Urban Studies Graduate Diploma is a postgraduate diploma in Urban Planning programme offered by Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada. The programme runs for 9 semesters, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English.
At a glance
Degree:Postgraduate Diploma
Field:Urban Planning
Duration: 9 semesters
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
We have no tuition fees on record for this programme yet — see the official programme page.
— it helps other students.
The Graduate Diploma in Urban Studies asks for 24 units of graduate coursework in the program, excluding the research-project and directed-studies courses reserved for the master's track, with room to substitute one or two courses from other departments if approved. Unlike the Master of Urban Studies, diploma candidates are not assigned an individual graduate supervisor, reflecting the credential's coursework-only, seminar-based design for people whose professional and life experience has drawn them to the study of cities and urbanism. Completion is expected within nine terms. As with the master's program, most applicants come from a base discipline such as economics, geography, political science, sociology or anthropology, though other backgrounds and relevant experience are considered, and the program's English-proficiency requirements exceed SFU's standard graduate minimums.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: The program's own apply page states its material and language requirements directly but no GPA figure: a one-page statement of interest explaining learning objectives and personal, academic, and professional motivations for the credential, a resume or CV highlighting urban-related work and volunteer experience, unofficial transcripts from every institution attended, and three referees of whom at least two must be academic (professional references are accepted, personal ones are not). English proficiency is required only for applicants whose undergraduate degree is from a country where English is not the official language, with program-specific minimums of Duolingo 130 (no subscore below 110), IELTS Academic 7.0 (no section below 6.5), TOEFL iBT 100, Cambridge English 185, PTE Academic 70, or CAEL 75. The page states no prior-degree level or work-experience minimum.
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.
