Transfer Credit Policy

You are granted transfer credits toward a McGill University Bachelor of Arts or Social Work degree for coursework satisfactorily completed elsewhere according to the following regulations and procedures approved by the Faculty of Arts.

Transfer credits are accepted from higher education institutions that meet the following criteria:
The host university offers three or four-year bachelor's degrees or equivalent which are similar to a McGill Arts degree.
The host university is accredited by a college board or a government ministry to authorize the above-indicated degrees.
For a list of institutions already approved for transfer credit, please refer to approved_host_universities.pdf.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Failure to have your host university/institution pre-approved by Arts OASIS may result in NOT receiving transfer credits for courses taken elsewhere. Approval by a department or program adviser outside of Arts OASIS should be considered as a recommendation only and not as the final decision. THE FINAL DECISION FOR APPROVAL IS MADE ONLY BY ARTS OASIS.

ACCEPTABLE COURSES: Courses accepted for transfer credit must meet the following criteria:

Have academic content and be comparable in content and in method of evaluation to McGill courses which Arts students are allowed to take for credit towards their degree.

Must be applicable towards the fulfillment of the host university’s own bachelor degree requirements.

COURSE OVERLAP: Courses must not overlap with any already passed at McGill, CEGEP, another university or elsewhere. It is your responsibility to verify your record.

COURSES OUTSIDE OF ARTS & SCIENCE: Courses offered by the host university’s faculties and/or schools outside of Arts & Science are bound by the same credit limit as McGill courses; refer to Courses Outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science for details. It is your responsibility to verify your record.

NON-ACCEPTABLE COURSES: Courses not accepted for transfer credit toward your degree are:

Continuing education courses

Courses applied only toward certificates and/or diploma programs at the host institution.

Language courses offered by Language Centres or Institutes
NOTE: An exception would be considered if the language institute is under the auspices of an accredited university which will be providing the official transcript. Also, a written approval from the appropriate McGill Department Chair (on the "Arts OASIS Course Approval form") would be taken into consideration for a transfer credit assessment.

Practicum ("How to") courses; e.g., dance, fashion designing, journalism, photography, web designing, wine tasting, etc.
Volunteer programs

McGILL PLACEMENT TESTS FOR LANGUAGE COURSES:
If you are planning to take language courses at a host university you must consult the appropriate McGill language department to determine if a pre-placement and post-placement test is required.
A pre-placement test is normally required if you have not previously taken a McGill course in the same language.
Where appropriate, you must arrange to take a post-placement test immediately upon returning to McGill.
When you go to the post-placement test, take detailed course information, including the method of evaluation, a copy of your host university transcript and an up-to-date copy of your Minerva academic record.

If a letter grade system is used at the host university, courses must be passed with their grade of C, or better.
Grades of C-, Pass (P) and Satisfactory (S) are not acceptable.
The letter grade earned will take precedence over the corresponding numerical grades if both are indicated on the transcript.
Some host universities outside North America do not use the letter grade system. Refer to the following chart for the minimum passing grade for some popular study abroad countries.

NATION	MINIMUM PASSING GRADE
Argentina	4 or greater (scale of 0-10)
Australia	50%
France	10 (scale of 0-20)
Germany	1,0-4,0 (scale 1,0-6,0 where 1,0 is the highest grade given)
Netherlands	6 or greater (scale of 0-10)
Spain	5.5 or greater (scale of 0-10)
United Kingdom	40% or greater (Third Class Honours or higher)

For a full year away or exchange, you normally get 30 transfer credits.
For fall or winter term away or exchange, you normally get 15 transfer credits.
For a summer session term away, the maximum you can get is 12 transfer credits.
It is the host university's full course load for degree students that will determine the calculation of your transfer credits. If the host university has a different full course load for International students, Arts OASIS will use this requirement to calculate the number of transfer credits you will receive.
The host university's full-year course load is equivalent to 30 McGill credits; their semester term (fall or winter) course load is 15 McGill credits. Consult our list of approved_host_universities.pdf to determine what is considered a "full course load per semester".
If you complete less than the equivalent of a full course load, transfer credits will be pro-rated.

Yes. When and where you studied will determine which form you should fill in. Please read the brief description below to ensure you fill in the correct form.

A. Study Abroad Program (Independent Study Away or Exchange Program): If you are completing, or completed an approved study abroad program, your course equivalences and transfer credits must be entered on the (online) Minerva Course Approval and Transfer Credit Form linked to your study abroad application. Please log on to Minerva to complete the Form.

B. Pre-Admission to McGill Faculty of Arts: If you were granted a lump sum of transfer credits as "TRNS XXX" upon your admission to McGill Faculty of Arts, you may wish to have these credits articulated in order to use them towards program requirements. If this is your case, complete the following form:
Transfer Credit/Student Adjustment Form [.pdf] Submit this completed form to McGill Service Point for processing.

Transfer credits are processed according to the following guidelines and regulations:
The grades earned at the host university do not appear on your McGill record and do not transfer into your McGill CGPA.
All transfer credits appear on your McGill record regardless of whether the courses were successfully completed or approved towards your McGill Arts degree.
Course exemptions and transfer credits are indicated for the term(s) in which they were taken.
Courses that do not have direct McGill course equivalences are indicated using generic or specific subject codes; e.g. SOCI 3XX (for a Sociology course at the 300 level), TRNS HUMN (for a course in a Humanities subject), or TRNS LANG (for a language course not taught at McGill).
Courses given the following transfer credit codes can be used only as electives for your McGill Arts degree:
SUBJ XXX; e.g. ANTH XXX (for a course considered as general Anthropology)
TRNS GNST (General studies), TRNS HUMN (Humanities), TRNS LANG (Language), TRNS MASC ( Math and Sciences), or TRNS SOSC (Social Sciences).
If your current academic standing is Unsatisfactory or Probationary, credits will only be transferred to your McGill record once your standing returns to Satisfactory.
You are expected to maintain your McGill academic standing at the host university. If the host university grade average is not comparable to the final McGill CGPA, the designations of Distinction, Great Distinction or Dean’s Honour List may be withdrawn at graduation.

Yes. Any courses completed at another approved host institution must be transferred to your BA degree. Please ensure that you register for the courses as a special, independent, or visiting (non-degree) student. If you have taken courses at another approved institution as a degree student, credits can only be transferred once McGill has received confirmation from that institution that you have withdrawn from the university and degree program.