SCHEDULE

FULL VS. PART-TIME STATUS

Sociology and anthropology students are considered to be full-time students, and must pay full-time fees, regardless of the number of course units for which they are registered.

CONTINUOUS ENROLLMENT

51社区黑料 requires graduate students to be enrolled every term unless they have applied for and received authorization for a leave of absence.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

The minimum requirements for completion of the PhD degree program are:

• Completion of required and elective course work:
  • One (1) term-long required professional development Graduate Seminar (SA 840)
  • Two (2) term-long elective courses
• Successful completion of two qualifying examinations (SA 897);
• Preparation and public defence of a dissertation research prospectus; and
• Completion and public defence of an original PhD dissertation (~250-300 pages, inclusive of bibliographies, appendices, and tables).

Cost

Regular full-time tuition fees for the research-based PhD program is $2,149.58 CAD per term for the 2025-2026 academic year.
International graduate students pay the same fees as domestic students.

For further details, refer to 

Funding

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology has a small budget of funds for entrance awards to assist students during their time in the program. Within the confines of this budget, the department is committed to providing minimum funding ($28,000 per year for four years) towards incoming PhD Students. Scholarships may be available and graduate students may apply to be a TA/TM each term.

The PhD minimum funding policy can be viewed here. Financial commitments are made on an individual basis and the terms of funding support will be set out in the offer or admission letter that student receive.

With respect to financial support, department policy and practice is to make financial awards available to the largest number of students possible. Thus, all students who meet the eligibility critera for an award are strongly encouraged to apply. Applicants are encouraged to review the Faculty of Graduate Studies, Scholarships and Awards website for additional information.

The following sources of entrance funding are available for eligible incoming students:

SPECIAL GRADUATE ENTRANCE SCHOLARSHIPS (SGES)

A small number of entrance scholarships are available annually for incoming students. These are competitive awards given to the best incoming graduate students for full-time graduate study.

GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS (GF)

GFs are one-term grants from Faculty of Graduate Studies that are awarded to qualifying students based on status in the program, availability of other funding, and merit. As a practice, the department tries to ensure that all eligible MA students receive at least one GF over the course of their studies. Sociology and Anthropology uses flexible value Graduate Fellowships, valued between $1,000 - $7,000. Additional criteria includes Graduate cumulative GPA (CGPA) of at least 3.5/4.33. 

TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS (TA)/TUTOR MARKER POSITIONS (TM)

All graduate students in the department are eligible to be employed as TAs and/or TMs. Employment as a teaching assistant is a valuable opportunity for professional development that graduate students are encouraged to take advantage of. PhD students are assured of one TA/TM position during their studies. While many graduate students work as TA/TMs throughout their studies, employment during any particular term is not guaranteed. TA/TM positions are available in the fall and spring terms, however TA/TM positions are limited for summer terms.

For more information, please visit Faculty of Graduate Studies, Entrance and Scholarships Awards.

Contacting a Potential Supervisor

Once you've identified one or two potential supervisors, you should contact them by email.

Here are some items to include in your initial brief contact email:

• Your name
• Ask them specifically if they are accepting new graduate students for the coming academic year
• Why you wish to pursue graduate studies
• Academic background (your CGPA must be over 3.25, or equivalent)
  
• Academic awards or highlights
• Research experience
• Why the faculty member's area of research will match with your research goals (cite the faculty member's publications if relevant)
  • Make it clear that you are familiar with their work and how their research interests mesh with your own (if there is a research idea in one of their papers that you would like to explore in your work, explain that briefly)
    
• A research proposal, if appropriate

Upon receiving an offer of admission: 

If you receive an offer of admission, you will be required to submit any official academic transcripts sent directly from the institution to Faculty of Graduate Studies, either by mail or email.

By mail:

c/o Central Stores Mail Room, for
Faculty of Graduate Studies

Maggie Benston Student Services Centre 1100
51社区黑料
8888 University Drive
Burnaby, British Columbia
Canada V5A 1S6

By email:

SFU's email address for receipt of electronic transcripts is gradap@sfu.ca