Cognitive Science: Bachelor of Arts Degree (BA) is a bachelor's degree in Cognitive Science programme taught at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada. The programme runs for 4 years, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 1,263 per credit (CAD 216 per credit for local students).
This degree examines the mind and its processes, covering decision making, information processing, learning, language and consciousness, studied at the meeting point of linguistics, psychology, computing science and philosophy. Combining scientific and philosophical methods, the program builds a broad, interdisciplinary understanding of cognition and can be shaped around individual interests. Graduates go on to fields such as advertising, counselling, policy work, web development and psychology.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Direct-entry applicants from B.C. high schools must graduate with a minimum of five approved Grade 12 courses, including English Studies 12 (or English First Peoples 12) with a grade of 70% or higher, and must otherwise hold a minimum grade of 70% in Language Arts 11, English 12, or equivalent. No further Cognitive Science-specific Grade 11/12 subject prerequisites or minimum admission average are stated on the program's requirements page beyond SFU's general academic-course and quantitative-and-analytical-skills requirements. Applicants must also meet SFU's university-wide English language requirement: IELTS Academic overall 6.5 with no band below 6.0, TOEFL iBT overall 88 with no section below 20, PTE Academic overall 65 with a minimum of 60 in each Communicative Skill, or Duolingo English Test overall 125. Early admission decisions are typically released November to January and standard decisions February to April.
Application Details
Start Date:Three intakes a year: Fall (September–December), Spring (January–April) and Summer (May–August). First day of classes is 5 January 2027 for Spring 2027, 10 May 2027 for Summer 2027 and 7 September 2027 for Fall 2027.
Application Deadline:Undergraduate applications are submitted on EducationPlannerBC and SFU publishes one set of dates per applicant type — high-school or college/university transfer — with no separate international deadline; document deadlines are stated as applying to all applicants. Fall 2027 entry: applications open 1 October 2026 and close 31 January 2027 for high-school applicants, while transfer applications open 1 March 2027 and close 15 April 2027. Spring 2027 entry: open 1 July 2026, closes 15 September 2026. Summer 2027 entry: open 1 December 2026, closes 15 January 2027. Admission documents are due 28 February 2027 (Fall, high-school applicants), 15 May 2027 (Fall, transfer applicants), 1 October 2026 (Spring) and 1 February 2027 (Summer); B.C. high-school applicants must also file the Student Transcript Service form by 31 January. Decisions are released on a rolling basis — early Fall offers from mid-November 2026 to January 2027, standard offers from January to late April, transfer decisions from mid-March to late June — and most Fall entrants must accept by 1 May. These are SFU's university-wide undergraduate dates, not a deadline set by this program; a few programs admit in one term only, so confirm on the program's own SFU page.
