Writing (W) Courses
The following courses have been designated as Writing-Intensive. This list is updated after approval by SFU Senate.
Note: Course designations approved after September 2006 are noted in the lists below with italicized effective dates. Newly approved designations are NOT retroactive; they are effective as of the first offering after Senate approval.
Note for transfer students: Courses that transfer to the SFU courses listed below do not automatically transfer as W. For courses taken at a BC college/teaching university please check the BC Transfer Guide to determine designation transfer. Coursework taken elsewhere will require individual assessment for W designation.
Last updated February 28, 2022.
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
| Course No. | Course Title | Other | |
| CRIM 300-3 | Current Theories and Perspectives in Criminology | ||
| ECON 220-4 | Economics in the News *effective January 2017 | ||
| ECON 355-4 | Economic Development | Q | |
| ECON 409-3 | Seminar in Economic Thought | ||
| ECON 426-3 | Industrial Organization: Governance and Institutions | ||
| ECON 427-3 | Law and Economics formerly BUEC 427 | ||
| ECON 448-3 | Economics of Crime | ||
| ECON 450-3 | Seminar in Quantitative Economic History | Q | |
| ECON 452-3 | Seminar in Economic Prehistory | ||
| ECON 454-3 | Economics of the Family | ||
| ECON 455-3 | Seminar in Economic Development | Q | |
| ECON 499-6 | Honours Seminar in Economics *effective January 2016 | ||
| **Effective September 2016, ENGL 101, 102, 103, 104 and 105 have been retired and replaced with ENGL 111, 112, 113, 114 and 115. | |||
| ENGL 111-3 | Literary Classics *effective September 2016 | B-Hum | |
| ENGL 112-3 | Literature Now *effective September 2016 | B-Hum | |
| ENGL 113-3 | Literature and Performance *effective September 2016 | B-Hum | |
| ENGL 114-3 | Language and Purpose *effective September 2016 | B-Hum | |
| ENGL 115-3 | Literature and Culture *effective September 2016 | B-Hum | |
| ENGL 199-3 | Writing to Persuade | ||
| ENGL 400-4 | Seminar in Advanced Old English | ||
| ENGL 411-4 | Seminar in Literature and Race | ||
| ENGL 413-4 | Seminar in Literature and Environment | ||
| ENGL 414-4 | Seminar in Literature and History | ||
| ENGL 415-4 | Seminar in Media, Culture and Performance *effective September 2021; formerly ENGL 484 | ||
| ENGL 417-4 | Seminar in Gender, Sexuality and Literature *effective September 2021; formerly ENGL 486 | ||
| ENGL 418-4 | Seminar in Critical Theory *effective September 2021; formerly ENGL 465 | ||
| ENGL 431-4 | Seminar in Indigenous Literatures *effective September 2021; formerly ENGL 453 | ||
| ENGL 432-4 | Seminar in Canadian Literature *effective September 2021; formerly ENGL 455 | ||
| ENGL 433-4 | Seminar in British Literature | ||
| ENGL 437-4 | Seminar in American Literatures | ||
| ENGL 439-4 | Seminar in World Literatures in English *effective September 2021; formerly ENGL 492 | ||
| ENGL 443-4 | Seminar in Literatures of Diaspora and Migration | ||
| ENGL 470-4 | Seminar in the English Language | ||
| ENGL 472-4 | Seminar in Advanced Creative Writing *effective May 2012 | ||
| ENGL 474-4 | Seminar in North American Poetry and Poetics *effective September 2021; formerly ENGL 454 | ||
| ENGL 475-4 | Seminar in Rhetoric | ||
| ENGL 493-4 | Seminar in Special Topics | ||
| FREN 301-3 | Advanced Writing | ||
| FREN 407-3 | Language in Translation *effective January 2013 | ||
| GSWS 335-4 | Through a Gendered Lens *effective January 2016 | ||
| GSWS 398-4 | Feminist Currents | ||
| HIST 102-3 | Canada since Confederations | B-Hum | |
| HIST 214-3 | Quebec Society, Culture and Politics *W effective May 2019 | B-Hum | |
| HIST 330-3 | Controversies in Canadian History | ||
| HIST 345-4 | Selected Topics in European History | ||
| HIST 368-4 | Selected Topics in the History of the Wider World | ||
| HIST 374-4 | Selected Topics in the History of the Americas | ||
| HIST 417-4 | Problems in Modern French History *effective May 2014 | ||
| HIST 419-4 | Problems in Modern Russian History *effective September 2014 | ||
| HIST 425-4 | Gender and History *effective May 2014 | ||
| HIST 433-4 | Italian Films and History *effective May 2014 | ||
| HIST 438-4 | Problems in the History of the British Empire *effective January 2016 | ||
| HIST 442-4 | America's Empires | ||
| HIST 443-4 | Aboriginal Peoples, History and the Law *effective September 2014 | ||
| HIST 444-4 | Conceptualizing Atlantic Canada *effective May 2014 | ||
| HIST 447-4 | The Nikkei Experience in North America *effective September 2014 | ||
| HIST 455-4 | Race in the Americas *effective May 2014 | ||
| HIST 462-4 | Religion, Ethnicity and Politics in 20th Century Northern Ireland *effective May 2014 | ||
| HIST 463-4 | Rebellion and Revolution: Topics in the Theory and Practice of Resistance *effective May 2015 | ||
| HIST 468-4 | Problems in the History of Religion *effective May 2014 | ||
| HIST 471-4 | Women in Japanese History *effective May 2014 | ||
| HIST 472-4 | Problems in World History *effective May 2014 | ||
| HIST 473-4 | Problems in South African History *effective May 2014 | ||
| HIST 479-4 | Contentious Problems in Modern Chinese History *effective May 2014 | ||
| HUM 101-3 | Introduction to the Humanities | B-Hum | |
| HUM 102-3 | Classical Mythology | B-Hum | |
| HUM 302-4 | Athenian Democracy | B-Hum | |
| HUM 312-4 | Renaissance Studies *B effective January 2015 | B-Hum | |
| HUM 321-4 | The Humanities and Critical Thinking *W effective January 2012 | B-Hum | |
| INDG 110-4 | International Indigenous Lifewriting *W effective January 2017; B effective May 2017 | B-Hum | |
| INDG 201-3 | Indigenous Peoples' Perspectives on History *effective September 2015 | B-Soc | |
| INDG 353-3 | Indigenous Heritage Stewardship*effective September 2013 | ||
| INDG 402-3 | Discourses of Indigenous Peoples *effective May 2014 | ||
| INDG 443-4 | Aboriginal Peoples, History, and the Law *effective September 2014 | ||
| IS 313-4 | Nationalism, Democracy and Development in Modern India *effective January 2009 | ||
| IS 350-4 | Seminar on Global Problems in Interdiciplinary Perspective | ||
| LBST 301-3 | Labour Movements: Contemporary Issues and Images *effective January 2016 | ||
| LING 282-3 | Writing for Linguistics *effective January 2017 | Q | |
| LING 301-3 | Linguistic Argumentation | ||
| LING 309-3 | Sociolinguistics | ||
| LING 482-3 | Topics in Linguistics III | ||
| PHIL 100-3 | Knowledge and Reality | B-Hum | |
| PHIL 120-3 | Moral and Legal Problems *name change effective September 2015 | B-Hum | |
| PHIL 345-3 | Philosophy of Mathematics *effective September 2018 | ||
| PHIL 421-4 | Advanced Topics in Ethical Theory | ||
| PHIL 451-4 | Advanced Topics in the History of Philosophy | ||
| PHIL 455-4 | Contemporary Issues in Epistemology and Metaphysics | ||
| PHIL 467-4 | Seminar ll | ||
| POL 200-4 | Investigating Politics: Research Design and Qualitative Methods | ||
| POL 405-4 | Interpretation, Conflict and Controversy in Public Policy *effective May 2018 | ||
| POL 416-4 | Feminist Social and Political Thought *effective May 2018 | ||
| POL 421-4 | Rights, Equality and Charter *effective May 2018 | ||
| POL 426-4 | Political Behaviour | Q | |
| POL 430-4 | Democracy in a Global World *effective September 2017 | ||
| POL 434-4 | Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict *effective September 2010; course number change effective September 2017, formerly POL 338W | Q | |
| POL 445-4 | American Foreign Policy *effective September 2013 | ||
| POL 446-4 | International Relations in East Asia *effective September 2015 | ||
| POL 451-4 | Public Policy Analysis *effective May 2018 | ||
| POL 452-4 | Energy Policy *effective January 2012 | ||
| POL 457-4 | Technology and Innovation Policy *effective January 2012 | ||
| PSYC 109-3 | Brain, Mind and Society *formerly PSYC X99 | B-Sci | |
| PSYC 201-4 | Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology | Q | |
| PSYC 300-3 | Critical Analysis of Issues in Psychology | ||
| SA 200W-4 | Power, Conflict and Change in Canadian Society | B-Soc | W |
| SA 201-4 | Anthropology and Contemporary Life | ||
| SA 302-4 | Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism | B-Soc | |
| SA 356-4 | Ethnography and Qualitative Methods | ||
| WL 101-3 | Writing in World Literature *W and B effective January 2011 | B-Hum | |
| WL 103-3 | Early World Literatures *W effective January 2011 | B-Hum | |
| WL 104-3 | Modern World Literatures *W effective January 2011 | B-Hum | |
| WL 105-3 | World Literature Lab *W effective September 2016; B effective September 2017 | B-Hum | |
| WL 301-4 | Writing and Research *effective September 2010 | ||
| WL 305-3 | Sages and Poets *W effective January 2011; B effective September 2014 | B-Hum | |
| WL 404-3 | Literature and Translation *effective January 2011 |
Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology
| Course No. | Course Title | Other |
| **Course acronym change from FPA to CA effective September 2017** | ||
| CA 210-3 | Artworks, Theories, Contexts *effective January 2019 | |
| CA 228-3 | Dance Aesthetics | |
| CA 238-3 | Screenwriting l *effective January 2010 | |
| CA 257-3 | Context of Theatre l *effective September 2009; B effective May 2013 | B-Hum |
| CA 319-3 | Critical Writing in the Arts | |
| CA 338-3 | Screenwriting ll *effective September 2009 | |
| CA 357-3 | Context of Theatre ll *effective January 2011; B effective May 2013 | B-Hum |
| CA 412-4 | Advanced Seminar in Art and Culture Studies *efffective January 2015 | |
| CMNS 120-3 | Creativity and Communication Across Media | |
| CMNS 201-4 | Empirical Communication Research Methods *effective January 2018 | Q |
| CMNS 253-3 | Introduction to Information Technology: New Media | |
| CMNS 304-4 | Communication and Everyday Life | |
| CMNS 323-4 | Cultural Dimensions in Advertising *effective January 2009 | |
| CMNS 455-4 | Women and New Information Technologies *effective May 2017 | |
| IAT 103-3 | Design, Communication and Collaboration *effective September 2011 | |
| IAT 206-3 | Media Across Cultures *W effective January 2012 | B-Hum |
| IAT 309-3 | Writing Methods for Research*effective January 2009 | |
| PUB 210-3 | Fundamentals of Professional Writing *effective May 2013 | |
| PUB 355-4 | Online Marketing for Publishers *effective January 2012 |
Faculty of Applied Sciences
| Course No. | Course Title | Other |
| CMPT 105-3 | Social Issues and Communication Strategies in Computing Science *effective September 2010 | |
| CMPT 322-3 | Professional Responsibility and Ethics *effective January 2009 | |
| CMPT 376-3 | Technical Writing and Group Dynamics | |
| ENSC 100-3 | Engineering Science and Society *B-Hum option effective September 2010 | B-Hum/Sci |
| ENSC 105-3 | Process, Form, and Convention in Professional Genres *effective January 2011 | |
| ENSC 405-3 | Capstone A: Project Design, Management, and Documentation *effective January 2017 | |
| MSE 101-3 | Process, Form, and Convention in Professional Genres *effective May 2013 | |
| MSE 405-4 | The Business of Engineering ll *effective May 2015 | |
| SEE 101-3 | Process, Form, and Convention in Professional Genres *effective September 2018 | |
| SEE 410-3 | Sustainable Energy Design Project I *effective September 2019 |
Faculty of Environment
| Course No. | Course Title | Other |
| ARCH 272-4 | Archaeology of the Old World *W effective September 2012 | B-Soc |
| ARCH 471-4 | Archaeological Theory *effective September 2008 | |
| EVSC 201-3 | Environmental Science in Practice *effective September 2017 | |
| EVSC 490-4 | Environmental Science Thesis II *effective January 2020 | |
| GEOG 266-3 | Geography in Practice *effective September 2019 | |
| GEOG 322-4 | World Resources | |
| GEOG 362-4 | Gentrification and Urban Change |
|
| GEOG 381-4 | Territory, Power, State | |
| GEOG 389-4 | Nature and Society | |
| GEOG 412-4 | Glacial Processes and Environments | |
| GEOG 417-4 | Advanced Soil Science | |
| GEOG 455-4 | Theoretical and Applied GIS *W effective January 2016 | Q |
| REM 202-3 | Technical Communication for Resource Professionals and Planners *effective September 2019 | |
| REM 320-3 | Ethics and the Environment *effective September 2020 | |
| REM 356-3 | Institutional Arrangements for Sustainable Environmental Management *effective September 2018 |
Faculty of Science
| Course No. | Course Title | Other |
| ACMA 360-3 | Actuarial Communication *effective September 2017 | Q |
| BISC 302-3 | Genetic Analysis | |
| BISC 360-3 | Techniques in Ecology and Evolution *effective January 2017 | |
| BISC 440-3 | Biodiversity | |
| BISC 492-5 | Research Reporting | |
| BISC 497-3 | Undergraduate Research (Writing Intensive) | |
| ** | **Course acronym change from KIN to BPK effective September 2013** | |
| BPK 180-3 | Introduction to Ergonomics | |
| BPK 304-3 | Inquiry and Measurement in Biomedical Physiology & Kinesiology | Q |
| BPK 408-3 | Cellular Physiology Laboratory *effective September 2017 | |
| BPK 451-3 | Practicum lll *effective May 2013 | |
| CHEM 236-3 | Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory | Q |
| CHEM 366-3 | Physical Chemistry Laboratory I *effective September 2007 | Q |
| EASC 209-4 | Environmental Geoscience *effective September 2013; formerly EASC 303W | |
| EASC 310-3 | Paleontology | |
| EASC 315-3 | Geochemistry of Natural Waters *effective May 2013 | |
| MATH 160-3 | Mathematics in Action | Q, B-Sci |
| MATH 178-3 | Fractals and Chaos | Q, B-Sci |
| MATH 208-3 | Introduction to Operations Research *W and Q effective September 2010 | Q |
| MATH 380-3 | History of Mathematics | Q |
| MATH 381-3 | Mathematics Undergraduate Seminar *effective September 2009 | Q |
| MATH 402-3 | Operations Research Clinic *W effective January 2011 | Q |
| MATH 480-3 | The Art and Craft of Problem Solving *formerly MATH 370 | Q |
| MATH 499-5 | Honours Research Project *effective September 2015 | |
| MBB 309-3 | Biochemistry Laboratory | |
| PHYS 332-3 | Advanced Physics Laboratory I | Q |
| PHYS 433-4 | Biophysics Laboratory *effective September 2016 | |
| STAT 300-3 | Statistics Communication |
Beedie School of Business
| Course No. | Course Title | Other |
| BUS 217-3 | Critical Thinking in Business *effective September 2017 | |
| BUS 360-4 | Business Communication |
Faculty of Education
| Course No. | Course Title | Other |
| EDUC 100-3 | Selected Questions and Issues in Education *effective September 2007 | B-Hum |
| EDUC 342-3 | Contemporary Approaches to Literacy Instruction *effective September 2011 | |
| EDUC 352-4 | Building on Reflective Practice *effective September 2011 | |
| EDUC 371-4 | School Health Education | |
| EDUC 401-8 | Introduction to Classroom Teaching *effective Sept. 2007 | |
| EDUC 402-7 | Studies of Educational Theory and Practice *effective September 2007 | |
| EDUC 412-4 | Designs for Learning: Secondary Language Arts | |
| EDUC 428-4 | Nature and Nurture of Gifted Students | |
| EDUC 473-4 | Designs for Learning: Reading |
Faculty of Health Sciences
| Course No. | Course Title | Other |
| HSCI 319-3 | Applied Health Ethics *effective September 2008 |
Undergraduate Semester in Dialogue
| Course No. | Course Title | Other |
| DIAL 390-5 | Undergraduate Semester: Dialogue *B-Hum effective May 2012 | B-Soc/B-Hum |
| DIAL 391-5 | Undergraduate Semester: Seminar *B-Hum effective May 2012 | B-Soc/B-Hum |
| DIAL 392-5 | Undergraduate Semester: Final Project *B-Hum effective September 2012 | B-Soc/B-Hum |