Frequently Asked Questions

The program includes extensive learning activities delivered by world-renowned faculty members at the Department of Bioengineering (Faculty of Engineering) and the Department of Biomedical Engineering (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences). Please review the information about our program, admissions and eligibility requirements.

For your perusal, here is a recent pre-recorded information session for more details about our program.

The official length of the program is one year and four months starting in the Fall and without breaks (being a total of four semesters - Fall, Winter, Summer, and Fall). The last 2 semesters are dedicated to internships. No classes are taken during the internship semesters.

No, applicants do not need to find supervisors before applying to the program. However, during the Biomanufacturing internship, students will be assigned to academic supervisors./p>

The M.Eng. program accepts candidates from multiple disciplines including:

• Life Sciences and Medicine
• Engineering (Bioengineering, Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical, Computer)
• Pharmacology/pharmacy
• Biological Sciences
• Physical Sciences

The majority of students complete the program in one year and four months (4 semesters - Fall, Winter, Summer Fall). Unless the department has other requirements, following Time Limitation Policy, candidates for master's degrees must complete the degree within three years of initial registration. Students must email biomfg.bbme [at] mcgill.ca for any exceptions and it must be approved by the Graduate Program Director.

No, there are no application fee waivers. For more information regarding the application process, please visit Application support.

Please contact the IELTS testing board so that they can send the results directly to McGill.

Normally, if you meet any one of the following conditions, you are not required to submit proof of proficiency in English:

1. Mother tongue (language first learned and still used daily) is English
2. Has obtained (or is about to obtain) an undergraduate or graduate degree from a recognized institution in Canada or the United States of America (anglophone or francophone)
3. Has obtained (or is about to obtain) an undergraduate or graduate degree from a recognized foreign institution where English is the language of instruction
4. Has lived and attended university, or been employed, for at least four consecutive years, in a country where English is the acknowledged primary language.

If the above conditions do not apply to you, you must provide proof of English Language Proficiency. Visit the Future Graduate Students website for more information regarding English Language Proficiency.

There are no specific requirements for the CV and personal statement for our program. The following resources might help to guide you.

• Personal Statements
• How to write a CV

Yes, please visit McGill GradHub, a resource for incoming McGill graduate students.

Admitted student should have their university mail their official transcript to the mailing address specified in their admission/offer letter. Please email us at biomfg.bbme [at] mcgill.ca if your university is unable to mail the required documents.

There may be potential delays in processing of documents once received, especially during peak periods. If your official transcript does show as received in at least two weeks after your request on its status, please email biomfg.bbme [at] mcgill.ca.

You will not receive a supplemental letter from the M.Eng. Program. The supplemental letter is only applicable to other departments but not to the Biomanufacturing program. However, students admitted with a condition to complete a pre-requisite course will receive a separate letter on Slate specifying the pre-requisite course.

Admitted students with a condition to complete a pre-requisite course can view the list of pre-approved courses.

Once the course is identified, the student should complete the online form “Request for Registration/Course Changes” available on the Student Records website.

It is usually not possible to take a course before the start of the program in the Fall. However, there may be a possibility of an inter-university course credit transfer. Please, email biomfg.bbme [at] mcgill.ca to discuss the options.

Please refer to this link for more information on key academic dates at McGill.

An admitted student who experiences delays, for instance, in the processing of their study permit may arrive one or two weeks late. However, please keep in mind that it will be the responsibility of the student to seek guidance from their respective course lecturers and professors to make up for the delayed start.

Please view the following links for more information on how to register for courses and to recognize common registration errors.

• Using Minerva to register
• Having trouble registering?

IMPORTANT: Some courses have limited class size. Students are encouraged to quickly register for all their courses for both Fall and Winter as soon as course registration opens.

In general, students are self-funded. Non-thesis Master’s students are expected to cover tuition and other fees themselves. However, students are encouraged to explore external funding and grants. Please view the following sites for more information on potential funding opportunities:

• Graduate funding
• Masters Student Funding Opportunities

Please refer to the Student Account’s website for more information. For questions about tuition, fees, payments, and charges, please contact Student Accounts directly at student.accounts [at] mcgill.ca.

Graduate tuition and fee information can be found on the Student Accounts website.

Please refer to the following websites for funding and financial aid opportunities.

Students who have previously attended school in Quebec would already have a Permanent Code. See the "Student Information Legal Documents" website for complete details.

Please contact this Service Point unit should you have further questions.

Please refer to this link on Student Housing for more information.

Biomanufacturing Graduate students undertake an eight (8) month hands-on internship in the biomanufacturing sector. The internship placement process is administered in close collaboration with industry partners, faculty members, and funding organizations. During the first semester, students will be assisted in the internship placement. For more information regarding the internship and partners, learn more about our joint internship program.

Students are allowed to find their internship independently, but the internship should be in the biomanufacturing field and approved by the Biomanufacturing Graduate Program Director.

To request a review of an independent internship role, please email the internship/co-op role description to biomfg.bbme [at] mcgill.ca.

Biomanufacturing graduate students have been matched to organizations in Montreal, Toronto, Prince Edward Island (PEI) or elsewhere in Canada, and Boston. Please note that these locations may change over time and the program will assess your needs and where you would fit best.

Students are also encouraged to seek out their own internship, whether locally or internationally, as long as it’s in the biomanufacturing field and approved by the Biomanufacturing Graduate Program Director.

Over the two internship semesters, the evaluation will be done using a formal grading (% system) to engage both the students and the supervisors in a formal evaluation process. However, the final grade on the transcript will be a pass/fail.

Yes, you are considered full-time since the internship is a requirement of a full-time program.

International students must obtain a co-op work permit to undertake their internship. It is highly recommended that you apply for the co-op work permit at the same time as your study permit.

For information about applying for the co-op work permit, please refer to McGill's International Student Services (ISS) website.

Non-thesis Master’s students are expected to cover tuition and other fees themselves, but internships are normally financially supported by partner organizations and might be supported through the Mitacs program.

Non-thesis students are charged strictly per credit for tuition and ancillary fees (other fees are a flat rate).

McGill Service Point will provide international students with the post-graduation work permit (PGWP) letter, not the program.

If you complete your program courses in December, the letter is usually available on Minerva in mid-February for you to download. However, should you need it sooner, please contact McGill Service Point.

Please refer to the convocation website for more details.

All the degrees in Biological and Biomedical Engineering are conferred at the Health Sciences A ceremony.

Graduates pursue careers in industry, healthcare, academia, and government. Some of the companies in the sector include Moderna, Sanofi, Biovectra, GSK, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), Health Canada, SMEs, and other companies in the US and Europe that are in the field of biomanufacturing for health application (e.g. Merck and Co., Genetech, Amgen, etc,). The list of companies is certainly not exhaustive.

The short answer is yes. The degree is an M.Eng., and from the academic point of view would be recognized by most institutions. Yet, admission into a PhD is a decision made by a principal investigator (PI) that would favor the students in their discipline.