Graduate Admissions

Program Requirements

• Applicants must first meet University-level graduate admissions requirements.
• MA applicants are expected to have either a 3.33 cumulative GPA or a 3.5 GPA in third and fourth year philosophy courses.
• We pay close attention to both letters of reference and writing samples.
• For students who speak English as a second language, the department reserves the right to impose a stricter requirement of English proficiency than that specified by the University. For the TOEFL, each of the sections must receive a score of at least 23, plus an overall score of at least 100. For IELTS, the band score must be 7.0, with no individual component lower than 6.5.

International students

The Philosophy department welcomes applications from international students. Our admission process is blind as to citizenship and we often accept students from outside Canada. Non-Canadian Graduate students do not pay higher fees at SFU. Teaching Assistantships (our main form of support) are available to them, as are internal SFU Fellowships and Research Assistantships. Holders of student visas can accept employment on campus, and apply for an off-campus work permit in order to support themselves. Non-native speakers of English must take the TOEFL or equivalent exam, as per university rules (Section 1.3.3 English Language Competence), unless their previous degree is from an English-speaking institution. Because most of our graduate students work as Teaching Assistants, the department pays particular attention to evidence concerning the mastery of English.