At Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada, Visual Analytics Graduate Certificate is offered as a postgraduate certificate in Data Science & Analytics 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:Postgraduate Certificate
Field:Data Science & Analytics
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 Visual Analytics Graduate Certificate is only open to students already enrolled in an SFU graduate degree program; there is no direct-entry route. The 12-unit curriculum draws courses from Interactive Arts & Technology, Computing Science, Business, Education, and Communication, Art & Technology, organized around three strands -- cognitive processes, visual-analytics technology, and social systems -- and students must take courses from at least two academic units while limiting themselves to no more than two from their own home department. Certificate holders also need to complete a substantial research project applying visual-analytics methods, typically satisfied through their home program's own thesis or major research work. Because the certificate runs alongside a student's primary degree, it is expected to be finished within that degree's normal completion time, and early registration with the SIAT Graduate Program Committee is recommended.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: This credential has no separate admission process of its own: it is open only to applicants who are already enrolled and in good academic standing in a graduate degree program at Simon Fraser University, with no route for direct external entry. Interested students apply for the certificate from within their existing graduate program and must complete that graduate degree in order to receive it, alongside satisfying the University's general graduate admission requirements set out in Graduate General Regulation 1.3 that governed their original degree admission. The School of Interactive Arts and Technology recommends contacting the SIAT Graduate Program Committee early to register interest. No separate English-language test score, GPA threshold, or application deadline is published for the certificate itself, since eligibility turns on current SFU graduate enrolment rather than a fresh admission review.
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.
