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1. Course withdrawals
You can add or drop courses yourself (on Minerva) until the course change ("add/drop") deadline at the start of each term. Courses dropped by this deadline are removed entirely from your record.
After the add/drop deadline, your registration record is final. However, you can still withdraw from courses on your own until the withdrawal without refund deadline. Courses withdrawn during this period will remain on your transcript, but will not be calculated into your GPA/CGPA. They will be noted on your transcript with a grade of “W” (withdrawn).
- Withdrawal with refund: A “W” will be noted on your transcript, and you will receive a tuition refund.
- Withdrawal without refund: A “W” will be noted on your transcript, but no refund will be issued.
Important:
- Withdrawing from your last course in a term is considered a University withdrawal. This will make your student status inactive. If you are registered in courses in future terms, you will be withdrawn from those courses. To resume your studies, you will need to apply for Readmission.
- If you simply stop attending a course, this does not count as a withdrawal. If you do not formally withdraw, you will receive a grade of “J” (failure due to absence), which is calculated as a zero in your CGPA and remains permanently on your record.
- If you have received an “NA” in a course, you cannot withdraw through Minerva. You must contact Service Point to request the withdrawal.
Multi-term/Spanned courses (i.e. courses with D1 and D2 sections): The deadline to withdrawal with a FULL refund is the Fall term withdrawal deadline (e.g., the third week of the Fall term). A “W” will appear for the D1 section, the D2 section will be removed from your record, and you will receive a tuition refund for both sections. The deadline to withdrawal with a PARTIAL refund is the Winter term add/drop deadline (e.g., the second week of the Winter term). A “W” will appear for the D1 section, the D2 section will be removed from your record and you will receive a tuition refund for the D2 section only.
How to withdraw from a course BEFORE the deadlines:
- Go to Minerva > Student > Registration > Quick add/drop
- Select the term in which you are enrolled.
- Find the course you want to withdraw from.
- Choose “withdraw” in the action column and confirm the change.
- Check your Minerva transcript to make sure the withdrawal was processed.
- Repeat these steps for each course you want to withdraw from.
Missed the deadline?
Permission to withdraw late from a course (i.e. after the final withdrawal deadline) has passed, or from a deferred exam (i.e. after a deferred has been granted and a grade of L appears on your Minerva transcript), may be exceptionally granted for severe, documented and unforeseeable extenuating circumstances. These requests are handled and approved by Service Point - not by professors, SOUSA, your degree advisor or any other office at McGill.
If you wish to request permission to withdraw late from a course, you must complete and submit the Late Course Withdrawal Form and provide any relevant supporting documentation to Service Point, who will review your request and inform you of their decision. It is not possible to request a late course withdrawal if the final exam for the course has been written.
Deciding whether to withdraw
Not sure whether to withdraw? Speak with a degree advisor to review your options.
A grade of “W” has no impact on your CGPA. A small number of withdrawals over the course of your studies is generally not a concern. However, a pattern of repeated withdrawals may require explanation.
Be sure to review all deadlines carefully. If you do not take action by the appropriate deadlines, you will remain registered in the course and receive a final grade.
2. University Withdrawals
Withdrawing from all your courses in a term is considered a formal University withdrawal. You must initiate this process yourself. Not attending classes does not constitute a withdrawal.
You must withdraw from all your courses before the deadline for University withdrawal.
Missed the deadline?
Permission to withdraw may be granted only for serious, well-documented extenuating circumstances (e.g., illness or death of a family member). To request this, submit the Late Course Withdrawal Form with supporting documentation to Service Point.
Before proceeding with a University withdrawal, you should:
- Consult McGill's official regulations concerning University Withdrawal.
- Review the Readmission policy and procedures, especially if you plan to return to your studies in the future.
- Consult with your degree advisor to discuss how a University withdrawal may affect your progress toward your degree, your academic goals, and your access to university services.
- Consult the Student Accounts website for information about fee refunds, fees owing (tuition, housing, meal plans) and implications for Scholarships and Student Aid funding.
- Be advised that access to your McGill email account will be impacted if you withdraw from the university.
Important:
- If you withdraw in the Fall term, you are considered withdrawn for the entire academic year (Fall and Winter). You will need to apply for readmission to return in a future term, including the Winter term.
- Depending on when you withdraw, it may be too late to apply for readmission for the Winter term. Be sure to review the Readmission page carefully before making your decision.
- If you are readmitted, your tuition rate may differ from when you were last enrolled.
3. Leave of absence (LOA)
A Leave of Absence (LOA) is a specific administrative status indicating that a student is not enrolled or participating in a given term. Student records are official documents used for academic, financial, and government reporting, and must accurately reflect a student’s enrollment activity. For this reason, an LOA can only be requested BEFORE the withdrawal with refund deadline for that term. Once a student has been enrolled past this point, it is not possible to retroactively indicate that they were absent. In these cases, the appropriate process is to request a late withdrawal rather than an LOA.
Eligibility
Per the Undergraduate Leave of Absence Policy, you are eligible to apply for a LOA for reasons related to:
- Maternity or parenting
- Personal or family health
- Professional development
- Required military service
- Delays with or a lapse in valid immigration status
In addition to having a valid reason for requesting a LOA, note the following criteria:
- Newly-admitted students are not eligible for LOA in their first term.
- Students who have not received any credits for courses are not eligible for LOA.
- You must be in Satisfactory Standing when requesting a LOA. In exceptional cases, the Faculty of Science may consider students in Probationary Standing. Students in Unsatisfactory academic standing are not eligible for LOA.
- Timing:
- You must be (or have been) actively registered for the term in which you are applying for the LOA.
- Your request must be made before the end of the withdrawal with refund deadline of the term in which the LOA is requested.
- LOA cannot be granted retroactively.
- You must clear any holds on your academic record, as they may delay approval of your LOA.
- If approved, the Faculty may impose conditions and/or require documentation attesting to your readiness to return before allowing you to resume your studies.
Additional Considerations
- LOA can be granted for a maximum of 52 weeks.
- Documentation to support your request is required.
- You are encouraged to discuss your options with a degree advisor.
- The LOA notation - but not the reason - will be reflected on your academic record.
- If you are subsequently asked to provide the reason for your LOA by an immigration authority, graduate school admissions committee, or otherwise, you will be responsible for providing the explanation.
- All decisions will be communicated to you via your McGill email address.
- If you do not resume your studies or request an extension by the date of your expected return from LOA, you are considered withdrawn and your status will be changed to "inactive." If you then wish to resume your studies at a later date, you must appeal for Readmission.
How to apply
- Submit your LOA request by email, to your assigned Degree advisor (your advisors name can be found on your Unofficial Minerva Transcript).
- Attach relevant supporting documentation to your email request.
If approved:
- The Faculty may impose conditions and/or require documentation attesting to your readiness to return before allowing you to resume your studies.
- For the term(s) in question, your courses will be dropped, and a ‘Leave of Absence’ notation will be entered on your academic record.
- If enrolled in spanned multi-term course (eg. D1/D2 courses), the D1 portion will be withdrawn without refund, whereas the D2 portion will be dropped.
- You will have access to course registration in the subsequent term and will not be required to apply for readmission.
- If you do not re-enroll in the subsequent term, your record will be inactivated. You will need to appeal for Readmission to resume your studies.
- You are not permitted to register for courses at McGill or at another University while on LOA.
- No transfer credits shall be considered or approved for courses taken elsewhere during your LOA.
- International students:
- Contact International Student Services regarding how the LOA may impact your student status.
- Refer to the following for information regarding possible impact to your rate of tuition: