollment date to avoid disappointment.  

Please review before you enroll:

(Note: you can drop classes after enrolling in them, but you should be aware of the potential academic and/or financial penalties, depending on when you drop a course)

What courses should I enroll in?

Step 1

Review your Academic Progress Report (APR)* and your advising transcript, which are helpful course planning tools.

*If you are unsure or the APR does not work for you, check in with a SIAT advisor or review the academic calendar.

Step 2

Check goSFU and / or mySchedule to see what courses will be offered in the upcoming semester.

HELPFUL TIPS:

Read the class notes, which have important information on reserved seats.

You can review courses (prerequisites, course descriptions,  and course outlines) and program requirements in the academic calendar.

Step 3

Put together a course plan for the semester. It is also helpful to put together a backup plan just in case some of your first-choice classes are full.

Step 4

If you still have questions about course planning, contact a SIAT advisor—bring your course plan to review!

I need to take a WQB course—do you have any recommendations?

We advise students to choose WQB courses that they would be interested in taking—but which courses specifically? That’s up to you! To make the search a bit easier, here’s a helpful tip:

You can filter for WQB courses in goSFU: Class Search > Additional Search Criteria > WQB Designation

  • Remember to select the upcoming Term under “Term”
  • We recommend searching specifically for "All Breadth Social Science," “All Quantitative,” etc., so you see the most course options 
  • In Additional Search Criteria, you can also filter for "Mode of Instruction" (e.g., Distance Education) and "Campus" (e.g., Vancouver)

I don’t have a prerequisite or meet the seat reserves for a course

Course Reserves:

Many departments reserve enrollment in some courses for their major/minor students, including SIAT. Some courses do not move to open enrollment and so are inaccessible to students not enrolled in that particular major/minor.  

If you don’t meet the seat reserves for a course:

  • Check the course notes—some seats are only reserved until open enrollment
  • If the reserves will lift at open enrollment, join the course waitlist and keep an eye on your waitlist position

Prerequisites:

If you don’t have the prerequisites for a course:

  • Fill out the SIAT appeal form outlining how you have met the prerequisite requirements through other courses.
  • Send the form and your advising transcript to our SIAT advisor.

Your request will be reviewed by SIAT’s Undergraduate Committee Chair.

KEEP IN MIND

Sometimes the answer will be “no.” Make sure to enroll in a back-up course. Some classes will remain reserved and / or prerequisites will remain required.

IF IT’S NOT AN IAT COURSE

SIAT advisors cannot enroll students in courses offered by other departments or waive pre-requisites for their courses. Check the website of the department offering the course for more information on their registration policies (and see the next FAQ).

I can’t get into a class from another department—where do I go for help?

SIAT advisors can only help with IAT classes. If you can’t get into a class from another department, please contact the advisor for that department. A list of advisors can be found here.

I was blocked from enrolling in a class—how do I fix it?

Here are some common reasons why students are blocked from enrolling or waitlisting in courses. This includes being blocked from moving from the waitlist into a class. You can check all of these in your goSFU account:

  • you have or will be enrolled in more than 18 units (maximum enrollment limit per term is 18 units)
  • you have or will be wait listed for more than 8 units (maximum wait list limit per term is 8 units)
  • you do not have the prerequisites or meet the seat reserves (see Prerequisites and Seat Reserves FAQ)
  • there is a time conflict with your enrolled course (see Time Conflicts FAQ)
  • you have an outstanding tuition balance or financial hold  (see instructions on paying tuition, and if you have any questions about the charges contact SFU Student Accounts)

I am on a class waitlist—what now?

If a class is full, you can still put yourself on a wait-list if one exists. You can monitor your enrollment and waitlist positions via goSFU. Wait lists run until the first week of class, after that the wait list is visible but not running. Wait lists are removed at the beginning of week three.  

To monitor your waitlist position in goSFU: Student Centre > Enrollment Activity (under “Other Academic” dropdown menu)

NOTE

SIAT wait lists are first-come-first-served and individuals on the wait list will be added to courses in the order that they joined the wait list as spaces become available in the course.

Other course enrollment resources

Helpful SFU resources

Apply to graduate

Before you apply for graduation, we recommend that you meet with you’re a SIAT advisor to do an official graduation check. Although you may have completed your program requirements, you must also complete the general degree requirements.

Step 1: Log into your student account via go.sfu.ca.
Step 2: From the menu at top left, expand "Self Service"
Step 3: Under "Self Service", select "Graduation/Convocation"
Step 4: Select "Apply for Graduation"
Step 5: Read the Instructions, scroll down, and click the "Continue" button to fill out the online application form.

How to access your transcript

There are three different transcripts that you may need, depending on the situation. Follow the links below to access your transcripts.

Official transcript - An official transcript is a complete record of your academic history at Simon Fraser University up until the day the transcript is produced. 

Unofficial transcript - The unofficial transcript is intended for personal use and reference; it does not contain the University seal or the signature of the Registrar.

Advising transcript – Your advising transcript is available through goSFU. 

Academic calendar

You can access the current academic calendar at the following link: Current academic calendar

Term dates and deadlines

See the term dates and deadlines at the following link: Dates and deadlines

Read all FAQs on our FAQ page