Important application and program information
The deadline to apply for the Winter 2027 MPFSS program is May 15th, 2026. Applications are assessed on a first come first serve basis.
The program is capped at 22 students. Only current undergraduate students can participate in the program. Selection to the program is based on academic performance and demonstration of interest and preparedness. Students must be willing and able to cooperate in groups. Selection may also reflect the program's goal of having a balanced interdisciplinary student body.
Program prerequisites
- or or equivalent proficiency;
- or or equivalent
- CGPA of 3.0 and higher is recommended. The program is aimed at 400-level (final year undergraduate) students.
How to apply
McGill Students
If you are currently registered as a McGill student, follow these steps to apply for the MPFSS program:
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Complete the McGill Panama Field Study Semester application form. This step must be completed first to ensure our system properly identifies the other documents you submit and matches them to your application!
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Upload your Letter of Intent, C.V., and McGill Transcript by clicking the hyperlinked text below corresponding to each item. Important note: If any of the links yields a Sorry, you don't have access error, right-click and open the link in an incognito/private browsing window. This should eliminate any cached credential issues. If, however, you still encounter the error, ifso.science [at] mcgill.ca (email FSIO).
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Letter of Intent here (French or English; PDF format only; maximum 2 pages).
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C.V. here (French or English; PDF format only; maximum 2 pages).
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Unofficial or Official McGill Transcript here (PDF format only).
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We will not review your application until we have received all the above listed required items.
Non-McGill students
If you are a Non-McGill student, you must apply for admission to McGill if you are accepted to the MPFSS program. Please note that you will need to pay the program fee, and the Quebec/Canadian or International tuition according to your profile. Detailed instructions will be sent to you via email. You must be registered in a degree program at your home university and have completed at least two semesters of study to be eligible.
To apply to the MPFSS Program, follow these steps:
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ifso.science [at] mcgill.ca (Email FSIO) expressing your interest in applying to the program and include the following items as attachments:
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Letter of Intent (PDF format only; maximum 2 pages; French or English).
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C.V. (PDF format only; maximum 2 pages; French or English).
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Official or Unofficial Transcript (PDF format only).
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Letter of Permission from your educational institution to participate in the program.
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- After FSIO has recieved your email with the items above, we will email you a form to complete with your information.
We will not review your application until we have received all the above listed required items.
Selection criteria
Applications are assessed by the MPFSS professors based on multiple subjective criteria, including the following:
- Cumulative grade point average
- Program and year of study
- Proficiency in Spanish
- Successful completion of an appropriate course in statistics
- A careful reading of the applicant's letter of intent
The pool of applicants varies from year to year, and because of this, the relative weighting of these criteria may also vary from year to year.
