Strategic Plan & Priorities

Since 2023, SFU Graduate Studies has been seeking input on its future. We reached out to key SFU community members to identify essential priorities, strategies and actions for 2025-2030, while also aligning this work with What鈥檚 Next: The SFU Strategy, SFU's Strategic Research Plan and SFU's Academic Plan.

The result of this collaboration is our Strategic Plan and Priorities. We look forward to undertaking this work and to continuing to engage with SFU community members and partners to achieve our goals. We also look forward to posting progress on how we're meeting our goals below.

Graduate Studies oversees the lifecycle of graduate students from initial inquiries to application, admission, registration and convocation. Key functions of GS include the following:

admissions and recruitment support for applicants and academic units;
oversight and development of scholarships, awards, and Graduate General Regulations;
academic supports for students and supervisors;
maintenance of student records;
curricular supports including new program development;
professional development and student experience support; and
interdisciplinary graduate programming.

Graduate Studies is a highly collaborative unit that responds quickly to concerns. We provide training and resources and advocate for students, supervisors and academic units as they navigate the funding, research and curricular landscapes.

Download Graduate Studies' 2025-2030 Strategic Plan and Priorities

Graduate Studies Mission, Vision and Values

Graduate Studies Vision, Mission and Values guide the work we do as we set a shared path for the future.

Vision

To be the hub of support for inclusive excellence and equity in graduate education and research.鈥€�

Mission

We support and connect the SFU graduate community. Using an equitable approach to enhancing the graduate student journey, we honour each person's unique gifts as they pursue and share new skills and knowledge.鈥€€�

Values

Resourceful: We are a proactive and supportive unit. By using creative solutions, we adapt to the ever-changing graduate landscape.
Community-minded: We identify and bridge the diversity of our graduate community toward shared goals.
Collaborative: We engage with partners to find common ground and develop balanced outcomes.
Transparent: We are open and honest in the work we do, building trust and accountability to create a positive work environment.
Respectful: Embracing a people-first approach, we work hard to support everyone with dignity and understanding.

Progress & Updates

We're pleased to share our activities and the progress we're making on our meeting our Strategic Priorities. Check back to watch us update this page as we continue forward.

Legend for Icons

	In-Progress
	Complete

2025 - 2026

Priority Area 1: Meaningfully support all graduate students

Strategy	Action	Activity
Enhance supports for graduate students	Offer regular PD workshops in collaboration with other units on campus	Deliver new events, programs and workshops. Scheduled or already completed include: an industry mixer, "How to Fail", "Supporting Graduate Student Grant Applications", "How to write a Research Proposal
Enhance supports for Indigenous graduate students	Explore funding supports for Indigenous graduate students; improve IGES competition process	Update the website to include new information. Improve IGES competition process for applicants, programs, administrators.
Enhance supports for Indigenous graduate students	Establish and implement Welcoming Procedure for Indigenous graduate students	Implement pilot for incoming Indigenous graduate students
Support pedagogical development of graduate students	Offer pedagogical supports (e.g., workshops, pedagogy courses)	Bring GRAD 701 "Foundations in University Teaching and Learning" to SGSC for approval and reach out to partners (e.g. CEE) for supporting workshops
Support pedagogical development of graduate students	Explore and encourage more opportunities for graduate students to teach in their areas of expertise	Conduct review of teaching opportunities available at SFU
Support professional graduate students	Review and update policies and procedures with the goal of supporting professional graduate programs	Create and establish a working group
Support professional graduate students	Explore and support opportunities for increasing accessibility of professional graduate credentials	Undertake a review of the Graduate General Regulations (GGRs) with respect to professional programs
Support research graduate students	Establish and offer regular workshops to support high quality research; share external workshop opportunities with students	Collaborate with Research Commons
	Explore additional funding opportunities to support graduate student research	Create and advertise a separate webpage for promotions
	Explore and support alternative thesis models	Review GGRs associated with theses and develop a website to support the development of alternative thesis models
Enhance support for the retention of graduate students	Provide additional supports for the Graduate Progress Report (GPR)	Explore the development of a new GPR model
	Create and implement a follow-up orientation program for graduate students in years 2+	Started October 2024 with first in-person session. Moving to virtual with possible GSS collaboration on an in-person social for Sept/Oct 2025
	Provide opportunities for graduate students to better connect with SFU services and professional development opportunities	Enhance Graduate Student Engagement Committee (GSEC) and Wayfinder website and supports
Build stronger connections with units across SFU	Build stronger connections through regular visits to academic units at all 3 campuses	Establish a schedule for Graduate Studies to have a presence at each campus at least once a month
Support decolonization and integration of inclusive excellence into the work of Graduate Studies	Provide regular opportunities for professional development for staff	Provide and discuss Case Study scenarios during staff meetings to learn how to address various issues
Create and connect faculty and staff to the knowledge, funding and tools needed to successfully support graduate student enterprise	Improve and actively collaborate to ensure clarity in Faculty & Staff Resources (communication, webpages and training opportunities)	Launch a How to Library and updated Faculty and Staff pages on our website
	Collaborate with units to investigate possible changes to Base Allocation Student Support (BASS) funding model, to ensure an equitable approach to funding	Consult with units on possible alternatives, finalize model and implement new BASS formula
Streamline and clarify Graduate Studies processes	Review data collection and retention procedures from application to convocation, ensuring that appropriate data are collected and stored effectively	Update wording on application or forms to inform and reassure users that their personal information is secure and safe. Ensure compliance with the retention schedule. Establish a workflow for handling requests to remove personal data
Improve graduate data collection, reporting and storage	Work with IT teams to obtain and store accurate, meaningful, and impactful data from sources within SFU	Request changes and updates with ITS to make existing processes more efficient. Improve data collection at the source for more accurate reporting.

Priority Area 2: Strengthening graduate mentorship and supervision

Strategy	Action	Activity
Establish standards for high-quality supervision	Collaborate on the development of supervisory regulations that empower programs to create program-specific policies within a broader framework	Review and recommend changes to GGR 1.6
Establish standards for high-quality supervision	Empower academic units to develop program-specific supervisory policies	Review and recommend changes to GGR 1.6
Provide supports for high-quality supervision	Develop and implement student-supervisor agreement	Develop and implement a student-supervisor agreement
Provide supports for high-quality supervision	Develop and deliver supervisory workshops for supervisors at all stages of supervision and students at all points in their graduate career	Offer supervisory workshops for supervisors
Support the mentorship of graduate students	Provide training and workshops on supervision that align with BC commitments to UNDRIP to Indigenous students and their supervisors	Conduct a landscape analysis of other BC institions in comparison to SFU
Support the mentorship of graduate students	Provide training workshops on supervision that promote inclusive excellence	Complete literature review on supporting students with accessibility needs

Priority Area 3: Promoting high-quality graduate academics and research

Strategy	Action	Activity
Improve Graduate Studies and academic unit collaboration on recruitment	Collaborate with academic units and communicators to improve recruitment strategies	Establish a Faculty of Graduate Studies communication strategic plan; SFU Wide recruitment events; improve website for prospective students
	Enhance strategies and tools for recruitment and retention of graduate students from diverse backgrounds	Complete communication strategic plan and offer enhanced recruiting tools to academic units
	Collaborate with the VPRI office to publicize which supervisors are looking for graduate students	Promote the VPRI tool to increase awareness
Increase awareness, understanding, and success of various pathways to graduate admission and research	Promote the Accelerated Master's and other pathways into graduate education	Create an Accelerated Master's Infographic and offer an information session
Increase student success in obtaining external awards	Improve, promote and support external funding (award) resources and applications (e.g., through workshops and mentorship)	Create promotional materials and offer workshops
Differentiate among master's pathways	Explore options for clearer delineation among master鈥檚 program types	Survey academic units on completion options and differentiation among completion options; meet with working group to prioritize next steps
	Simplify fee structures for master鈥檚 programs	Explore tuition types (unit- vs. term-based) as part of the master's delimitation working group. Develop guidance for fees for new programs.
	Explore funding options for master's students	Prepare a report of master's student funding and initiate consultations.
Ensure alignment with best practices for promoting high-quality academics and research	Regularly consult with and obtain feedback from advisory bodies	Launch the Faculty of Graduate Studies Assembly
Increase recruitment of high-quality graduate students	Improve online tools for streamlined admission funding offers	Develop business requirements
Increase accessibility of graduate student funding	Implement a funding portal	Provide UAT training and roll-out to implement the graduate student funding portal
	Re-platform the existing scholarship system with an easy-to-use alternative	Complete RFP and initiate implementation
	Review all scholarship processes and eligibility to support inclusive excellence	Establish an Inclusive Excellence graduate student working group

Priority Area 4: Establish a principled approach to curricular change and development

Strategy	Action	Activity
Improve clarity around processes and develop stronger supports for academic units working on pathways into graduate programs, curricular changes and development	Ensure common terminology and encourage a university-wide approach to course units and program learning outcomes	Develop best practicies to share with units.
	Clarify policies and procedures and training around the Accelerated Master's pathway, the development of laddered pathways, and qualifying versus conditional admission	Create an acceleratated master's infographic, update how-tos, and develop processes for laddered pathways.
	Revise program proposal templates to include program outcomes and to enable supports for inclusive excellence and Truth and Reconciliation as outlined in SFU鈥檚 Academic Plan	Revise program proposal templates to include program outcomes.
	Migrate to the new SharePoint and leverage technology to support the process of curriculum review and approval	Confirm business requirements in collaboration with GS Communications and IT Services

Priority Area 5: evaluate the structure and role of Graduate Studies within SFU and beyond

Strategy	Action	Activity
Propose a meaningful structural and governance model for Graduate Studies	Explore the establishment of a Faculty of Graduate Studies	Approved March 2025 by SFU's Board of Governors
	Explore and establish a collegial governance model for Graduate Studies that ensures greater participation in decision making	Set up the first FGSA meeting for May 2025 and explore opportunities for strucutre in summer 2025
	Explore and understand how the work of Graduate Studies interacts with other units in SFU and beyond	Increase brand awareness when we become a faculty
	Digitize and modernize workflows and an IT solution to better support students, supervisors and academic units	Create microsoft forms with online work flow
Support graduate programs	Develop handbooks for Graduate Program Chairs (GPCs) and Graduate Program Assistants (GPAs)	Create GPA guide and update GPC handbook
Support graduate programs	Establish and deliver workshops for Graduate Program Chairs (GPCs) and Graduate Program Assistants (GPAs)	Establish more robust training for new and continuing GPCs (i.e., orientation + regular training at FGSA)

尤物视频

Faculty of Graduate Studies