Frequently Asked Questions

Checkout the Faculty of Environment FAQ page for answers to more general student questions.

Learning Resources

I'm struggling in my classes, what should I do?

Some students find the transition from high school and college to a university learning environment to be challenging. Taking less courses in your first semester or year might be helpful as you navigate this transition.

The Student Learning Commons is also an excellent resource if you are having challenges with academic writing, or aspects of learning and studying. Numerous workshops on topics like motivation, time-management, perfectionism, stress, and exam anxiety are available to attend. There are also specific resources if English is not your primary language and 1-on-1 consultations to help you identify the specific challenges you are experiencing in your learning process.

Science and Math peer academic support services are also available online and in-person throughout the semester.

Additionally, some departments maintain lists of graduate students who will tutor for a fee. Reach out to departments directly and enquire if there is anyone willing to tutor for the class you need help in.

Writing Quantitative and Breadth (WQB) Requirements

What are the WQB requirements?
WQB requirements are a structured set of elective courses that all students at SFU must complete. The general information about WQBs can be found here. The intent behind taking the WQB courses is to diversify your education and develop a wider skillset.

What WQB requirements do I have to take as a student in an EVSC program?
All students must follow the requirements outlined by SFU on the WQB website (please review before continuing). However, your program is interdisciplinary so your learning is already quite diversified and an EVSC student is allowed to use their regular curriculum to complete most of the WQB requirements. The Academic Progress Report tool shows you which WQB requirements are in the curriculum and how many you have completed. An explicit breakdown of options is in the following paragraph.

All Quantitative, and Breadth-Science requirements are completed through the numerous introductory science courses built into your first and second year. The two Writing courses can be completed through EVSC 201W, and one of the upper division (UD) Writing course options included in every EVSC student's curriculum - REM 320W or REM 356W. Certain streams have more UD W options to choose from. The Breadth-Social Science courses can be completed if students choose to take REM 100, REM 207, or REM 321 from the sections of the curriculum these courses are found. Only one Breadth-Humanities course option is available in the curriculum - ARCH 286. Students will therefore need to take at least one Breadth-Humanities course outside of their regular curriculum.

How do I find out which WQB courses are are being offered each semester?
You can follow this step-by-step guide to find the various WQB courses being offered each semester.

Internal Transfers

I'm in a different program at SFU, what do I need to be eligible to transfer into the Environmental Science program?
To be eligible for an internal transfer into the Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science you will need the following:

Two of the required introductory science courses from the degree completed with a final grade of C or above, in separate science disciplines (BISC, CHEM, MATH, PHYS, or STAT). You can find the list of common courses in the Academic Calendar. Examples include BISC 101 and CHEM 121.
A CGPA of 2.0 or above

How do I start the internal transfer process?
To complete the transfer or get more information about the program contact the Environmental Science Undergraduate Advisor during advising hours or by email (evscadv@sfu.ca) with a copy of your unofficial transcript and request an internal transfer. The advisor will set up a meeting with you to discuss the program and stream options in more detail and go through your current transcript to determine any possible course substitutions from your previous program, what courses you should enroll in next semester, and they will complete the transfer if you are eligible.

Program Streams

What is a stream?
Streams offer course selections within a program that teach specialized skills and knowledge. Students choose a specific stream when they want to dig deeper into an area of environmental science that interests them most. All students who enroll in the Environmental Science program begin in the General Environmental Science stream, and can complete this stream or declare into one of the specific streams should they choose.

How do I decide which stream I want to enroll in?
You can find information about the different streams on our Program Streams page. You can also book an advising appointment with your undergraduate advisor to discuss your options further.

Are streams related to career outcomes?
Yes, streams teach specialized knowledge and are sometimes linked with professional designations that can be important for your future employment depending what kind of work you want to do. Check out the Professional Designations page for more information.

Can I stay in the General Environmental Science stream?
Yes! The General stream is a fantastic option for students who are interested in many aspects of environmental science. General students do not need to declare their stream.

I want to enroll in a specific stream - when should I declare which stream I want to do?
If you want to complete your degree in any of the specific streams you should declare as soon as possible for easier course planning and a more accurate graduation timeline. Students will generally run out of courses that are common to all streams by the end of their second year of full-time studies.

How do I declare my stream?
Submit the following Stream Declaration Form or have a conversation with your academic advisor. Note that the advisor may want to meet with you before updating your program to discuss which version of the program to enroll you in if there have been recent updates that are beneficial to you.

Course Enrollment

What courses should I take this semester?
The Academic Progress Report (APR) can tell you exactly which courses you have completed in your program requirements and which ones you still need to complete. You can access the APR through goSFU. Most departments post tentative schedules for which courses they will be running for the next year or two, and this can usually be found under 'Student Resources' or 'Courses' in the 'Current Students' section of the department's website. SES has our tentative schedule posted here.You can use these tentative schedules to plan out which courses you should take in a semester. If you would like more help with this planning you can book an advising session.

What pre-reqs should I take?
All the pre-reqs for courses are listed in the academic calendar. You can look at your APR to see which courses you still need to take, and then look that course up in the academic calendar to see what the pre-reqs for the course are.

The system is saying I haven't met the pre-req for a course I'm trying to enroll in but I'm sure I have. What do I do?
Common reasons that students can't enroll in a class when they have the pre-reqs are:

1) The grade you received in the pre-req course is lower than the requirement. Read the course description very carefully and if this is the case you will need to re-take the course to achieve the required grade.

2) The pre-req course was completed in highschool or another institution and that transcript has not transferred to SFU. This is especially common among transfer students. The solution to this is to send a copy of your transcript to Admissions via Ask a Question on the Future Students site to have them add it to your SFU transcript. Alternatively you can contact the advisor for the course you are trying to enroll in with proof (a transcript) that you have completed the pre-req with the appropriate grade.

3) You completed one of two courses at a previous institution, and both are necessary for it to transfer to the SFU course. For example: the combination of GEOG 112 and GEOG 114 at Capilano University will transfer to the SFU course GEOG 111 and GEOG 1XX (general Geography credit). If you had completed only one of the two courses you would only receive GEOG 1XX as transfer credit. This happens when the information being taught at one school has been divided over multiple courses in a way that is different from the way SFU has divided the information, therefore a single course is not an exact equivalent of the SFU course, but the combination of two courses is. This information is available in the BC Transfer Guide. Once you are an SFU student you are not able to take courses at other institutions and have them transfer back without a Letter of Permission, and letters of permission are not approved retroactively. The most common solution to this issue is to take the necessary pre-req at SFU but review the Letter of Permission website and contact your advisor if your reason is not on the list of reasons applications may be denied.

There is a course in another department/a new course in EVSC that I am really interested in taking but it isn't part of my requirements. Is there any way to have it count towards my degree?
Yes there is! Environmental science is a varied and vast field, and new courses and special topics are being created all the time that may be appropraite for your program requirements! Send your advisor your student number and a link to the course description or outline in an email and ask if it can be used towards your degree requirements.

Some courses (such as new EVSC courses and special topics) have been pre-approved for inclusion in the curriculum and are simple to process. Others will require special permission to be coordinated by your advisor. Send an email to your advisor or book an advising appointment to make a substitution request. Yes, even if your friend was just approved to take it! There must be a record of approval for each individual student, and the circumstances for each student are considered independantly.

I took a course for my program requirements but it isn't checked off in the APR. How do I fix this?
Common reasons for this to occur:

1) You took a course that was added to your program in updated curriculum. The solution to this issue is to contact your advisor to have the course manually added to your program requirements or to update your program, whichever is most appropriate.

2) You received special permission to add a new course or course of interest to your program requirements but your APR has not been updated yet to reflect this. These types of additions to the APR need to be manually processed, and will only be added to your program once the course is complete with a grade. If your final grade has been available for more than 1 month or if you did not have a conversation with your advisor before enrolling in the course, contact your advisor for next steps.

Two courses I'm required to take are clashing in the schedule, what should I do?
Is it your last year or last semester of your degree? Contact your advisor to identify an appropriate substitution for one of the courses if available.

Can you take one of the courses at a later date? Identify when these courses will be running in different semesters by looking at the tentative course schedules that most departments post on their website. These schedules can often be found under the heading 'Courses' or 'Student Resources'. You can find the tentative course schedule for EVSC courses here.

What opportunities are there at SFU to gain experience while still working on my education?

Co-op, work-study, and USRAs are all fantastic paid opportunities that allow students to make an income while still working on their education. Some students may choose to volunteer with an external institution to gain experience, or contact a professor to see if there are any volunteer opportunities in their lab.

Field school is a great way to learn by doing. While SES has multiple courses with field experiences in them, we do not run our own field school. A number of students have attended summer field schools hosted by the REM department, or field courses at Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre and used these courses towards their requirements. Other students have found external field schools (such as the ones hosted by the Haida Gwaii Institute or others advertised in the monthly newsletter) and worked with the advisor to identify where in their degree requirements the courses could be applied.

International exchange is another great way to diversify your education! Exchanges take about a year or two to plan depending on which semester you want to do the exchange. Courses taken on exchange can sometimes be used towards your degree requirements depending on which courses the student is able to enroll in - contact your advisor to identify which courses would be the most appropriate to take to complete your degree in a timely manner.

Getting Involved in Research and Other Hands-On Experiences

What opportunities are there at SFU to gain experience while still completing my education?
Co-op, work-study, and USRAs are all fantastic paid opportunities that allow students to make an income doing work in their field of study (or in the case of work-study there are many opportunities around campus but they may not necessarily be related to your field of study) while still working on their education. Some students may choose to volunteer with an external institution to gain experience, or contact a professor to see if there are any volunteer opportunities in their lab.

How can I get involved in research while doing my undergraduate degree?
There are numerous ways to get involved in research at SFU as an undergraduate student, but it usually starts with connecting with a researcher. Some students take classes and then realize they want to know more. Connect with your instructor and see if they have any research opportunities available in their lab, or if they are available to supervise you for a Directed Studies course or Honours Thesis. These opportunities can enhance your education and be put towards certain degree requirements.

Some research opportunities can also be paid. Once you have established interest and availability with a researcher you can consider Undergraduate Student Research Awards or USRA to fund Research Assistant opportunities with them.

School of Environmental Science