Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

A founding faculty at Simon Fraser University, the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) is also the largest and most diverse, comprising 33 per cent of the student body and 29 percent of total faculty members. 

FASS is home to innovative programs and world-class researchers who are advancing important research in British Columbia and addressing global challenges. With a range of events that engage the public—from free lectures on society's most pressing issues to workshops and poetry readings—FASS is fiercely dedicated to cultivating and building community.

By the numbers:

• Ranked #5 in Canada for “arts and humanities” and “social sciences” (Times Higher Education, 2023)
• 9,937 undergraduate students (33% of all undergraduate students at SFU)
• 773 graduate students
• 300 continuing faculty members
• 14 endowed chairs and professorships
• 9 Canada Research Chairs
• 27 departments, schools, and programs
• 14 research centres and institutes
• 30+ dynamic departments, schools and programs, outlined here

Highlights

FASS holds a rich array of academic achievements, impactful programs, and outstanding researchers.

Our Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies began as the 1st Women's Studies Program in Canada and is also home to Western Canada’s only endowed chair in gender studies, the Ruth Wynn Woodward Chair.

Alongside many unique interdisciplinary programs for students, many of our departments also offer field school opportunities around the world—from Italy or the Lake District in England, to Greece or Prague—where students are encouraged to build networks, gain experience and develop international perspectives.

People of FASS include scholars like Marianne Ignace, a tireless champion for Indigenous language revitalization in Canada and director of the Indigenous Languages Program (INLP). Under her leadership, this unique program is taking action on reconciliation, building partnerships with Indigenous communities to offer undergraduate and graduate studies in 18 Indigenous languages across British Columbia and Yukon.

The faculty’s many distinguished researchers also include people like:

• Gail Anderson, world-renowned expert in entomological forensic investigation.
• Krishna Pendakur, a top Canadian economist researching poverty and economic inequality.
• Brianne Kent, a Canada Research Chair studying sleep changes and cognitive deficits in people with Alzheimer’s.
• Kora DeBeck, an advocate whose intersectional research and advocacy addresses evidence-based drug policy reform.
• Deanna Reder, a Cree-Metis scholar specializing in understudied Indigenous literary archives in Canada.

Our faculty also has outstanding initiatives that engage our local community: Developing Minds, is a collaboration between FASS and the Faculty of Education to facilitate vital discussions on teaching critical thinking in K-12 classrooms; and the Department of English’s Writer-in-Residence program attracts acclaimed authors like Fred Wah, Madeleine Thein, and katherena vermette who offer writing consultations to people within our community and dynamic public lectures open to all.  

Learn more

Nicoleta Amponsah
Director of Advancement
nicoleta_radoi@sfu.ca

Laura Penner
Advancement Officer, Leadership Giving
laura_penner@sfu.ca

Lauren Gilbert
Advancement Officer, Leadership Giving
lauren_gilbert@sfu.ca