Geographic Information Science (Major) at Simon Fraser University

Programme overview

The Geographic Information Science major is a 120-unit Bachelor of Science with 45 upper division units, combining geography with computing and spatial analysis.

Faculty: Faculty of Environment | Department: Department of Geography | Study mode: full-time | Location: Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

What you will study

Students take two of GEOG 100, GEOG 111 and GEOG 150 Digital Earth, plus CMPT 120 Introduction to Computing Science and Programming I, GEOG 251 Quantitative Geography, GEOG 253 Introduction to Remote Sensing, GEOG 255 Geographical Information Science I, GEOG 266W Geography in Practice, SDA 250 Computational Text Analysis and SDA 270 Data, Ethics and Society.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Faculty of Environment (BEnv and BSc programmes: Resource and Environmental Management, Global Environmental Systems, Geographic Information Science), BC and Yukon secondary school applicants for Fall 2026 onward: five approved academic Grade 12 courses including English Studies 12 or English First Peoples 12 (minimum 70% in Language Arts 11, English 12 or equivalent), at least one of Anatomy and Physiology 12, Chemistry 12, Environmental Science 12, Geology 12 and Physics 12, and Pre-Calculus 12; no specific Grade 11 course requirements. English language (all undergraduate applicants): 70% in a senior-level English after three years of full-time English-medium secondary schooling in Canada, or IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with no part below 6.0, TOEFL iBT 4.5 overall with no part below 4.0 (for tests taken before 21 January 2026: 88 with no part below 20), or CAEL 70 with no part below 60.

Requirements published at faculty level.

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.

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