Film (Major) at Simon Fraser University

Programme overview

The film major is a 120-unit Bachelor of Fine Arts program in filmmaking and cinema studies within the School for the Contemporary Arts, an interdisciplinary contemporary arts school.

Faculty: Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology | Department: School for the Contemporary Arts | Intake: Fall (September) | Study mode: full-time | Location: Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

What you will study

Lower division work (minimum 36 units) includes Fundamentals of Film, Filmmaking I and II, The History and Aesthetics of Cinema I and II, The Techniques of Film and a core course such as Art and the Moving Image. Upper division work covers Filmmaking IV to VII, cinema studies courses such as Theory and Cinema, Writing for Film, and contemporary arts courses outside film.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Program and course admission is contingent upon University admission. Contact Student Services for admission procedures, requirements and deadlines. Entry to all programs and to many courses is by audition, interview or application. Contact the school’s office for information on procedures and deadlines or visit our website . Although the University operates on a trimester system, most CA courses are planned in a two term (fall and spring) sequence. Consequently, students enter in the fall term (September) and are advised to contact the school in the preceding January for program entry and requirements information.

Tuition is charged per credit, so the total depends on the courses you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

Fall (September), Spring (January) and Summer (May) terms; most students start in the fall term.

Fall 2027: high school applications open 1 October 2026 and close 31 January 2027; other post-secondary transfer applications open 1 March 2027 and close 15 April 2027. Summer 2027: all applications open 1 December 2026 and close 15 January 2027. Spring 2027: all applications opened 1 July 2026 and close 15 September 2026.

The non-refundable application fee is 86 CAD for domestic students and 130 CAD for international students, payable online by credit card. Applications are submitted through EducationPlannerBC.

Apply through the official page: https://www.sfu.ca/students/admission.html

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