FAQs

If your question is not answered below, you should visit the Advising page or directly email the andrew.folco [at] mcgill.ca (IGSF Student Affairs Coordinator) to set up an appointment.

The McGill e-calendar has a full description of the undergraduate programs administered by IGSF. In addition to the e-calendar, you can find information about program and course requirements on the IGSF website under Academic Programs.

In accordance with the Faculty of Arts grading policy, a required course for a program must be passed with a grade of C or better. If a student gets a D in a required course, the course must be repeated. If a student gets a D in a complementary course, the student will have to obtain credit from another course.

• If you are unable to complete the requirements for a GSFS course, tell your professor about your situation. Your professor will want to understand your situation and may ask for supporting documentation; s/he may agree to an extension.
• If agreed upon, you will receive a "K" grade.
• You and your professor must complete a "K Form", found in the right sidebar here, and submit it to the andrew.folco [at] mcgill.ca (IGSF Student Affairs Coordinator.)
• The course requirements must be completed within an agreed upon deadline and up to a maximum of 4 months after the original course end date (1 academic term).
• If the work is not submitted and the grade is not changed prior to the 4 months, the "K" is automatically changed to a "KF" or failure; the "F" remains on your transcript.
• Under extenuating circumstances and accompanied by a medical certificate, you may request an additional extension from your professor.
• Once you have completed all coursework and submitted it to your professor for grading, your professor will submit your grade to the IGSF Student Affairs Coordinator who will then submit the final grade to the Faculty for official change on your transcript.

IGSF offers awards and prizes at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Please see Awards and Funding for detailed information and corresponding deadlines.

The graduate admissions process at McGill is open to Quebec and Canadian students, as well as international students and those who are pursuing a postdoctoral degree. The process is outlined on the Future Graduate Students website, which includes information on funding, research opportunities, and a detailed page about preparing and submitting your graduate studies application.
As of October 2012, McGill’s formerly paper-based graduate application process has been replaced with a more convenient electronic version. For detailed instructions on how to apply and how to upload required supporting documents in the new version, please see: https://www.mcgill.ca/gradapplicants/apply.

The Graduate Option in Gender and Women's Studies administered by IGSF functions as a concentration (much like a minor at the undergraduate level) added to an MA or PhD program offered by one of the coordinating departments listed on the Graduate Option information page. You should follow the application instructions and program requirements outlined by the department which matches your interest. Their sites will have information regarding deadlines, application materials, and applicable tuition and fees. Once you’ve begun the application process, you will have an opportunity to indicate your interest in the Graduate Option in Gender and Women’s Studies.
Once enrolled, you will need to complete all of the program requirements for your MA or PhD degree as well as the 6-9 credits required for the completion of the Graduate Option. Your thesis or project will also need to be centrally focused on gender and/or women and/or feminism and/or sexuality. While there are no prerequisites for registration in the Option, it is not a standalone program and we do not accept applications or process admissions.
As of October 2012, McGill’s formerly paper-based graduate application process has been replaced with a more convenient electronic version. For detailed instructions on how to apply and how to upload required supporting documents in the new version, please see: https://www.mcgill.ca/gradapplicants/apply.

If you do not declare the Option at the onset of the degree, you are encouraged to do so early in your studies. You must declare the Option before you apply to graduate. You will need a minimum of two terms of study in order to complete the requirements of the Option.

Women's Studies is an interdisciplinary program and as such students come to the program with many different backgrounds and requirements stipulated by their home departments. When enrolled in the two core courses (WMST 601 and WMST 602) students will have the opportunity to thoroughly situate their own research within the disciplinary context of gender studies and feminist theory. It is expected that students in the Graduate Option will produce work in WMST 601 and 602 which demonstrates engagement with women's and gender studies directly in the context of the student's discipline or specific area of study as demonstrated in their Ph.D. dissertation, MA thesis or MA research paper. Such engagement within the core courses is a necessary condition of enrollment in the Option.

Yes, if the course is not used toward the requirements of another degree or program, it could be credited upon recommendation of your department.

Yes, if you receive permission from your own registrar’s office. If you are a student at another Quebec university, you will need to fill out the "Authorization to Transfer Credits" on CREPUQ (see 'What if I want to transfer credits?' above).

You write a memo to your department’s Graduate Program Director (GPD) declaring that you plan to or have completed the requirements for the Graduate Option in Gender and Women’s Studies. Your GPD then forwards his or her recommendation to the Graduate Option in Gender and Women’s Studies Student Affairs Coordinator who, in turn, will forward your declaration and your GPD’s approval to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office (GPSO).