The Chemical Engineering department at McGill University is committed to academic excellence, and only outstanding candidates are considered for entry into the graduate programs.
A comprehensive list of the entrance requirements can be found on the Future Graduate Students' website and in the University Regulations and Resources website.
The following criteria defined by the University must be met.
Academic qualifications
Students must have a cumulative grade point average (CGPA), in both their undergraduate and master’s degree, equivalent to at least 3.0/4.0 in a recognized program in engineering or science disciplines.
Alternatively, they can have an equivalent GPA, in both their undergraduate and master’s degree, of at least 3.2/4.0 over the last two years of the programs.
Research supervision
Students interested in pursuing a graduate degree in chemical engineering, will not be accepted without a formal commitment from an academic staff member.
Students are encouraged to contact individual faculty members with whom they share research interests. Please visit our research web pages, and the profiles of our faculty. All professors have the potential ability to take on new students.
While it is not required to secure a supervisor before you apply, it is suggested that you contact the professors who you are interested in being your supervisor (s). When contacting professors, please include some information about yourself, your level of study, your ideal research areas, and your CGPA.
Please note that it is possible to be co-supervised by multiple professors.
International applicants
If you are an international applicant, you must check the equivalency of your educational background to McGill’s grading system. Educational credentials and grade equivalencies can be found Future Graduate Students' website.
English proficiency
The primary language of instruction at McGill is English and you must demonstrate an adequate level of proficiency in English to be considered for admission, unless you meet one of the conditions listed on the McGill Future Graduate Students' website.
The minimum departmental standards on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is 575 (Paper Based Test - PBT) and 90 (internet Based Test - iBT) and no less than 20 in each of the four component scores.
TOEFL test scores must be sent directly from your test center to McGill University using the Institution Code 0935.
A minimum score of 7.0 is required on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). IELTS test scores must be sent from your test center, directly to McGill University.
Required documents
When applying to the Chemical Engineering program at McGill for graduate studies, please include the following in your application:
- Two letters of reference
- CV
- Letter of intent
- Post-secondary transcripts. All transcripts that are not in French or English must be translated by an official translator.
Applicants who did not complete their bachelor’s degree in English must have their TOEFL or IELTS scores officially sent to McGill.
If you’re an applicant who studied at an accredited institution for two years or more in a program that was conducted in English, you may be exempt from submitting TOEFL or IELTS scores. To be exempt from this requirement, please include a Medium of Instruction (MOI) certificate or transcript that states that your program was conducted in English.
Graduate Research Trainees
If you are enrolled in a graduate program at another university and would like to attend McGill to only conduct research for a limited period of time (up to a maximum of 12 months), you must apply as a Graduate Research Trainee.
This category of registration is for students registered in a graduate program at their home university to conduct part of their thesis research at McGill under the supervision of a McGill professor. More Information can be found on the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies website.