Exams & Evaluations

Final exams

Formal final examinations are held during the examination period following the term in which the course is given (fall and winter terms only). The dates of the examination periods are listed in Important Dates as well as the Exam Schedules webpage. In some courses there is no final exam; academic standing in these courses is determined on the basis of assignments and evaluations completed throughout the term. While the majority of final examinations occur during the examination period, some final evaluations occur in-class. Refer to the course syllabus for methods of evaluation specific to a course.

It is assumed that upon entering the exam room or accessing your online exam, it is your intent to complete the exam. It is your personal responsibility to judge your own state of health before entering the exam room or accessing your online exam to assess whether you are able to write the exam. If you attend your exam or access your online exam, you are no longer eligible to defer it, except under some exceptional cases of unforeseeable medical emergencies. In most cases, once you have started a final exam, no accommodations for an alternate exam will be provided. Note that requests based on minor illnesses (e.g. nausea, headache, dizziness, etc.) will not be approved.

If you were unable to write an exam, you should review information on Illness for information on how to proceed.

If you are a student with a disability, you should be registered with the Student Accessibility and Achievement (SAA). By completing the appropriate form, recommended accommodations may be made.

Students are warned not to make travel arrangements to leave Montreal prior to reviewing the final exam schedule.

For complete information about the rules and regulations pertaining to final exams, please refer to the Exam Office website.

Other references:

  • Exam conflicts
  • What to do if your exam is scheduled on a religious holy day
  • McGill's Policy for the Accommodation of Religious Holy Days
  • Reassessment and Rereads
  • Deferred and Supplemental examinations and their upcoming deadlines
    • Deferred Exam:
      • A postponed Final Exam, wherein you were unable to write the scheduled Final Exam due to a serious health or wellness condition, or another extenuating circumstance. Requests are made via Minerva, and are approved and scheduled accordingly, per the Deferred Exams webpage.
      • The Deferred Exam will be the same weight and mode of delivery as the original Final Exam.
      • It is not possible to defer a Deferred Exam to an alternate scheduled date/time, regardless of circumstance.
    • Supplemental Exam:
      • A Supplemental Exam is in lieu of having to re-enroll in a course in which your final grade on record is any of D, F, J, or U.
      • Supplemental Exams aren’t always appropriate to your academic situation, and in some instances may actually hinder your degree progression. Review the information on the website, and meet with a Faculty Adviser to go over your options.
      • Full deadlines and regulations pertaining to Supplemental Exams are listed here.
      • Not all instructors offer Supplemental Exams for their courses, nor are they obligated to do so. To know if one is offered, consult the syllabus of the course; note that Supplemental Exams will not be offered based on individual personal circumstances. 
      • Note that there are no Supplemental Exams offered for Summer courses.
      • The weight of the Supplemental Exam may or may not be the same as that for the original Final Exam, and may or may not include the same proportion of class work as it may have for the original grade. Consult the syllabus of the course.
      • The mode of delivery for a Supplemental Exam will be the same as that for the original Final Exam (eg. if the Final Exam was in-person, the Supplemental Exam will also be in-person).
      • Once approved for a scheduled Supplemental Exam, should you fail to write it, there is no academic penalty, and no notation will appear on your academic record. However, it is not possible to defer a Supplemental Exam to an alternate scheduled date/time, regardless of circumstance.
      • The Supplemental grade will not replace the grade originally obtained in the course; both the original grade and the Supplemental result will appear on your academic transcript, and both shall be calculated in your CGPA.
  • Placement Exams
  • Evaluations & Grading
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