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Current Students Frequently Asked Questions

How do I enroll in classes?

You must pay your admission deposit before you will be able to enroll in classes. You may not carry balances from previous semesters; fees must be cleared before registration begins for the new semester. Click here for information on how to make payments to the University. You should be familiar with information on graduate regulations and graduate fees contained in SFU's Calendar. Please read this information carefully. Student Society Fees Payment of the mandatory Student Society fees enables you to participate in a range of benefits. Please familiarize yourself with the rules for these benefits and services: U-Pass information/exemption requests Health, Counseling and Career Graduate Student Health and Dental Plan Information Enrollment Once you paid the admission deposit or cleared any outstanding balance, check the Schedule of Classes for the term of enrollment. Your last step is to go to Student Information System and register. Refund Policy If you withdraw in the the first month of the semester you will receive a refund of 75% of the tuition. If you withdraw in the second month of the semester you will receive a 50% refund of tuition. Ancillary fees are not refundable. No refunds are available after the end of the second month of the semester. Check the websites listed above for refunds for U-Pass and Graduate Health Care fees. If you are withdrawing from the semester and/or from your program, you must notify Mary Ann Pope as well as your department. She will advise you as to the amount of the refund that might be available to you.

What is the deadline for deferred grades? Can extensions be obtained?

In the 2002-3 semester the regulations concerning deferred grades for graduate courses changed. Under the current regulations a grade may be deferred only to the last day of the first month of the semester following the semester in which the course was taken. For example, if a course was taken in the fall semester, the deferred grade should be changed to a final grade no later than January 31. There may be occasional cases in which it is reasonable to extend a deferred grade past the deadline. In such cases, a request for an extended deferral should be documented by the graduate program chair and brought to the Dean of Graduate Studies for approval before the end of the first month of the semester following that in which the course was taken.

How do I apply to graduate?

You will find the information on "How to Graduate" very important. Please note that you must be registered in a semester in order to defend and/or to submit your thesis or project in that semester. If you have specific questions about convocation, please contact Mary Ann Pope.

Do I have to pay fees if my thesis defence is at the start of the semester?

You may be eligible for an early completion refund of 75% of the tuition portion of your student fees.

Do I have to pay a penalty if my thesis defence is at the very end of the semester?

There is a penalty fee for late submission. The Dean may waive the penalty fee for late submission of the thesis if the Chair of the Graduate Program Committee (not the senior supervisor) makes such a request in writing, and shows that the delay in either the defence or the submission of the thesis was due to circumstances beyond the control of the student. In addition, the timing of your defence is a normal concern in the spring and summer semesters because of the timing of Convocation. A student who defends a thesis successfully and submits the final copy of the thesis to the Library by the deadline published in the Calendar is guaranteed to be included in Convocation. A student who does not submit the thesis to the Library by the deadline cannot be guaranteed a place at Convocation, although staff will make every effort to get as many students to Convocation as possible.

What constitutes "beyond the control of the student"?

Students and supervisors are expect to discuss defence dates well in advance, and to plan defences around known absences. Examples of circumstances that will not be considered beyond the student's control include: absence due to vacation, conferences, research, maternity leave; failure of student to obtain needed research materials; other students completing theses at the same time; failure to find an external examiner in time. Examples of circumstances that will be considered beyond the student's control: sudden illness or family emergency for student or member of examining committee.

How do I avoid conflict of interest when choosing an external examiner?

Our regulations (1.9.5) and common sense dictate that the external examiners of theses and projects should be free of potential conflict of interest. An examiner should be a disinterested evaluator of the work, and should not be placed in a position in which it might be perceived that personal considerations could sway the examiner's assessment of a piece of work. The following is a list of relationships that could be perceived as creating a conflict of interest: Student and external examiner have or had a relationship unconnected to the student's academic work. Examples: family connections; business connections. Student and external examiner had or have an academic relationship. Examples: examiner was student's instructor or a member of a previous supervisory committee; they have participated together in a research project; they have published together. Student and external examiner are planning a future relationship, contingent on a successful defence. Examples: student will work as post-doctoral fellow in external's lab; student will be hired by external's company. External and senior supervisor have the kinds of relationships discussed in points 1 through 3. Examples: external examiner was supervisor's student (or vice versa); they have been collaborators in a research project. Given the interconnections between researchers, the need for students in many disciplines to publish, and the very specialized nature of some areas of research, it is unrealistic to expect that external examiners will have no knowledge of, or no connection to, the student in all cases. It is also unrealistic to try to write precise rules for avoiding such problems. A better approach is for senior supervisors and graduate program chairs to ask themselves before contacting an external examiner whether a potential conflict of interest could be perceived. In addition, when the potential examiner is contacted, it would be worth checking whether there is a conflict of interest that ought to be declared.

I am ready to defend my thesis – How do I choose an external examiner?

External examiners should be selected in a collaborative manner by the student, senior supervisor and chair/director of the graduate program committee. The goal is to find an external examiner who is expert, available, not in a conflict of interest, and whose services can be obtained at a reasonable cost to the University. For masters theses and projects the examiner can be any suitably qualified person. The Faculty of Arts states that the external examiner must be from outside the student's home department. University rules require that an examiner for a student in Special Arrangements must be from outside the University. The University provides no funds to cover the expenses of external examiners for a masters thesis. For doctoral dissertations the examiner must be from outside the University. The University provides an honorarium and a limited amount of travel expenses. All other expenses are the responsibility of the graduate program. Normally an informal approach to a prospective examiner is made by the senior supervisor or chair/director of the graduate program. This is done to ensure willingness and availability. Once a date has been set, the chair/director is responsible for filling out appropriate forms for masters and doctoral defences.

What happens if I run out of time?

The Graduate General Regulations specify maximum time limits for completion of graduate degrees. Most students are expected to finish their programs in less than the maximum time. From time to time the Dean is asked to make exceptions to the maximum time limit. There are three ways in which this can be done: by demonstrating that the need for more time was caused by factors covered in human rights legislation; through an extension semester; and through withdrawal followed by readmission. The Dean will not consider other options, because it is unfair to publish one set of rules and practise another. Please follow the link for more information about readmission and reinstatement. Human Rights Circumstances As an institution offering a service, we do not discriminate against people on the basis of race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, religion, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sex or sexual orientation. Most commonly we may expect to see student progress delayed by family responsibilities (e.g. pregnancy and parental responsibilities) and by medical problems and disabilities. The University will allow a student to extend the length of the graduate program if it can be demonstrated that progress was delayed by any of the above factors. Normally, for conditions requiring a specified period away from graduate studies (e.g. pregnancy, illness) the student should register on-leave, should provide a letter from a medical practitioner (or equivalent), and should request that on-leave fees be waived. For students in programs that collect fees on a per-credit basis (and where there is no provision for on-leave status) the student should write a letter to the chair of the graduate program committee, outlining the circumstances, and providing the required evidence. In either case, a copy of the documents should be kept in the student's file. When a student reaches the maximum time limit, an extension will be granted equal in length to the number of semesters in which the student was unable to pursue graduate studies for documented reasons. Note that students who take on-leave semesters or the equivalent and do not document the circumstances will not be granted an extension. In some situations the student may have a long-term disability that makes progress through the program slower, but does not require the student take time off from the program. Such students should register with the Centre for Students with Disabilities. With the assistance of the Centre, the student and the Graduate Program Committee will work out a plan for completion of the degree, and will submit that to the Dean of Graduate Studies for approval. Students and graduate programs are strongly advised to deal with such situations as they become apparent, and not to wait until the time limit is reached before acting. It is much easier to obtain documentation about the need for leave at the time the need occurs. There are some medical conditions that are difficult to diagnose. Provided that documentation is provided by a qualified person, the Dean will consider retroactive requests for on-leave status and subsequent extension of the time limit on a case-by-case basis. Extension semester Although it is not mandated by the graduate regulations, it is traditional at SFU to grant a one-semester extension beyond the maximum time limit to students who have run out of time and need a final semester to complete their requirements. A request for a one-semester extension should be made to the Dean of Graduate Studies by the chair of the graduate program committee at least one month before the end of the final semester. The request should confirm that the student can complete the degree requirements in one semester. The request should be accompanied by a memo from the senior supervisor describing the stage that the student has reached in his/her program. For a program that requires completion of a project or thesis the Dean will grant an extension only to students who have completed a first draft of their thesis or project. The Dean may ask to see a copy of the draft before granting an extension. Depending on the program and its fee structure, students may have to pay higher tuition fees for an extension semester. Readmission Students who were required to withdraw because they had reached their maximum time limit may apply for readmission for one semester in order to complete their degree requirements. If a department is contacted concerning this, the chair of the graduate program committee must follow the following procedure: Check the student's record and establish that the student was required to withdraw. Students who wish to apply for readmission but who withdrew before reaching the maximum time limit may not be readmitted under this process, and should be referred to the Dean of Graduate Studies. Advise the student to submit a written request to the chair of the graduate program committee. This request should: (a) describe what work has been completed and what remains to be done; (b) provide a time line for completion within one semester; (c) outline the circumstances that prevented earlier completion of the requirements. Determine whether the student's previous work is sufficiently current to justify awarding a degree. Determine whether a supervisory committee can be established for the student, and whether members of such a committee will agree to work with the student for one semester. If so, the senior supervisor will recommend readmission to the chair of the graduate program committee. If the chair of the graduate program committee also recommends readmission, she or he will forward to the Dean of Graduate Studies: the student's request for readmission supporting memos from the department a complete Application for Readmission/Reinstatement form the current application fee Students should be advised that the fees for the readmission semester are higher than regular tuition fees.