Post-Baccalaureate Diplomas

The Post-Baccalaureate Diploma offers those who hold a bachelor’s degree the opportunity to develop and follow a program of individualized study, not usually provided by graduate or professional degrees. The program responds to changing educational needs, where mid-career advancement or changing career goals demand new knowledge and skills.

The PBD may be completed on a full or part-time basis. Students in a Post-Baccalaureate Diploma Program complete a total of 30 or more units of work (approximately one year of full-time study).

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences offers the following Post-Baccalaureate Diploma (PBD) programs:

• PBD in Criminology
• PBD in First Nations Studies
• PBD in French and Education
• PBD in Gerontology
• PBD in Humanities
• PBD in Legal Studies
• PBD in Police Studies
• PBD in Social Policy Issues
• PBD in Arts and Social Sciences (allows students to pursue a PBD in any FASS discipline)

Admission

First, you will need to apply for formal admission to SFU as a degree holder.

Your initial program status upon admission will be “Arts Non-Degree Seeking”. As soon as you have been granted this admission status, you will need to contact the department advisor for the department in which you will complete at least 15 upper division units and provide a copy of your first undergraduate degree transcript. You will then work with the advisor to complete a Post-Baccalaureate Diploma approval form outlining the specific requirements for your program.

Program Requirements

• Completion of at least 30 units of third and fourth year courses (and some graduate courses, if appropriate). 
• A minimum of 15 units must be in a discipline or subject area which most closely fits the learning goals of the student.
• A minimum grade point average of 2.5 on courses applied towards the diploma.
• Completion of lower division requirements, if applicable.
• Completion of the diploma within 5 years of admission to the program.
• At least 18 out of the 30 required upper division units for the diploma must be completed at SFU, including 9 units in the student’s area of concentration.

Transfer Credit

• Transfer credit for work done at other institutions, before or after admission to the program, may be approved toward fulfillment of the program provided that at least 18 of the 30 required upper division units, including at least nine units in the student’s area of concentration, be taken at Simon Fraser University.
• Transfer credit is normally only valid for approved courses taken within ten years of the diploma student’s completion term.
• Transfer credit for use toward the diploma is granted only on approval of the registrar, the appropriate faculty post baccalaureate diploma committee, and the dean of the appropriate faculty.
• Credit for work done at Simon Fraser University or transfer credit for work done elsewhere prior to admission to the program may be approved provided that at least 15 of the 30 required upper division units, including at least eight units in the student’s area of concentration, normally be taken after admission to the program.
• Units applied to one diploma may not be applied to another Simon Fraser University certificate or diploma or degree, and vice versa.