Enrolment Mix

The mix of students who make up a university’s student body impacts on its overall culture, student life and learning, physical space and personnel requirements, as well as the revenue it generates. For over five years, one of McGill’s top priorities has been to increase enrolment for research Master’s and PhD students. Complementing this initiative, the University now plans to broaden the scope further by also increasing enrolment of non-research Master’s students. Graduate and Post-Doctoral Studies (GPS) will continue to work collaboratively with Faculties and other units to increase funding, improve supervision, enhance recruitment and retention, and create better administrative support for all graduate students.

Services to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, administrative units and professors will be improved. GPS is now being restructured specifically around Graduate Enrolment Management, which will significantly improve opportunities for partnering with Faculties and helping facilitate initiatives from all academic and administrative units, providing a stronger focus on achieving agreed-upon Strategic Enrolment Goals. There will be closer coordination of Admissions, Funding, and Recruitment and Retention both within Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and between GPS and the Faculties, Schools, Departments, and Programs.

These measures will open doors for enhanced research opportunities for students and aim to provide more appropriate critical mass for academic collaboration in certain disciplines. Academic staff will benefit from improved research and networking opportunities, while administrative staff in these areas will see more efficient processes and better tools for admitting and paying students, for example.

A major push will be made to maximize McGill’s success in obtaining external graduate and post-doctoral fellowships. This growth in student funding will result in higher quality recruitment and increased retention at McGill. Its success depends on better strategic planning, closer collaboration between Graduate and Post Graduate Studies (GPS), Research & International Relations (RIR) and academic units, and increased engagement by faculties, departments and academic staff.

Universities the world over face a challenge in reducing the length of time it takes for graduate students to complete their studies. The advantages of accomplishing this are significant, from faster career progression rates for students to decreased needs for supplementary funding, to better departmental efficiencies. Making this happen will require improvements in program design, supervisory skills and setting milestones, among others. But of equal importance to the success of this initiative is the support and engagement of the university’s academic leaders and a fundamental shift in McGill’s culture towards graduate education.

Information on enrolment strategies for McGill’s undergraduate students can be found in the Strategic Enrolment Management Plan.

Further details on Enrolment Mix projects will be posted here as they become available.