We want to help you choose the graduate program that is right for you, so you will thrive and do great work.
This section will help you get started, and covers the complete admissions process from choosing a program, to what steps to take once you have been admitted.
Steps to applying
- Find your area of research interest – research conducted at McGill is often interdisciplinary and cuts across disciplines, programs and academic units (departments, schools or institutes). Sometimes it is not obvious which unit, or program, houses that research area. We recommend that you:
- Refer to the program list to see if your research area is covered – use the search engine above (within the red banner, on the right) to develop a list of departmental sites to explore further.
- Search and review faculty member profiles to locate potential advisors with similar research interests as yours – think laterally, look in other departments for researchers working in related fields. Visit our Connecting with a Supervisor page for guidelines on how to find and connect with potential supervisors.
- Contact the faculty member to ascertain if they are working on research projects in your area. Make sure to ask them if they are looking for graduate students to work on these projects.
- Choose your program – now you need to choose the program that is right for you. Although renowned as a research-intensive University, we offer a wide variety of professional programs which are not necessarily research-based. Explore the programs section to view our entire program list.
Contact the academic unit – before you apply, you should contact the academic unit offering the program in order to establish a relationship. The Graduate Program Coordinator/Secretary will be your main contact person within the unit and will provide you with pertinent information.
They can answer your questions about program requirements, the admissions process, supplemental materials, funding opportunities and potential supervisors. However, they will recommend that you consult the faculty profiles on their department website and consult with individual researchers for specific information about research projects and opportunities in your area.
In very rare circumstances, an applicant who wishes to engage in interdisciplinary thesis research, either at the Master’s or Doctoral level, involving supervision by faculty members from two different departments (each of which is authorized to offer its own graduate programs), may undertake an Ad_Personam_Program.
- Know the application deadline for your program
- Prepare your application – Familiarize yourself with the required information and supporting documentation before completing the online application form. Consult the application checklist before you apply.
- Apply – apply online. You must pay a $100 non-refundable fee or your application will not be processed.
- Upload/send documents – After submitting your application for summer and fall 2013 programs administered by Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (i.e., Master’s or Doctoral degrees), applicants must upload transcripts from each university-level institution attended so far, as well as other documents required, by using Minerva. If the supporting documentation for summer or fall 2013 program applications is not uploaded on time, your file may be delayed and miss the current admission round. Please advise the Graduate Program Coordinator of the academic department reviewing your application of extenuating circumstances which may cause you to upload a document after the due date. They will tag your file accordingly so that the committee will know when to expect the outstanding documentation. For winter 2013 admission, letters of recommendation, transcripts and all other supporting documents should be sent directly to the department concerned. Please check the individual program pages for mailing addresses and detailed application information.
- McGill will request letters of recommendation on your behalf from referees you identify on the application form.
- Track the status of your application online using Minerva.
- Next steps - Once you have received your admission offer, you can visit the newly admitted section of our website for details on what to do next. Please note that uploaded transcripts will be considered as unofficial. Once you are admitted you will be required to supply final, official transcripts before enrolling for courses.
