Go Beyond: Exchange & Transfer
Looking to enrich your academic experience? McGill offers three flexible pathways for undergraduate and graduate students to study beyond their home campus:
- Exchange Programs – Collaborate with world-class conservatories in Asia, Europe, and Oceania while paying tuition to your home university.
- Visiting Student Opportunities – Take courses at McGill or another institution when no formal exchange agreement exists.
- Quebec Inter-University Transfer (IUT) – Register for courses at another Quebec university with your faculty’s approval.
Explore eligibility, application steps, and deadlines in the tabs below. Whether you want international exposure or local flexibility, these programs help you broaden your musical and academic horizons.
Exchange Program
The Schulich School of Music of McGill University offers exchange programs with several prestigious music conservatories in Asia, Europe and Oceania. As an exchange student, you will be able to share your wealth of knowledge and experience with other top students from Canada and throughout the world. Your peers and internationally recognized professors will enrich what you learn in the classroom and the laboratory.
Students can go on exchange for one semester or for the full year. We do not offer summer exchange programs. We welcome applications from incoming and outgoing undergraduate and graduate students.
Participants in an exchange program pay tuition fees to their home university.
Here is a list of music exchange partners:
- Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM), Beijing, China
- Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock, Rostock, Germany
- Mozarteum Salzburg University (Music), Salzburg, Austria
- Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo, Norway
- Queensland Conservatorium, Griffin University, Brisbane, Australia
- Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), Manchester, United Kingdom
- The Hague Royal Conservatory, the Hague, The Netherlands
- The Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, Finland
In addition to the music conservatories mentioned here, students may also apply for exchange with a university which accepts applicants from all faculties. Explore the complete list of exchange partners on the website below.
Application steps for INCOMING EXCHANGE (undergraduate and graduate)
If you would like to come to McGill on exchange, you should first contact either the International Studies or Study Abroad Office at your home university. They will be able to answer your questions and determine your eligibility for exchange to McGill. They will also provide you with pertinent information such as application requirements. We work with several exchange partner universities throughout Canada and the world. If your home university has an exchange partnership with McGill and you would like to take courses offered by our music faculty, we ask that you first fill out the Exchange/Visiting Interest Form. The information you will provide in this interest form will help determine whether you meet our faculty’s requirements and if we have room to accommodate your registration request in the field of studies you are interested in. Further application details from the admissions office will be provided if we accept your request.
Once you are accepted to be an exchange student at the Schulich School of Music, you will be paired with an academic advisor who can help you with course selection and the registration process.
Registration information for incoming exchange students is found on the following websites:
Information on immigration requirements and housing options for incoming exchange students is found here: McGill Abroad: Immigration and Housing
Application steps for OUTGOING EXCHANGE (for McGill undergraduate and graduate students)
Refer to the Learning Abroad webpage for application dates and instruction.
- McGill offers a Mobility Bursary Program to students in an undergraduate program to help defray some costs associated with exchange programs. All students who have been approved for an exchange term abroad can apply for this bursary.
- If you are applying for a full-year exchange, you must fill out a webform in addition to the MINERVA exchange application. On the Minerva exchange application, you will select FALL as the exchange term and indicate in the comments section on the MINERVA application form that you would like to do a full-year exchange.
- Applicants must include a list of courses they wish to take at the host university on the exchange application form.
- If you are selecting one of the music exchange partners listed above, you will also be required to provide a 10-minute video-taped audition before the application deadline. The taped audition must be recorded within the last three months and be emailed to studentaffairs.music [at] mcgill.ca with the subject line: Exchange Application.
- You may list up to four host schools on the Minerva exchange application form. Listing only one host school does not increase your chance of being nominated for exchange.
Interested in learning more about Exchange Programs or READY TO APPLY?
➔ Follow the 7 Steps to Going on Exchange
Advising for Incoming and Outgoing Exchange Students
- Advising for undergraduate students: studentaffairs.music [at] mcgill.ca
- Advising for graduate students: graduatestudies.music [at] mcgill.ca
Visiting
If the universities do not have a bilateral exchange agreement, a student may take courses at the host institution as a Visiting Student.
Visiting students apply and pay tuition directly to the host university.
Incoming Visiting Student
Students from a university outside of Quebec who do not have an exchange agreement at McGill may apply as a Visiting Student. You must obtain official permission from your home university before you can apply as a Visiting Student. You should choose courses in the same discipline that you pursue at your home university.
Application Instruction
- Forward the letter of permission from the home university to admissions.music [at] mcgill.ca
- Visit the program website to view the list of available courses, then submit the Exchange/Visiting Interest Form before the application deadline. This is to determine if we can accommodate your requested classes.
- Further application details from the admissions office will be provided if we accept your request.
Application Deadlines
|
Semester |
Application deadline |
|---|---|
|
Fall (late August to September) |
April 1 |
|
Winter (January to April) |
October 1 |
Registration
You will be assigned a McGill Student ID and a McGill email address when you are accepted as a visiting student. With your McGill ID number or username (i.e. your McGill email address), you will use Minerva to register.
- For undergraduate students, see Registration website for details
- For graduate students, see Registration for graduate students
Outgoing Visiting Student
This section is for undergraduate students only. Graduate students are not eligible to apply for Independent Study Away.
If the university you are interested in attending does not have an exchange agreement with McGill, you may apply as a Visiting Student through the Independent Study Away Program. This means you apply for and pay tuition to the host university independently as a visiting student. Students should contact the host university to verify the application requirements as a visiting student.
Visit Independent Study Away website for more information.
Eligibility conditions
- You must be an undergraduate student who is currently enrolled in a full-time degree program.
- BMus students should be entering U2 or U3 of their bachelor program and have a minimum CGPA of 2.70.
- BMus students should preferably have completed the required theory and musicianship courses for their program at McGill before leaving for an Independent Study Away.
Application deadlines
|
Semester |
Application Period |
|---|---|
|
Winter |
October 1 to December 15 |
|
Summer |
December 5 to April 1 |
|
Fall or full year application [Fall & Winter] |
December 5 to June 15 |
- Submit an Independent Study Away request on Minerva within the application period.
- To apply, go to: MINERVA > Student Menu > Student Records Menu > Exchange/Study Away Menu > Request for Study Away
- Applicants must include a list of courses they wish to take at the host university on the Study Away application form.
- Print a letter of permission from Minerva once your application has been approved. Students will share this letter with the host university to complete their application as a visiting student.
- Students whose application has been approved must meet with a Program Advisor to review course selections and transfer credits before applying to the host university.
Quebec Inter-University Transfer
The Quebec Inter-University Transfer (IUT) Agreement allows you to register at another educational institution in the province of Quebec in addition to your registration at the home university. With your home faculty's permission, you may register at any Quebec university for three or in some cases six credits per term depending on degree residency regulations.
Tuition is paid directly to the host university. The host institution will automatically submit your grades to McGill for any completed and incomplete courses.
IUT Checklist:
- Visit McGill's IUT website (Inter-University Transfer) to submit an application for "authorization to transfer credits".
- Once this application is approved by both the home and host universities, you must register for the course that was approved at the host university.
- You must adhere to the registration deadlines of the host university.
- You must also ensure that the McGill Class Schedule permits you to take these courses without conflict.
- If you decide to drop or withdraw from the approved course(s), you will need to drop or withdraw from the course(s) using the host university registration method and submit this change on the online IUT application.
