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On this page: Why our program? | Admission deadlines | Academic requirements |Required documents | Financial support | Finding a supervisor |
Why Microbiology and Immunology at McGill?
- We have established an excellent graduate program that provides state-of-the-art training, with an emphasis on molecular aspects of virology, immunology, and microbial genetics/physiology.
- Our graduates have obtained positions in universities, research institutes, various government agencies as well as in the private sector.
- Our goal is to help each graduate student become an independent scientist. This is achieved through research training coupled with graduate seminars, selected special topics courses, and journal clubs.
- We foster close ties with hospitals and research centres across Montreal to promote multidisciplinary research.
- Each program is tailored to fit the needs and backgrounds of individual students. Most students begin as M.Sc. candidates in September or January. M.Sc. students who wish to transfer into the Ph.D. program are considered for promotion after three academic terms. Applicants with a M.Sc. degree are eligible for direct admission to the Ph.D. program.
- Competitive offers of support are one of the cornerstones of our Department's graduate studies program. For more information, please see financial support
Application deadlines for graduate programs
| To start in September: |
- Canadians: June 1
- International applicants: March 15
| To start in January: |
- Canadians: September 15
- International applicants: September 15
| To start in May: |
- Canadians: January 15
- International applicants: January 15
Academic requirements
- Master of Science
- Doctor of Philosophy
Applicants must hold a B.Sc. degree (or equivalent) from a recognized institution and are expected to have attained a high academic standing equivalent to or better than the CGPA of 3.2 at McGill University.
To find information about degree requirements for international students, please go to International Degree Equivalency
Applicants should have a solid educational background in the areas of physical and biological sciences. This background need not include a heavy concentration in microbiology and immunology, as appropriate courses may be taken in this Department during graduate residence. Although it is convenient to have applicants trained in microbiology prior to their arrival, it is recognized that students educated in other institutional programs with widely differing contents may add strength to our own graduate program. Depending on their academic background, students may also be required to take advanced undergraduate courses in immunology, microbial physiology and genetics, or virology.
Students who have satisfactorily completed a M.Sc. degree in microbiology and immunology, a biological science, or biochemistry, or highly qualified students enrolled in the departmental M.Sc. program, may be accepted into the Ph.D. program, provided they meet its standards (a high academic standing equivalent to or better than the CGPA of 3.2 at McGill University).
Students changing graduate programs within our Department (for example transferring from M.Sc. to Ph.D. program) must also submit their online application on Minerva. For more information about transferring within the Department, please go to the Internal guidelines page
All supplemental application materials and supporting documents must be uploaded directly to the McGill admissions processing system. See www.mcgill.ca/gradapplicants/apply/submitting-your-documents for information and instructions.
- Two letters of reference
On the online application form you must provide the names and email addresses of at least two professors who are familiar with your academic work. McGill will contact these referees and invite them to upload references on your behalf. Letters must be from academic or other professional employers who can evaluate your potential for graduate study and/or speak knowledgeably about your accomplishments.
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Transcripts
Your complete record of study from each university-level institution (incluidng McGill) you have attended to date. Uploaded copies will be considered as unofficial; final, official copies will be required once you are offered admission. Transcripts in languages other than English or French must be accompanied by English or French translation provided by the institution issuing the transcript or by a certified translator.
- Letter from a prospective supervisor
Potential students need to identify a research supervisor among the Department's faculty members as part of the application process. You may find information about our academic staff on Professors at Lyman Duff and Associate Members pages. Adjunct members may serve only as co-supervisors while the primary supervisor must be a full or associate member of the Department.
Consider carefully the research interests of individual faculty members and contact them to discuss possible projects. Please see the section below on Finding a supervisor for more information.
Please indicate on your application (section 5) your top 3 to 5 choices for your supervisor. Applicants must submit a letter from a prospective supervisor to be considered for acceptance into our graduate studies program.
- Proof of proficiency in English
All international students whose mother tongue is not English are required to submit the proof of proficiency in English and the results should be submitted along with the application.
Departmental requirements are higher then those set by the University.
- TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language): minimum acceptable scores are:
- IELTS (International English Language Testing System): a band score of 7 or greater
- McGill Certificate of Proficiency in English offered by the Centre for Continuing Education.
- or 4 years working in English speaking institution
iBT PBT 95 (no less than 20 in each of the four component scores) 575
For more details and the list of exemptions please see English language proficiency page.
All TOEFL and GRE writers who wish to have their scores sent to McGill University should use Institution Code 0935 on their TOEFL or GRE application.
Please note that the GRE is not mandatory for admission.
***As of October 2012, McGill’s formerly paper-based graduate application process has been replaced with a more convenient electronic version. For detailed instructions on how to apply and how to upload required supporting documents in the new version, please see: http://www.mcgill.ca/gradapplicants/apply/prepare***
Financial support
The Department of Microbiology and Immunology has adopted a minimum for graduate student support from the graduate supervisor. All newly admitted students are guaranteed a basic stipend of $14,000 per annum plus tuition fees. Departmental scholarships may supplement this minimum stipend, but if a trainee receives an external scholarship (CIHR, NSERC or FRSQ studentship), then the supervisor may be justified in stopping the stipend emanating from his/her funds.
The written commitment of the supervisor will specify details on the specific amount of the guaranteed annual stipend, the date on which the stipend will begin, the source of the grant monies from which the trainee is to be paid, and the duration of the award from the agency or organization. This written information must be shared with the graduate student. In turn, the student must annually declare all sources of financial support that are received through university sources.
For information regarding McGill fees, please visit Graduate studies fee tables 2010-2011 or Cost of Attendance page
Finding a supervisor
Finding a supervisor might be the most important but challenging part of the application process. As a graduate student you will work under your chosen primary supervisor for the selected program (M.Sc. and/or Ph.D.). The supervisor plays a crucial role in proposing and guiding your research and enabling your future career in Microbiology and Immunology following graduation.
At McGill University only Professors with a primary appointment at McGill may directly serve as a supervisor. The list of Professors who are eligible to directly supervise graduate students can be found at http://www.mcgill.ca/microimm/members/professors. Adjunct members, whose primary appointment is not with McGill University, can co-supervise a student jointly with a full or associate member employed by McGill University as the primary supervisor.
When looking for a supervisor, start by carefully reading the information on Graduate Studies http://www.mcgill.ca/microimm/students/graduate and the Professors’ pages http://www.mcgill.ca/microimm/members/professors. After that you should be able to determine who is working in the field that interests you. If you cannot find sufficient information on the McGill website, look up some of the Professors' publications. Once you narrow your list down to a couple of researchers, please contact them directly by e-mail. In your letter you should specify your experience, educational background and your achievements in a brief Curriculum Vita. Describe what type of research you would like to do and why you have chosen them for your supervisor. Explain why you would be an excellent addition to a particular lab and demonstrate which points from your CV prove that you can succeed in an academic environment. You may add your scanned transcript to demonstrate that your grades fulfill the Departmental admission requirements.
Please bear in mind that the Professors receive far too many letters to be able to reply to all of them. If someone doesn’t reply, it most likely means that they are not recruiting graduate students for this term. Our spam-protected messaging system (which is used on our website) works fine and all e-mails sent through this system are delivered directly to the intended recipient. It is solely the applicant’s responsibility to find a supervisor and obtain their agreement to supervise their graduate research. The graduate studies committee will generally confirm the admission status of an applicant in writing within one month of receipt of your application.
Required documents