Quebec Studies

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The Quebec Studies Program is an undergraduate program in the Faculty of Arts that fosters interdisciplinary studies in Quebec history, culture, and society. We aim to enhance McGill students' academic experience by giving them the opportunity to immerse themselves in Quebec's language, history, and culture. Quebec Studies offers a Minor Concentration which aims to give students an interdisciplinary overview of Quebec’s historical and contemporary realities by taking advantage of a community engagement learning approach within the Montreal community. More about the program can be read in the drop-down menu below, outlining the program's overall goal, its advantages, graduating students' career prospects and the minor requirements:

Goal

The goal of the Minor in Quebec Studies and Community-Engaged Learning is to give students an interdisciplinary overview of Quebec's historical and contemporary realities and a community-engaged learning experience in a Montreal organization. Students are offered the possibility of linking academic course content with hands-on experience within a Montreal community organization. The minor in Quebec Studies and Community Engaged-Learning is a program that allows students to enrich their knowledge, increase their personal and professional ties, while discovering the issues related to equity, diversity and inclusion in the Montreal context. Students from the Faculty of Arts, as well as those coming from the Desaultels Faculty of Management, Faculties of Law or Education or other McGill Faculties can gain many advantages from pursuing this multidisciplinary Minor.

Advantages

Here are some of the key advantages for choosing the Minor:

Discover Quebec's diverse historical and contemporary realities
Enhance your McGill experience by being connected to the city
Develop key career interdisciplinary skills and competencies
Apply in-class knowledge to Montreal's social real-life context
Increase your network and build connections in Montreal

Career Prospects

Because of its interdisciplinary objectives and content and also with the community engagement learning stage, Quebec Studies graduates can follow different pathways.

Whether choosing graduate school or the job market, the Minor in Quebec Studies and Community-Engaged Learning aims to develop key competencies such as critical thinking, oral and written communications skills, intercultural fluency and leadership competencies to favour a successful transition into the workspace. Many graduates have decided to pursue graduate studies by attending the following graduate programs:

Law
Political Science
Sociology
Teacher Education
Journalism and Communication Studies
Urban Planning

Other graduates have decided to start their professional careers with their undergraduate degree by working as:

Civil Servants within Canada's, Quebec's or Montreal's Public Service
Community Workers in the following sectors: cultural, social, policy, immigration, health and education
Freelance writer and independent researcher

Minor Requirements

Required Courses 9 credits

Required courses normally completed in the following order:

QCST 200 - Introduction to the Study of Quebec (U0 or U1)

QCST 300- Quebec Culture and Society (U1 or U2)

QCST 440 - Contemporary Issues in Quebec (U2 or U3) - Winter 2026

Complementary Courses 9 credits

Of these 9 credits, 6 credits must be core courses or courses approved by the Program Director and 3 credits must be taught in the French language and can be chosen from French as a Second Language course offerings

https://www.mcgill.ca/flc/courses-and-programs

At least 3 of the 9 complementary credits must be at the 300 level or above.

The selection of courses will be made in consultation with the Program Director and will vary depending on the major concentration or honours program of each student.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of core courses.