Inter-Faculty Transfer

Eligibility

At the time of review of your application, you meet the following conditions (meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission):

1. Your current student status:
   1. You are a McGill student currently enrolled in an undergraduate degree program offered in a Faculty other than the Faculty of Arts (note: the BA&Sci degree is administered by the Faculty of Science) and will not be graduating with that degree; or
   2. You are not currently enrolled but have not graduated from McGill or another university and have simply been absent from McGill.
2. Your CGPA:
   1. Is at least 3.00 in your current faculty, including your current winter term; or
   2. Is below 3.00 in your current faculty after your current winter term, but you have completed a minimum of 12 credits of Arts courses with grades of B or better:
      • EACH Arts course grade must be at least a B or better (ie. not just a B average of all Arts grades);
      • If you are not in Satisfactory academic standing after your last term prior to submitting the application (i.e. your CGPA is below 2.0), submit the following:
        1. Online Statement of Activities form:
           • Log in using your McGill/ personal email address.
           • If applicable, list EACH TERM/YEAR OF ABSENCE since your last enrolment at McGill, describing your activities during this time.
           • List any challenges you faced, how these issue(s) would be under control or no longer applicable, and the steps you will take / resources you will use to improve your academic trajectory.
        2. If your academic difficulties were the result of health/mental health issues, submit a signed Healthcare Provider Declaration and/or medical note confirming the CURRENT state of your health and that you are ready to resume your studies.
           • Submit the completed form via The Arts Service Desk Portal, choose the option 'Make a request' , then 'IFT Supporting Documents' as the category. Under the 'Summary' indicate *IFT DOCUMENT – YOUR NAME AND MCGILL ID NUMBER – MED NOTE*.
3. Additional Notes:
   1. Arts courses are courses offered/administered by the Faculty of Arts. Consult the eCalendar to determine which faculty administers a course.
      • Eg. PSYC 100 Introduction to Psychology (3 credits) | eCalendar - McGill University, and note the text just before the Overview which states "Offered by: Psychology (Faculty of Science)".
   2. Follow the regular undergraduate admissions process (ie not the InterFaculty Transfer process) so as to apply for a new degree for either of the following scenarios: 
      • You have graduated or are graduating from your current faculty and would like to complete the BA degree as a 2nd undergraduate degree; or
      • You were never registered in an undergraduate degree program at McGill (for example, you were registered in a program offered by Continuing Studies or you studied at McGill as a visiting, exchange or special student) and wish to now complete a BA degree.

Other Considerations

For inter or intra-faculty transfers, review the transfer process in detail, and consult the Arts OASIS InterFaculty Transfer checklist

• BA or BTh: refer to the "Apply" tab regarding how to request Intra-faculty transfer to either the BA or BTh degree.
• BSW: refer to Transfer to BSW for further information on transferring to the BSW degree.

Before Submitting an Application

1. Familiarize yourself with the BA degree, the program options, and the transfer rules and regulations.
   1. You will be required to complete at least one program component offered by an academic unit in the Faculty of Arts in order to graduate with a B.A. degree (list of Arts programs available here)
2. If approved, your rate of tuition will very likely change. For more information, please visit the following websites:
   • General tuition information
   • Degree Transfers and Break in Enrolment
   • Legal Documents (for Quebec residents)

Credit transfer:

• You may retain your pre-McGill advanced standing (a maximum of 30 credits for A-levels, IB, French Baccalaureate, CEGEP, AP exam; a maximum of 60 credits for university transfers)
• You will retain a maximum of 30 credits of non-Arts or Science courses completed under your previous Faculty. If you transfer from the B.A. & Sc. degree or the B.Sc. degree, you will be permitted to transfer a maximum of 12 non-Arts or Science courses.
• You will retain credit for all Arts and Science courses completed under your previous Faculty.
• At the time you transfer to Arts:
  • Your CGPA will remain unaltered, for any and all credits completed, including Arts and non-Arts courses (up to 30 credits non-Arts or Science courses or 12 non-Arts or Science courses if you transfer from the B.A. & Sc. degree or the B.Sc. degree).
  • Any advanced standing granted at the time of your original admission to McGill will remain, up to a maximum of 30 credits for non-university advanced standing (for example, CEGEP, IB, French Baccalaureate, A-Levels, Advanced Placement Exams) and up to 60 credits for pre-McGill University Transfer Credits).
  • No credits will be granted for successfully passed McGill Placement Exams.
  • The CGPA from your previous degree will continue into your BA degree.

Courses taken under the S/U grading option?

S/U grades appearing on your McGill record as part of your previous degree are irrevocable and will remain unaltered, which may in turn impact your program requirements in your new BA program. Once you have been admitted to the BA, consult with an adviser to go over your options.

Approved for Exchange or Independent Study Away (ISA)?

Indicate in the “Comments” section of the Minerva Inter-Faculty transfer application if you've applied or been approved for a forthcoming Exchange or ISA, and note the following:

1. Your study abroad term will be evaluated according to Faculty of Arts eligibility requirements. Arts OASIS cannot guarantee that your approved term abroad will be honored if you are accepted to transfer to the BA degree.
2. For ISA:
   • Summer: this is handled by your current faculty, including the transfer of credits.
   • Fall or full-year:
     • Your term abroad will not transfer to the BA program (ie. you will have to cancel your term abroad).
     • You must have successfully completed a minimum of 12 credits in the McGill BA degree with a McGill CGPA of 2.70 or greater before submitting an application for an Independent Study Away. You will not be able to complete an Independent Study Away in the first year in the BA degree.
3. For Exchange:
   • Prior to accepting the offer to transfer to Arts: Contact the Arts OASIS Study Away team to determine whether the exchange can be transferred to the BA degree.
   • You will not be eligible for a Winter exchange in your first year in the BA degree, or until you have successfully completed a minimum of 12 graded McGill credits in the McGill BA degree with a McGill CGPA of 3.00 or greater.

Note: Studies completed at another university MUST be pre-approved in order to be considered for transfer credit. After-the-fact requests for transfer credit will be refused.

Deadlines

Inter-Faculty Transfer Deadlines

Apply

STEP 1: Submit a Minerva Application Form

• Log into Minerva and click on Student Records Menu, then Faculty Transfer/Readmission Menu
  • If you are currently-registered in a non-Arts undergraduate degree, select the "Request for Inter-faculty Transfer" option
  • If you are not currently-registered in a non-Arts undergraduate degree, select the "Request for Readmission" option (you can apply for readmission directly to the BA degree even if you were not previously a BA degree student)
  • If you are currently-registered in the Bachelor of Social Work undergraduate degree or the Bachelor of Theology undergraduate degree, select the "Request for Intra-faculty Transfer" option
• Notes:
  1. Submit only one application even if you are considering more than one Arts department for your major or honours program. After you are admitted to Arts you will be able to change your major yourself using Minerva.
  2. If you are currently registered in Continuing Studies and you were previously registered in a McGill undergraduate degree program from which you did not graduate, you cannot use the Minerva application form. Instead, you must submit your application to transfer by sending a request via the ARTS Oasis Service Desk Portal.

STEP 2: Include a Study Plan

In the “Comments” field of your application, include your study plan (refer to the Degree Planning page), confirming:

1. Your programs (Major/Minor Concentrations or Honours/Joint Honours programs)
2. The remaining number of credits
3. Your expected term of graduation

STEP 3: Submit your supporting documentation

• What to send:
  • No need to send your McGill transcript, we will access that directly
  • For courses taken elsewhere since being admitted to McGill, unofficial copies of your transcripts are required concurrently with your Inter-Faculty Transfer application:
    • If you studied at another university prior to, or during studies in your current faculty and your current faculty is not Arts or Science; or
    • If you will be taking courses at another university during the upcoming summer term; or
    • If you interrupted your studies and during your absence completed courses at another university
• How to send:
  • Submit PDFs of your unofficial transcripts via the ARTS Oasis Service Desk Portal using your McGill email account or the current email address you provided (if your McGill email account is inactive) with the subject line: INTER-FACULTY TRANSFER DOCUMENT – UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT - YOUR NAME AND McGILL ID NUMBER. An unofficial transcript of studies taken at another institution is acceptable pending receipt of an official transcript.
  • Have your final, official transcript(s) sent from the institution(s) you attended. McGill accepts electronic final official transcripts sent through a recognized digital credential service provider or directly from the issuing institution(s). Recognized digital credential service providers include (but are not limited to):
    • MyCreds
    • Parchment
    • Credentials Solutions
    • Bureau du cooperation interuniversitaire (BCI)
    • National Student Clearinghouse
    • Digitary
    • My eQuals
    • eScrip-safe
    • Other: have your official transcripts sent directly from the issuing institution to officialschooldocs [at] mcgill.ca. Documents that are determined to be unofficial will not be accepted. Transcripts in languages other than English or French must be accompanied by an English or French translation prepared by the school. If your school cannot provide a translation, you must send a translation from a certified translator.

The Decision

Faculty decisions are normally made during the months of June and July and will be entered on the Minerva transfer applications. A notification will be sent to your McGill account notifying you of a "change of status" to your application. You must then log onto your Minerva transfer application to read the faculty decision, conditions and any attached documents.

• Note: In some cases the status may be changed to "file incomplete". Please read the details of what information or documents are missing and promptly follow through as requested. Incomplete applications cannot be processed and will be cancelled.

Accepting the offer

1. Read the conditions of your acceptance in the "External Comments" field of your Minerva application and any attached documents.
2. ACCEPT the offer by the indicated deadline.
   • If our offer expires before you have been able to make a final decision, notifiy us once you have decided to transfer to the BA degree and we will renew our offer.
3. By accepting our offer, you also accept all conditions outlined in the Minerva module and attached documents.
4. Your Minerva record will be updated within two weeks to indicate "Bachelor of Arts" for the upcoming academic year.
5. Log onto Minerva and navigate to "Student Records Menu" and to the "Registration Menu" to do the following:
   1. Indicate your Multi-track programs (Major and Minor Concentrations)
   2. Make course changes, if necessary
   3. Add or change your graduation term, if necessary

Note: If you have submitted transfer applications to several degrees and are still waiting to hear from your other applications, PLEASE DO NOT ACCEPT OUR OFFER until you are certain that you wish to transfer to the BA degree.
 

Declining the offer

If you decline our offer, or fail to accept it by the deadline, you will remain in your current faculty.

If you have been refused

All decisions are final, and reconsideration is not possible. If your application to transfer has been refused, carefully read the basis of refusal and any recommendations indicated on your Minerva transfer application.

Additional information

1. Consult the Arts OASIS InterFaculty Transfer checklist
2. Re-read the information on this website carefully.
3. If you still have questions, submit a request for assistance via the ARTS Oasis Service Desk Portal.