At Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada, English: Master of Arts (MA) is offered as a master's degree in Literature programme. The programme is 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).
SFU's English MA opens with two required seminars that anchor students in critical methods and literary study before they branch into a course-work or a project stream, the latter culminating in a research project defended before a supervisory committee and an external examiner. Beyond the shared core, students can specialize in Print Culture, which studies texts within the commercial society of roughly 1700 to 1900, or in Research-Creation, which combines creative writing practice with academic research, or follow a general program with no set specialization. The department pushes students toward breadth as well as depth, encouraging coursework spread across different periods, regions and critical approaches rather than narrowing in immediately, with the degree requiring a minimum of 32 units and typically taking three terms for the course-work option or four to six for the project route.
Requirements
Minimum GPA:3.00 / 4.33
Admission Requirements: The program's overview and its own Admissions page both defer to Graduate General Regulation 1.3 in the SFU Calendar rather than stating department-specific numeric criteria, requiring only that applicants satisfy the University's general graduate admission requirements and the specific requirements of the program they enter. Under that general standard a bachelor's degree from SFU or its equivalent is required, with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0/4.33 (B), or 3.33/4.33 (B+) averaged over the last 60 units of undergraduate coursework. Applicants whose first language is not English must meet SFU's general proficiency benchmark, typically an IELTS Academic overall band of 6.5 (minimum 6.0 per section) or a TOEFL iBT overall score of 90 (minimum 20 per section), unless exempted by a prior degree taught and examined in English in a country where English is the primary language.
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.
