About Master’s Program,
SFU political science master’s and doctoral programs provide rigorous training across the various political science subfields and excellent job placement possibilities.
With diverse research interests and strong links across Canada and internationally, our award-winning faculty members open the door to an active research community for graduate students. Additionally, our commitment to teaching and small student-to-faculty ratios, ensures students get the mentorship and guidance necessary for success.
Master’s Program Degree Eligibility with GPA,
English is the language of instruction and communication at SFU. Accordingly, an applicant whose primary language is not English must demonstrate command of English sufficient to pursue graduate studies in the chosen field. See graduate general regulation 1.3.12.
The successful completion of a qualifying year does not guarantee entry to our MA program. Alternatively, you may want to get more undergraduate training in political science before applying to our MA program.
Master’s Funding Coverage,
The Department of Political Science is committed to funding all our PhD students and the majority of our MA students.
The main sources of funding are teaching assistantships (TAs), research assistantships (RAs) and/or graduate fellowships (GFs). To date, all our PhD students have received at least three years of funding of $20,000 minimum per year. Most MA students receive at least one semester of funding and approximately half of them receive two semesters of funding.
Application Requirement,
Complete and submit the online application. You will need to provide:
Information on your academic history
A statement of your proposed research interests (up to 400 words)
A writing sample
The names of three (3) potential supervisors. Please see our faculty page for a list of faculty and their research areas. Each faculty member’s profile states whether or not they are currently accepting new graduate students.
PhD applicants only: Your most recent CV (curriculum vitae)
Email contact information for three (3) academic referees. The referees should be able to comment on the applicant’s qualifications for graduate study. Recommendations from a non-academic person should not be used unless the applicant has been away from an academic institution for some time. The system will send an automated email providing referees with access to the online referee form they need to complete.
- Pay the application fee:
Once your application is submitted, you have seven days to pay the application fee. You will then be able to upload transcripts and other documents.
Note: Steps 1 and 2 of the application process must be completed and submitted before requests for references are sent out to referees and access to document uploading is available. Allow sufficient time for referees to complete references before the final deadline.
- Upload documents. After payment of the application fee, upload PDF files of:
One (1) set of unofficial transcripts from ALL post-secondary institutions attended, and
An academic paper, in English, as a writing sample. It should not exceed 20 pages in length.
- If you receive an offer of admission, send official transcripts by e-mail:
One set of official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended must be sent to Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at gradap@sfu.ca. Transcripts that are not in English require an official translation (transcripts from Quebec universities are exempted from this translation requirement).
Note: This step needs to be taken after you have been made an offer of admission. You only need unofficial transcripts in order to apply.
Application Deadline,
Jan 19, 2026
Application Fee,
$79.50 application fee is required.