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Supplemental Examinations
To write a supplemental examination for a course, you must submit a request on Minerva (www.mcgill.ca/minerva) by going to Student Menu > Student Records Menu > Supplemental Exam Application.
The following rules and conditions apply:
- You must be in Satisfactory or Probationary Standing;
- You must have received a final grade of D, F, J, or U in the course;
- A $35 non-refundable fee for each supplemental exam application is assessed at the time of application and charged directly to your McGill account;
- Only one supplemental examination is allowed in a course;
- Supplemental examinations are available for most courses given in the Faculties of Arts, Science, Education, Religious Studies and Social Work;
- Supplemental examinations are not available for courses administered by Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Management, Music, or Engineering;
- Special permission is required if you want to write supplemental exams totalling more than 8 credits;
- The format of the supplemental examination (e.g., multiple-choice or essay questions) will not necessarily be the same as the final examination, so you should consult the instructor about the format;
- The supplemental result may or may not include the same proportion of class work as did the original grade; the instructor will announce the arrangements to be used for the course by the end of the course change period;
- The supplemental grade will not replace the grade originally obtained, which is used in calculating the GPA; both the original mark and the supplemental result will be calculated in the CGPA;
- For courses in which both a supplemental examination and additional work are available, you may choose the additional work, or the examination, or both; where both are written, only one supplemental mark will be submitted, reflecting marks for both the supplemental examination and the additional work;
- There are no supplemental examinations for Summer courses;
- Additional credit will not be given for a supplemental exam where the original grade for the course was a D and you already received credit for the course;
- No supplemental examinations are available if you fail to achieve a satisfactory grade in a course with a deferred examination;
- Supplemental examinations in courses outside your faculty are subject to the deadlines, rules and regulations of the relevant faculty.
You must frequently verify the status of your supplemental exam application on Minerva for any additional information required by your Student Affairs Office. Once your application has been approved you will receive a confirmation email at your McGill email address.
If you register for a supplemental examination but find yourself unprepared for it, you should not write the exam; except for the loss of the application fee, there is no penalty for missing a supplemental examination. You should consult your Student Affairs Office for further information. It is important that you also see a faculty adviser to talk about your options and the effects that your request may have on your studies. For more information, see www.mcgill.ca/students/advising.
You must verify the date and time of the supplemental examination, and make yourself available to write the exam. Dates can be found at www.mcgill.ca/students/exams/dates.
Revision, June 2011. Start of revision.
Note for Continuing Studies: Availability of supplemental exams and the conditions under which you will be permitted to take them are different in each academic area.
Revision, June 2011. End of revision.
Note for Faculties of Arts and Science (including B.A. & Sc.): It
is important that you also see a Faculty adviser in Dawson Hall to talk about your options and the effects that your request may have on your studies.
For more information, see www.mcgill.ca/students/advising.
Note for the Faculty of Engineering: Supplemental examinations are available for courses in the Faculty of Science (including Year 0 (freshman) math and science courses) and the Faculty of Arts. Supplemental examinations are not available for the following Engineering courses: CHEM 233, COMP 208, EPSC 221, MATH 262, MATH 263, MATH 264, MATH 270, MATH 271, MATH 363, MATH 381 and PHYS 271.
Revision, August 2011. Start of revision.
Note for the Faculty of Law: Regular supplemental examinations are available to a student who has failed a course, but who is not required to withdraw from the Faculty. Regular supplemental examinations may be written in up to two courses that do not exceed a total of seven credits together, or in any one course even if it exceeds seven credits.
Supplemental examinations are written at the Law Faculty in the month of August. For more information, see Supplemental Examinations at www.mcgill.ca/law-studies/information/exams.
Revision, August 2011. End of revision.
Programs, Courses and University Regulations—2011-2012 (last updated Aug. 16, 2011) (disclaimer)