Faculty of Arts Course Requirements
All required and complementary courses used to fulfil program
requirements must be completed with a grade of C or better. If
you fail to obtain a satisfactory grade in a required
course,
you must either pass the supplemental examination in
the course if this option is available, or repeat the course. Course substitution will be allowed only in
special cases; you
should consult your departmental
academic adviser.
Normally, you
are permitted to repeat a failed course only once. (Failure is considered to be
a grade of less than C or the administrative failures of J or KF.) To attempt a required course for the third time, you
must appeal to the Associate Dean (Student Affairs) for permission. If permission is denied by the Associate Dean
and/or the appeals committee, you
must withdraw from the program. If the failed course is a complementary course
required by your
program, you
may choose to replace it with another appropriate
complementary course. If you
choose
to substitute another complementary course for a complementary course in which
a D was received, credit for the first course will still be given, but as an
elective. If you
repeat
a required course in which a D was received, credit will be given only once.
For more information on course requirements, please contact a departmental adviser (www.mcgill.ca/oasis/ba/departmental/adviser).
Course Prerequisites
Faculty of Arts Course Prerequisites
The Faculty of Arts does not prevent you from registering for
courses if you do not have the required prerequisites. However, if
you lack the prerequisite course,
you must consult with the instructor of the course you want to take, to ensure that you
have the necessary background. Please note that other faculties may not allow
registration without the required prerequisite courses.
Course Overlap
Faculty of Arts Course Overlap Policy
You
will not receive additional credit toward your
degree for any course that overlaps in content with a course for which you
have already received credit at McGill, CEGEP, at
another university, or Advanced Placement exams, Advanced Level results,
International Baccalaureate Diploma, or French Baccalaureate. It is your
responsibility to consult with a faculty adviser in Arts OASIS or the department offering the
course as to whether or not credit can be obtained and to be aware of exclusion
clauses specified in the course description in this
publication. Please refer to the following website for
specific information about advanced standing credits and McGill course
exemptions:
www.mcgill.ca/students/courses/plan/transfer.
Credit for statistics courses will be given with the following
stipulations:
-
Credit will be given for
ONLY ONE of the following introductory statistics courses: AEMA 310, BIOL 373,
ECON 227D1/D2, ECON 257D1/D2, GEOG 202, MATH 203, MGCR 271, MGCR 273,
PSYC 204, SOCI 350.
-
Credit will be given for
ONLY ONE of the following intermediate statistics courses: AEMA 411, ECON
227D1/D2, ECON 257D1/D2, GEOG 351, MATH 204, MGCR 272, PSYC 305, SOCI 461. Only
when ECON 227D1/D2 or ECON 257D1/D2 is combined with PSYC 305 will credit be given for both
courses.
-
Students who have already received credit for MATH 324 or MATH
357 will NOT receive credit for any of the following:
AEMA 310, AEMA 411, BIOL 373, ECON 227D1/D2, ECON 257D1/D2, GEOG 202,
GEOG 351, MATH 203, MATH 204, MGCR 271, MGCR 272, MGCR 273, PSYC 204, PSYC 305,
SOCI 350.
-
For 500-level statistics
courses not listed above, students
must consult a program adviser to ensure that no significant overlap
exists. Where such overlap exists with a course for which the student has already received credit, credit for the 500-level
course will not be allowed.
-
PSYC 204 may not be taken if
a grade of 75% was received in an equivalent course completed at CEGEP.
Credit for computer courses will be subject to the following
restrictions:
-
Credit for courses offered
by the School of Computer Science is governed by rules specified in each
individual course description.
Courses Outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science
Courses Outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science (Bachelor of Arts Degree)
The following regulations apply to you if you wish
to take courses outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science:
-
Regardless of the
minimum credit requirement towards your
B.A. degree, you
are allowed a maximum of 12 credits in elective and/or complementary
courses taken in faculties other than the Faculties of Arts and of Science.
-
In
certain designated programs that include a number of required and complementary
courses in other faculties,
you are permitted a maximum of 30 credits outside the
Faculties of Arts and of Science. These programs are as follows:
-
Environment
-
Industrial Relations
-
Education for Arts
students
-
Finance for
non-Management students
-
Management for
non-Management students
-
Marketing for
non-Management students
-
Musical Applications of
Technology
-
Musical Science and
Technology
-
Operations Management
for non-Management students
-
Educational Psychology
-
Environment
-
Geography Urban Systems
-
Music
-
Geography Urban Systems
-
Music
-
Environment
-
Urban Systems
-
Economics and
Accounting
-
Economics and Finance
-
If
you combine any two or more of the programs listed
above,
you may not exceed 40 credits outside the Faculties of
Arts and of Science.
-
Any courses taught at McGill
University may be used towards the maximum allowed with the following
exceptions:
-
School of Continuing Studies:
School of Continuing Studies courses with a teaching unit that starts with C are not
for credit (except for CHEM and courses offered by the McGill Writing Centre).
-
Distance Education:
Refer to
Policy on Distance Education Courses in this publication.
-
For the purpose of this
policy, courses taught in other faculties and specifically listed in the Arts
or Science section of the Programs, Courses and University Regulations publication are considered as courses taught in the
Faculties of Arts and of Science.
-
For the purpose of this
policy, all courses taken to fulfil the requirements for an approved field
semester will be considered as courses in Arts or Science.
-
The maximum number of
credits allowed will be strictly enforced.
Inter-University Transfer Credit Policy for Courses Taken Outside the
Faculties of Arts and of Science
Faculty of Arts Inter-University Transfer
Credit Policy for Courses Taken Outside the Faculties of Arts and of
Science
If
you transfer from a faculty outside the Faculties of
Arts and of Science at another institution,
you may transfer up to a maximum of 30 credits under
the following conditions:
-
Only courses passed with a
grade of C or better will be transferred. Grades of C-, P or S are not
acceptable. The letter grades applied by your
former home institution take precedence over the numerical grades if
provided.
-
Decisions on whether a
course is outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science will be based on the
original faculty in which your
course was taken.
-
Refer to Policy on Distance Education Courses.
-
Transfer credits for
Continuing Education courses will be granted only if the courses can be used
towards a degree program in a faculty other than Continuing Education at your former home university.
-
You
will be allowed to take courses outside the Faculties
of Arts and of Science at McGill only if you
have transferred fewer than 12 credits, and then only up to a maximum
of 12 credits.
-
If
you
register for a Faculty of Arts program that requires additional credits
outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science,
you will be allowed to take only the number of credits
outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science required to complete your
program, as long as the total number of credits outside the Faculties of Arts and Science, including transfer credits, do not exceed 40 credits.
Inter-Faculty Transfer Credit Policy for Courses Taken Outside the
Faculties of Arts and of Science
Bachelor of Arts Inter-Faculty Transfer Credit
Policy for Courses Taken Outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science
You
will normally have counted for credit (for grades of D or better) and/or
GPA (regardless of the grade) all courses in Arts and Science, and up to a
maximum of 30 credits of courses outside of Arts and of Science.
-
You
will be allowed to take courses outside the Faculties of Arts and of
Science at McGill only if you
have transferred fewer than 12 credits, and then only up to a maximum
of 12 credits.
-
If
you
register for a Faculty of Arts program that requires additional credits
outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science,
you will be allowed to take only the number of credits
outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science required to complete your
program, as long as the total number of credits outside the Faculties of Arts and Science, including transfer credits, do not exceed 40 credits.
Policy on Distance Education Courses
Policy on
Distance Education Courses for the Faculty of Arts
A maximum of 6 credits of elective courses taught through distance
education may be used towards your
degree at McGill. Courses taught through distance education from
institutions other than McGill will be approved as transfer credits under the
following conditions:
-
the course is given by a
government-accredited, degree-granting institution acceptable to McGill;
-
the course counts for credit
towards degrees granted at the institution giving the course;
-
prior approval for the
course is obtained from Arts OASIS.
The combined total of regular course credits and distance education
course credits may not exceed the permitted maximum number of credits per term
according to Faculty regulations. Courses taught through distance education may
not be used to complete program requirements, except on an individual basis
when serious, documented circumstances warrant it. In such cases, prior
approval must be obtained from your
departmental academic adviser and the Associate Dean (Student Affairs).
Internship Courses
Internship Courses (Faculty of Arts)
Courses in English as a Second Language (ESL) – Bachelor of Arts Degree
Courses
in English as a Second Language (ESL) – Bachelor of Arts Degree
Up to a maximum of 12 credits of ESL courses, including academic writing courses for non-anglophones, are open to you
if your primary language is not English and you
have studied for fewer than five years in an English-language secondary
institution.
Note: Effective Summer 2011, the English as a Second Language (ESL) courses will be offered through the
McGill Writing Centre. These courses will also have a new prefix, CESL. For more information, please read
www.mcgill.ca/mwc and meet with a faculty adviser in
Arts OASIS.
Placement tests are required for all ESL courses. For more information on placement tests, see www.mcgill.ca/mwc/placement-test. Soon after the tests are evaluated, you will be issued a permit from the MWC for course registration.
First-Year Seminar Courses
Faculty of Arts First-Year Seminar Courses
Registration for First-Year Seminars is limited to students in their
first year of study at McGill, i.e., newly admitted students in U0 or U1. These
courses are designed to provide a closer interaction with professors and better
working relations with peers than is available in large introductory courses.
These seminars endeavour to teach the latest scholarly developments and expose
participants to advanced research methods. Registration is on a first-come,
first-served basis. The maximum number of students in any seminar is 25,
although some are limited to even fewer than that.
You
may take only one First-Year Seminar. If
you register for more than one,
you will be obliged to withdraw from all but one of
them.
For a complete listing, see First-Year Seminars.
The First-Year Seminars offered by the Faculty of Science are also open
to Arts students. For a complete listing, see Programs, Courses and University Regulations > Faculties & Schools > Faculty of Science > Undergraduate > Registration for First-Year Seminars.
Graduate-Level Courses
Faculty of Arts Graduate-Level Courses
Enrolment of undergraduate students in 600-level courses
Policy:
An undergraduate student will be permitted to take 600-level courses subject to the following conditions:
-
The student has a minimum CGPA of 3.3.
-
The student is in U3 or higher.
-
The professor of the course and the program adviser or the director of the undergraduate program provide written approval supporting the request.
-
A maximum of 6 credits of 600-level courses are allowed toward the degree.
-
The actual course number appears on the transcript.
-
The course evaluation methods and grading standards are the same for all students, whether graduate or undergraduate.
-
The regulations and practices of the Faculty of Arts are also applied to such a course.
A copy of the application form is available at the Arts OASIS counter.
Faculty of Arts—2012-2013 (last updated Nov. 12, 2012) (
disclaimer)