How do you open the syllabus in a browser?
Three clicks from anywhere in Canvas, following Instructure’s student guides:
- In Global Navigation, click Courses, then click the course name. If the course isn’t in the list, click All Courses.
- In the Course Navigation menu inside the course, click Syllabus.
- Read the syllabus description at the top, then scroll for the Course Summary.
Syllabus is one of the links new courses show by default, alongside Home, Announcements, Assignments, Discussions, Grades, People, Pages, Files, Outcomes, Quizzes, Modules, Collaborations and Lucid (Whiteboard). Instructure adds a caveat in the same guide: “Your instructor may hide some links.”
What’s on the Canvas syllabus page?
Instructure splits the page into three parts: “the syllabus description, the syllabus table, and the sidebar.”
| Part | Who writes it | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Syllabus description | Your instructor | “the course description, a brief introduction, class guidelines, weekly reminders, and other important information” |
| Course Summary (the table) | Canvas, automatically | “a list of assignments and calendar events.” Past-due items are highlighted in gray; undated items are listed alphabetically. |
| Sidebar | Canvas | A mini calendar with due dates shaded gray, and, if the course uses weighted assignment groups, the percentage of each group. |
Two details are easy to miss. Clicking a shaded date in the mini calendar jumps to that item in the table. And dates follow your own time zone setting: Instructure says “all course dates and times will display in your local time, but if you hover over the time, you can also see the course date and time.”
The group percentages are the same weights a grade calculator needs. If you want to see how they combine, the Canvas grade calculator takes them directly.
How do you find the syllabus in the Canvas Student app?
- On the app’s Dashboard, tap the course.
- Tap Syllabus. On Android you may need to swipe to reach it in the course menu.
- Tap the Summary tab to see the date-ordered list of assignments and events.
The app mirrors the browser. Instructure’s iPhone guide says “If the Syllabus is not available in Course Navigation, it will also be hidden from view in the app,” and both app guides say a Course Summary hidden in the browser is hidden in the app. The Android guide adds a fallback: “You can always access Syllabus information in the Notifications link.”
How do you find the syllabus from an old course?
Open Courses, click All Courses, and look under Past Enrollments. Instructure describes those as courses “that have concluded but are still available as a read-only archived course,” where you can view course material and grades but can no longer participate. Whether the list appears at all is up to your school: “Access to concluded courses may be restricted by your institution.” Our past courses guide covers the rest of that page.
Why can’t I find the syllabus? A troubleshooting table
We built this table from what each Instructure guide below says causes a missing or empty syllabus. The fix column is ours, matched to the cause.
| What you see | Likely cause | What to try |
|---|---|---|
| No Syllabus link | Your instructor hid it. “Your instructor may hide some links.” | Check Home, Modules, Files and Pages for a syllabus page or PDF, then ask your instructor through Inbox. |
| Home is the syllabus | The syllabus is set as the course Home page. | Nothing is wrong; Home is the syllabus. |
| No course menu | The Course Navigation menu is collapsed, and that choice applies to all your courses. | Click the Menu icon in the course to expand it again. |
| List, but no text | The Course Summary is generated automatically; the description above it is whatever your instructor wrote, which may be nothing. | Look for a syllabus file in Files or Modules, or ask your instructor. |
| Missing in the app | The app copies the browser’s Course Navigation. | On Android, try the Notifications link. Otherwise open the course in a browser. |
| No group percentages | “If you cannot view assignment group totals, your instructor has restricted this feature.” Or the course doesn’t weight groups. | Check the Grades page, or ask your instructor how the course is weighted. |
| Times look off | Your time zone setting differs from the course’s. | Hover over a time to see the course date and time. |
| Course not listed | Not published, not started, or enrollment not set up yet. | See why a Canvas course isn’t showing up. |
Can you print or download a Canvas syllabus?
Instructure’s student syllabus guide doesn’t describe a print or download button for the Syllabus page, so the practical route is your browser’s own Print command (Save as PDF works too). If your instructor posted the syllabus as a file, download the file instead: Instructure’s course access chart lists downloading files among what students can do both during a course’s access dates and after they end.
Where Silent Student fits
We make Silent Student, a paid desktop app for Mac and Windows from El Dorado Ignition LLC that signs in to your Canvas as you, in its own browser, and works assignments in due-date order (passes start at $4.99 for a week). You don’t need it to find a syllabus; the steps above are all Canvas. Your school’s academic-integrity policy still applies.
More: Silent Student on Canvas.
Questions people ask
Where is the syllabus on Canvas?
In your course, in the Course Navigation menu on the left. Click Syllabus. Your instructor can also set the syllabus as the course Home page.
Why is there no Syllabus link in my Canvas course?
Instructors can hide Course Navigation links. If Syllabus is hidden, check the Home page, Modules, Files and Pages, or ask your instructor where the syllabus is posted.
How do I find the syllabus in the Canvas Student app?
Tap the course on the Dashboard, then tap Syllabus. If the link is hidden in the browser version of the course, it is hidden in the app too.
Can I see the syllabus from a past course on Canvas?
Often, yes. Go to Courses, then All Courses, and open the course under Past Enrollments. Past courses are read-only archives, and some schools restrict access to concluded courses.
Why are some items on my Canvas syllabus gray?
Instructure says assignments or events that are past their due date are highlighted in gray in the Course Summary.
Can I print the Canvas syllabus?
Instructure's student syllabus guide does not describe a print button. You can print the page from your browser, and if your instructor posted the syllabus as a file, you can download that file.
Sources
All fetched and checked November 2, 2026.
- How do I use the Syllabus as a student? (Instructure, student guide)
- How do I use the Course Navigation Menu as a student? (Instructure, student guide)
- How do I view the Syllabus in the Canvas app on my iOS device? (Instructure, iOS guide)
- How do I view the Syllabus in the Canvas app on my Android device? (Instructure, Android guide)
- How do I view all my Canvas courses? (Instructure, student guide)
- Course Participation Access During and After Course Dates (Instructure, resource document)
How this guide was made. We read each Instructure guide listed above on November 2, 2026 and quote them directly. The troubleshooting table matches the causes those guides name to a fix; the fixes and the print advice are ours. We wrote the guide with AI assistance and checked each quote against its source.
Related guides: Why is my Canvas course not showing up? · How do you see past courses on Canvas? · Canvas missing assignments · What can teachers see on Canvas? · How do What-If grades work in Canvas? · All guides · Canvas · Canvas grade calculator
Written by the company that makes Silent Student. Silent Student is not affiliated with or endorsed by Instructure. Canvas and Instructure are trademarks of Instructure, Inc.