Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies: Master of Arts (MA) at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada is a master's degree in Gender & Sexuality Studies 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).
At a glance
Degree:Master's Degree
Field:Gender & Sexuality Studies
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 2,193 / semester
International tuition: CAD 2,193 / semester
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
SFU's Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies MA offers two paths through the same core: a set of shared classes covering a graduate research toolkit, professional-development colloquia, and seminars in feminist theory and in queer and trans studies. Students who want a faster, coursework-heavy route take a course-intensive option requiring a minimum of 30 units with more electives; those planning doctoral study or a thesis-driven project take the thesis option, a minimum of 38 units with an 18-unit thesis and fewer electives, and need a 3.5 GPA plus a committed supervisor rather than the course-intensive route's 3.0. Applicants submit a statement of proposed study, a writing sample and multiple references, and the program overall suits students who want feminist and queer theory grounded in a specific research area rather than a purely general degree.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: The department's page sets a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 for the thesis option and 3.0 for the course-intensive option, both on a prior BA or BSc; because the threshold depends on which option an applicant chooses, no single minimum_gpa value is recorded here. The thesis option requires three letters of reference and the course-intensive option two, both from people qualified to evaluate the applicant's capacity for graduate academic work; referee contact information must be supplied directly, as the department issues no reference forms. The file must also include a 750-to-1,200-word statement of proposed study, a curriculum vitae, a 500-to-1,500-word writing sample such as an upper-level essay or honours-thesis excerpt, and unofficial digital transcripts. Applicants whose first language is not English must submit an original TOEFL certificate or IELTS score unless exempted by a prior degree taught and examined in English in a country where English is the primary language; the Fall 2026 deadline published on the page was 30 January 2026.
Application Details
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.
