At Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada, Contemporary Arts: Master of Arts (MA) is offered as a master's degree in Visual Arts programme. The programme runs for 4 semesters, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 2,193 per semester (CAD 2,193 per semester for local students).
The MA in Contemporary Arts at SFU's School for the Contemporary Arts thinks across the arts from an intermedial perspective, letting students examine a chosen object of study such as an artwork or movement through the theoretical and historical lenses of art history, cinema studies, performance studies and digital arts. Required coursework covers research methods and a research colloquium alongside professional practices seminars, supplemented by New Approaches seminars in visual art and culture, moving-image studies, digital art, performance, and sound, plus a practicum, internship or selected-topics course and a graduate elective. The program adds funded research travel, editing the school's journal, arts internships, curatorial support, a graduating symposium and intensive preparation for publishing, grant applications and public presentation. MA scholars work in parallel with the MFA cohort, and graduates typically become curators, programmers, arts administrators, arts writers and practising artists, or continue to doctoral study.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Simon Fraser University's Contemporary Arts MA is open to applicants holding an undergraduate degree in visual culture, art history, cinema studies, performance studies, cultural studies, communications, literary studies or another arts-focused discipline; Bachelor of Fine Arts graduates with substantial scholarly coursework are also accepted. The program does not publish a minimum GPA. Applications require a curriculum vitae, a one-page statement of research interests, an academic writing sample of 2,000-3,000 words, three letters of reference, and official transcripts from every post-secondary institution attended. International applicants, and anyone who did not complete a degree at an English-language institution in a primarily English-speaking country, must demonstrate English proficiency; the Duolingo English Test is accepted with a minimum of 130 overall and 120 in every section, alongside IELTS and TOEFL, for which the page states no numeric minimum. Shortlisted applicants may be invited to interview. All SCA graduate programs begin in the Fall term only, with decisions typically communicated by the end of March.
Application Details
Start Date:September
Application Deadline:Domestic applicants apply through EducationPlannerBC, with one set of dates per applicant type rather than by citizenship. Fall 2027 entry: high-school-route applications open 1 October 2026 and close 31 January 2027, while transfer applications open 1 March 2027 and close 15 April 2027 (Education and Contemporary Arts transfer applicants may apply from 1 October 2026). Spring 2027 entry runs 1 July to 15 September 2026, and Summer 2027 entry runs 1 December 2026 to 15 January 2027. Admission documents are generally due 28 February 2027 (Fall) and offers must be accepted by 1 May. International applicants use the same EducationPlannerBC dates and portal; SFU publishes no separate international deadline. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
