McGill.CA / Undergraduate Admissions

French language proficiency

The language of instruction at McGill University is English. However, certain McGill programs include a mandatory internship, or ‘stage’, which will be completed in a hospital, clinic, social service centre, or school setting where the ability to communicate proficiently in French is essential. Proficiency in French is necessary for students to effectively and safely work with and support patients, families, and team members and for the successful completion of the programs listed below.

Programs that require proof of French proficiency: 

  • Human Nutrition (applicants to B.Sc.Nutr.Sc. Dietetics, only)

  • Nursing (applicants to B.Sc.(N), only)

  • Physical & Occupational Therapy (B.Sc Rehab.Sc.)

Criteria to meet French proficiency requirements

If you answer 'yes' to at least one of the following questions you will be exempt from providing further proof of French proficiency. You must then upload a single page document which includes your full name, your McGill ID #, the question below to which you answered ‘yes’, and your signature. Do not attach other supporting documents unless specifically requested in your Minerva checklist.

Please review the following carefully as there are different exemption criteria for the B.Sc.Nursing from the other programs.

If you are applying to the B.Sc.Nursing

  1. Have you completed secondary 4 and 5 at a school in Quebec where French was the primary language of instruction?
  2. Will you have graduated from a high school program where French is the primary language of instruction e.g. Baccalauréat Francais, Certificat d'enseignement secondaire supérieur (Belgique), Certificat de maturité (Suisse))?
  3. Did you study at a French-language school during the final two consecutive years of secondary school?
  4. Do you have a Diploma of Collegial Studies (DEC) granted by a French-language CEGEP before the introduction of the Épreuve uniforme de français in 1998?
  5. Will you have passed the Épreuve uniforme de français langue d'enseignement et literature at a French CEGEP?
  6. Will you have you completed 60 credits or more of an undergraduate program in at a French-language university in Quebec?
  7. Have you been enrolled for 2 consecutive years or more in a full-time undergraduate program in a francophone university outside of Quebec?

 

If you are applying to the B.Sc.Nutr.Sc. (Dietetics) or the B.Sc.Rehab.Sc. (PT) or (OT)

  1. Will you have you completed both secondary school and CEGEP in Quebec?
  2. Will you have completed secondary school at an institution where French was the primary language of instruction?
  3. Will you have completed CEGEP in Québec at a French-language institution?
  4. Will you have completed a pre-university diploma from a program where French was the primary language of instruction (e.g., Baccalauréat d'une académie de France, certificat d'enseignement secondaire supérieur de Belgique, Certificat de maturité de Suisse).
  5. Will you have you completed at least 60 credits in an undergraduate program at a French-language university in Québec?
  6. Will you have you completed at least two consecutive years in a full-time undergraduate program whose primary language of instruction is French, at a university outside of Quebec?

 

If none of the above exemptions apply to you, you will need to submit the results for one of the approved certificates or tests listed below.

​​​​​Acceptable means to demonstrate French proficiency

Students are expected to obtain a level of B2 or higher (level 6 on the Échelle Québecoise (EQ)) on any of the tests listed below. A copy of your results must be uploaded to your Minerva account.

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