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UniversityBritish ColumbiaCo-op available#17 in universities✓ Verified sources

Simon Fraser University

Burnaby, British Columbia · Founded 1965 · Official site ↗

C
Overall grade

Editorial standing

B-

Reputation & academic strength (100% editorial · no reviews yet). 66/100

Data transparency

Partial

How openly it publishes & sources its data. 53/100 · 3/4 signals

Compare to peersSee the rubric ↓

Report card

Methodology v2.3 →

Our own grades, computed from objective public data, relative to other universities. This is the school's overall quality. Click any row to see how Simon Fraser University compares on that attribute.

Our method
AcademicsAcademic selectivity and strength of the entering class / program depth.B-OutcomesHow students fare: retention, graduation and graduate employment.C-ValueCost to attend relative to peers (lower domestic tuition scores higher).CBreadthRange of broad program areas offered.C-Campus & CommunityScale of campus life and residence availability.C

Verified student outcomes

Outcome score 31/100

Published by the institution or government and linked to the official source. These are what drive our outcome-based rankings. The exact calculation that produced the 31/100 score is shown below.

Graduation rate
6-year graduation rate · as of 2019-20 cohort
69%SFU Institutional Research & Planning, Undergraduate Retention Report ↗
First-year retention
Year-2 still-enrolled rate (excludes the 2% who had already graduated) · as of 2023-24
86%SFU Institutional Research & Planning, Undergraduate Retention Report ↗
How we calculated this 31/100: the real numbers31/100

Each verified outcome is scored 0-100 against the range its peers actually publish, then blended by weight and renormalised over the 2 of 3 metrics Simon Fraser University publishes.

  1. First-year retention
    86%: first-year retention
    scaled within the 80-95% range across the 16 peers that publish it → 40/100, weighted 46%
    18 pts
    “2023/24 cohort, Yr 2: Still Here 86%”
    Extracted fromSFU Institutional Research & Planning, Undergraduate Retention Report ↗· as of 2023-24
  2. Graduation rate
    69%: graduation rate
    scaled within the 62.3-90% range across the 20 peers that publish it → 24/100, weighted 54%
    13 pts
    “2019/20 cohort, Yr 6: Graduated 69%”
    Extracted fromSFU Institutional Research & Planning, Undergraduate Retention Report ↗· as of 2019-20 cohort
Outcome score31/100

Scored on 2 of 3 outcome metrics: the rest aren't published with a verifiable source, so they're left out rather than estimated.

Want the cohort-wide method behind these weights? See the full methodology.

Transparency

Partial · 53/100

How openly Simon Fraser University publishes the data families need, keeps it current, and links it to an official source. We score whether the data exists, not the results themselves. Each signal's source and its share of the 53/100 are shown below.

Publishes student outcomes
2 of 3 outcome metrics sourced
source ↗18 pts1/2
Keeps published data current
latest figure as of 2023
source ↗10 pts1/2
Sources its competitive entry average
publishes no admitted average. Our entering grade is an editorial estimate, not sourced
0 pts0/1
Backs facts with verified official links
2 verified source links
source ↗25 pts2/2
How we calculated this 53/100: the real numbers53/100

Each signal can earn a share of 100 points equal to its weight; a partly-met signal earns proportionally less. The points below add up to the score.

  1. Publishes student outcomes
    2 of 3 outcome metrics sourced
    1/2 earned → 18 of 35 pts
    18 pts / 35

    2 of 3 outcome metrics sourced

    Sourceofficial source ↗
  2. Keeps published data current
    latest figure as of 2023
    1/2 earned → 10 of 20 pts
    10 pts / 20

    latest figure as of 2023

    Sourceofficial source ↗
  3. Sources its competitive entry average
    publishes no admitted average. Our entering grade is an editorial estimate, not sourced
    0/1 earned → 0 of 20 pts
    0 pts / 20
  4. Backs facts with verified official links
    2 verified source links
    2/2 earned → 25 of 25 pts
    25 pts / 25

    2 verified source links

    Sourceofficial source ↗
Transparency score53/100

We score whether the data EXISTS and is sourced, not the results themselves. A school is never penalized here for a low outcome, only for not publishing one.

v1 scores objective, automatically-checkable signals. Editorial clarity assessments (admission rubric, website, policies), grounded in Simon Fraser University's own pages and human-reviewed before publishing, are being added.

Overview

Editorial

A research university across three Metro Vancouver campuses, recognized for computing science, communication and a large co-op program. A modern, commuter-friendly campus culture with strong industry ties.

Recognized program strengths

Computer ScienceBusinessFine & Performing ArtsTrades & TechnologyMedia & Communications

Derived from Simon Fraser University's own published flagship/known-for programs. Used to weight our program-specific rankings.

Programs

194 programs · 13 fields

Simon Fraser University offers programs across 13 fields, listed below at the program level. All 194 are confirmed on Simon Fraser University's official programs page. Program outcomes roll up into the verified school-level figures above. We don't yet have verified program-level stats for these, so we mark each Unverified rather than show an estimate.

Agriculture & Environment7 listedSchools strong in Agriculture & Environment →
Arts & Humanities37 listedSchools strong in Arts & Humanities →
Business20 listedSchools strong in Business →
Computer Science4 listedSchools strong in Computer Science →
Education14 listedSchools strong in Education →
Engineering9 listedSchools strong in Engineering →
Fine & Performing Arts9 listedSchools strong in Fine & Performing Arts →
Health Sciences15 listedSchools strong in Health Sciences →
Law2 listedSchools strong in Law →
Mathematics7 listedSchools strong in Mathematics →
Media & Communications7 listedSchools strong in Media & Communications →
Natural Sciences20 listedSchools strong in Natural Sciences →
Social Sciences43 listedSchools strong in Social Sciences →

Program list compiled from Simon Fraser University's published program areas and flagship programs. We verify outcomes program-by-program; until a program is verified its stats show Unverified.

Sources & citations

We cite every figure on this page. 2 of 5 stats currently link to a verified official source; the rest are marked Unverified until we confirm them against an official page. We never invent a citation to fill the gap.

  • Sourced. Backed by an official page we have verified: the figure appears on that page; follow the link to see it.
  • Official dataset. From an official government dataset whose per-institution figures are only available through an interactive lookup tool. The number isn't printed on a single page, so we link the dataset and state its name and year.
  • Estimate. Our editorial estimate. The school doesn't publish a single admission average, so treat this as approximate (competitive programs often run higher).
  • Computed by us. A value we calculate under our published, versioned methodology.
  • Editorial. Our own written summary. Confirm specifics on the school's official site.
  • Public info. A stable, publicly-known descriptor (campus type, residence, co-op, founding year), not a contestable statistic.
  • Unverified. A figure we state but haven't yet confirmed on an official page. We never fabricate a citation to fill the gap.
Data freshnessLast checked July 3, 2026

An automated checker re-verifies every official source on this page on a daily schedule. If a source page moves, breaks, or changes, it's flagged and the figure is held out of our rankings until it's re-confirmed against the official page. Most recent run for Simon Fraser University: July 3, 2026. How we keep this current →

Data as of June 2026. Verified official pages are listed in the sidebar. Our citation policy → · Our accuracy log →

Student reviews

No student reviews yet. Be the first.

We're building this review library the honest way: verified accounts only, one review per person, every review moderated, and we never write fake reviews to fill space. Studied or studying at Simon Fraser University? Your review helps the next family.

From the AdmissionPrep blog

Application guides from AdmissionPrep, our parent company.

Not sure what to study? Try AdmissionPrep's free program assessment ↗

Key stats

Avg. entering grade
80-92%Estimate
Selectivity
Very selectiveOur method
Domestic tuition
$6,400/yrsfu.ca ↗
International tuition
$33,000/yrsfu.ca ↗
Total enrollment
30,380Unverified · sfu.ca ↗
Campus setting
suburbanPublic info
On-campus residence
YesPublic info
Co-op
YesPublic info

Data as of June 2026. Verified student outcomes (with their official source and the year each refers to) are in the “Verified student outcomes” section. Other figures here are public and cited where confirmed.

Curious where your average lands? Try AdmissionPrep's free GPA calculator ↗

How Simon Fraser University ranks

See where it places among Canadian universities on verifiable student outcomes.

View the ranking →

Official sources

✓ Verified

Admissions links confirmed against The Maple List's source-of-truth registry.