College/University Transfer

General requirements

You must have attempted a minimum of 24 units of transferable post-secondary course work, and may transfer up to a maximum of 60 units toward your degree program. If you have attempted 9 - 23 units and are in good academic standing (you have a minimum GPA of a 2.0) you will be required to meet high school application deadlines and admission requirements.

You are required to declare all previously attempted high school and post-secondary studies.  If you are not in good standing and/or have a GPA of less than 2.00 ( 60%), you will not be admitted.

Admission is competitive. In the past, the average for admission has ranged from a 2.50 GPA to a 3.50 GPA depending on the program. Note: an admission average is calculated on all transferable courses attempted. If you repeat a transferable course for admission, the highest course attempt will be used in the GPA calculation.

In addition to the general and program-specific admission requirements (listed below), you must meet our English language admission requirement and Quantitative and analytical skills requirement. If you do not meet these requirements on your college or university work, we may request your high school transcript.

Application dates and deadlines

Admission term Application period Document deadline Evaluation period Enrollment for the term
Spring 2024 (January)
August 1 - September 15 October 15 September-November From November
Summer 2024 (May)
December 1 - January 15 February 15 January-March From March
Fall 2024 (September)
March 1 - April 15
May 15 May - July From July

Note that different deadlines are in place for Preservice Professional Programs and the School for the Contemporary Arts. See https://www.sfu.ca/students/admission/apply.html

Transfer credit

After you have completed your application, transfer credit will be applied to your record during the admission evaluation process.  Transfer credit appeals will only be assessed after you have accepted your offer of admission. We may request that you provide detailed course outlines issued from your post-secondary institution, which should include:

  • a statement of course objective(s)
  • the duration/number of weeks (excluding final exam period)
  • hours per week of lecture (laboratory/tutorial/seminar/studio work) and the hours per week of required open laboratory work or open studio work
  • the method of evaluation and grading
  • the textbook(s) used
  • the amount of credit/units earned

Please use this form to submit a transfer credit appeal.

Information for applicants from BC colleges

A BC/Yukon transfer guide listing all first and second year transferable courses along with the SFU equivalent is available at www.bctransferguide.ca. Courses not listed in the transfer guide are not transferable.

BC Associate of Arts or Science degree holders will receive preference in admission, with a GPA 0.25 points less than the GPA required for regular transfer, but not less than 2.00 overall. If individually assigned transfer credit totals less than 60 units, the remainder will be general elective credit.

If you are not in good academic standing or have been required to withdraw from another post-secondary institution, you will be considered for admission only if you have attempted a minimum of 24 units of transferable course work since being required to withdraw. A GPA on the further course work of at least .50 points above the regular admission GPA will be required.

Information for applicants from universities

For university transfer, we support the Pan-Canadian Protocol on transferability of first and second year courses from any recognized Canadian university.

If you are not in good academic standing or have been required to withdraw from another post-secondary institution, you will be considered for admission only if you have attempted a minimum of 24 units of transferable course work since being required to withdraw. A GPA on the further course work of at least .50 points above the regular admission GPA will be required.

Information for applicants from colleges or institutes of applied arts and technology

If you have successfully completed a two or three year academic diploma program at a Canadian Institute of Technology or at a College of Applied Arts and Technology you may be considered for admission with a competitive overall program average. Admission is determined on an individual basis and transfer credit granted is very limited.

Information for applicants not in good academic standing or required to withdraw

If you are not in good standing or have been required to withdraw from another post-secondary institution, you will be considered for admission only if you have attempted a minimum of 24 units of transferable course work since being required to withdraw. You will be required to satisfy both of the requirements listed below:

  • A GPA on the further course work of at least 0.50 points above the regular admission GPA
  • An overall CGPA of at least 2.00 on all transferable course work, from all post-secondary institution(s) attended

Program specific requirements 

Faculty of Applied Sciences

Computing Science, Software Systems

Minimum of 24 units of transferable coursework, including:

  • One Mathematics course from: MACM 101, 201, MATH 150 (or 151), 152, 240 (or 232)
  • One Computing Science course from: CMPT 125 (or 126, 128 or 135), 225, 295 (or 150 or 250), 276 (or 275)
  • One additional Mathematics or Computing science course chosen from the above lists

Engineering Science

Minimum of 24 units of transferable coursework, including:

  • One Mathematics course from: MATH 152, MATH 232 (or 240)
  • One Computing Science course from: CMPT 128 (or 135; or (125 and 127)), 225;
  • One Physics course from: PHYS 121 (or 141), PHYS 221, PHYS 321

Mechatronic Systems Engineering

Minimum of 24 units of transferable coursework, including:

  • One MATH course from: Math 152, 232 or 240
  • One Computing course from: CMPT 130, 135 (or 128; or (125 and 127)) or 225
  • One Physics course from: PHYS 140 (or 120), 141 (or 121)

Sustainable Energy Engineering

A minimum of 24 units of transferable coursework, including courses that are accepted by SFU as equivalents to the following:

  • One MATH course from: MATH 152, 232, or 240
  • One CMPT course from: CMPT 130, 128, 135 or (both CMPT 125 and 127)
  • One CHEM course from: CHEM 120, 121 or (both CHEM 122 and 126)
  • One PHYS course from: PHYS 140, 141, 120, or 121

Applicants must complete a supplemental application. Further instructions will be provided to applicants directly after their application is received.

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Anthropology; Asia-Canada; Cognitive Science; Criminology; Economics; English; Explorations; First Nations; French; French Cohort; Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies; Gerontology; Hellenic Studies; History; Humanities; International Studies; Labour Studies; Languages; Latin American Studies; Linguistics; Philosophy; Political Science; Psychology; Sociology; World Literature

Beedie School of Business

Accounting, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Finance, Human Resource Management, International Business, Management Information Systems, Marketing, Operations Management, Strategic Analysis

New! SFU Beedie's requirements for transfer students are changing for Fall 2024 admission. See the Beedie School of Business website for details 

Requirements: Summer 2023 to Summer 2024

Minimum of 24 units of transferable course work (minimum grade of C- required), including: 

  1. BUS 232 (or BUEC 232, or ECON 233, or STAT 270)
  2. BUS 237
  3. BUS 251
  4. BUS 272
  5. ECON 103 (or ECON 113)
  6. ECON 105 (or ECON 115)
  7. MATH 157 (or MATH 151, 154, or 150)
  8. One of: Any 3- unit transferable ENGL course or PHIL 100W, 105, 110, 120W, 150 or WL 101W, 103W, 104W, 105W

Admission evaluations for transfer applicants will be based on either a student’s performance on the required courses, or a combination of a student’s academic performance and an assessment of their supplemental application. For details, please see the Beedie School of Business website.

Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology

Communication

Contemporary Arts

Interactive Arts and Technology

Minimum of 24 units of transferable course work including:

  • One of: CMPT 120, 125, 126, 128, 130, 135 or 166
  • One of MATH 150, 151, 154 or 157 or  MACM 101 
  • One first year English course

Faculty of Education

Bachelor of General Studies

Bachelor of Education

Faculty of Environment

Bachelor of Arts - Archaeology, Human Geography

Bachelor of Science - Environmental Science, Geographic Information Science, Physical Geography

Minimum of 24 units of transferable work, including:

  • One transferable math course
  • Two transferable science courses (in different subject areas)

NOTE: Senior level math/science high school courses may be used in place of transferable math/science courses.

Bachelor of Environment - Resource and Environmental Management, Global Environmental Systems

Faculty of Health Sciences

Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Science

Minimum of 24 units of transferable work, including:

  • One transferable Math course 

Note, a senior level high school math course may be used in place of a transferable math course

Faculty of Science

Behavioral Neuroscience, Biological Sciences, Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Chemistry, Data Science, Earth Sciences, General Science, Mathematics, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Physics, Statistics and Actuarial Science

Minimum of 24 units of transferable work, including:

  • One transferable math course
  • Two transferable science courses (in different subject areas)

NOTE: Senior level math/science high school courses may be used in place of transferable math/science courses.

Diverse qualifications 

Admission pathway for students who meet minimum admission standards and have demonstrated commitment or excellence in other endeavours, or who have succeeded in their studies despite difficult circumstances.