McGill University offers graduate Master's and doctoral degrees, graduate diploma and certificate programs, and graduate courses to students who have already obtained a Bachelor's degree or its equivalent, and who have maintained a high academic standing.
Graduate admissions are processed in two stages:
- The academic unit (department, school or institute) reviews and ranks each application, taking into account the value of the application and the resources available (supervision, funding, laboratory space, class size, etc.). Selected applicants for admission are then recommended by the academic unit to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office;
- The GPSO verifies the credentials of the applicant and, if admissible, will issue an official letter of acceptance.
Admission requirements
Applicants should be graduates of an accredited university and hold a Bachelor's degree equivalent to a McGill degree in a subject closely related to the one selected for graduate work. This implies that about one-third of all undergraduate courses should have been devoted to the subject itself and another third to cognate subjects. The following list mentions minimum requirements for all graduate-level admissions.
High academic achievement: The minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) is 3.0 out of a possible 4, or a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.2 out of 4 in the last two years of full-time studies. In many academic units, however, a higher CGPA is required for admission. High grades are expected in courses considered by the academic unit to be preparatory to the graduate program.
Proficiency in English: The language of instruction at McGill University is English. Students must write term papers, examinations and theses in English or in French. Non-Canadian applicants whose mother tongue is not English and who have not completed an undergraduate degree from a recognized institution where English is the language of instruction are required to submit one of the following as documented proof of competency in oral and written English prior to admission:
- the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL):
- Paper-Based Test (PBT): a minimum score of 550
- Computer-Based Test (CBT): a minimum score of 213
- Internet-Based Test (iBT): a minimum overall score of 86 with each component score not less than 20.
- The TOEFL Institution Code for McGill University is 0935.
- the International English Language Testing System (IELTS):
- a minimum overall band score of 6.5.
Several individual academic units impose higher or additional requirements. Some academic units will allow international students whose TOEFL or IELTS score falls below the program's minimum requirement to participate in the Parallel Admission Program.
Other requirements: Several units also require that applicants submit test scores (GMAT, GRE, etc.), essays to demonstrate writing abilities, or other documents. Please verify the academic unit's application instructions (further) to obtain a list of requirements.
Important note: Please note that meeting the minimum admissions requirements for a program does not guarantee admission, due to the availability of resources in the academic unit (supervision, funding, laboratory space, class size, etc.). For the complete text of graduate admission policies, please refer to the "Admission" section of our General Information, Faculty Regulations and Research Guidelines.
Students who meet the minimum entrance requirements of the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office and who wish to take one, or at most two, graduate-level courses per term (6 credits) without intention of proceeding to a degree or diploma are termed Special Students. After completion of a maximum of 12 credits, an applicant may not continue as a Special Student. Candidates for Special Student status must apply and pay the application fee every year.
If graduate Special Students subsequently become candidates for higher degrees, they may receive academic credit for relevant graduate courses taken as special students.
Students who wish to apply to take undergraduate courses only, must apply as Special Students in the undergraduate faculty concerned, even if they already hold degrees.
This program is designed to assist academically qualified applicants lacking the minimum English language requirement for graduate studies at McGill to adjust to the learning, research and teaching environment of a major research-based North American university where the usual language of operation is English. The program will ensure that otherwise suitably qualified applicants for admission into graduate studies programs will develop the appropriate level of English-language competency and adjust to the learning and living environment to be encountered in graduate studies at McGill within one calendar year of their admission to the program. Those students who fail to meet these requirements will be asked to withdraw. Students admissible to the program will have been screened by the staff of the graduate program into which they wish to be admitted, and recommended to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office. If the applicant is deemed by the GPSO to be admissible on purely academic grounds but has a TOEFL score below the entrance requirement of the graduate program, by no more than 27 points (paper-based scale), 20 points (computer-based scale), or 6 points (Internet based scale), he/she will be admitted to the Parallel Admission Program for a period not to exceed twelve (12) calendar months. In order to start his/her studies in the graduate program into which he/she had been admitted he/she would have to obtain the McGill Certificate of Proficiency in English according to the rules and regulations in force in the Department of Languages and Translation within the twelve-month period, or pass the TOEFL with a score meeting the admission requirement of the graduate program for which the student has applied. The cost of this program is $16,000 CDN, to be paid at the time of confirming acceptance to the program.
Funding
Entrance fellowships
There are two types of entrance fellowships:
- Major recruitment fellowships are allocated by a committee of the GPSO, upon nomination by the academic units. These are worth between $10,000 and $25,000 and are renewable. The Richard H. Tomlinson Fellowships constitute the flagship of our recruitment fellowships program.
For information please see GPSO Recruitment Fellowships - Recruitment fellowships administered by academic units, where available. These are allocated in $5,000 units, and can be combined.
To be considered for Recruitment fellowships, if these are available in your proposed program, your complete application for admission must be received by the academic unit no later than the department's application deadline.
Teaching and research assistantships
Inquiries about assistantships should be directed to the individual departments.
Funding information
Full information concerning postgraduate awards is contained in the Graduate Fellowships and Awards Calendar, which may be accessed on the GPSO web site.
Inquiries about fellowships open to graduates of other universities, as well as Canadian universities, and all other questions should be addressed to:
Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office (Fellowships Section)
James Administration Building, Room 400
845 Sherbrooke Street West
Montreal, Quebec H3A 2T5
Tel.: 514-398-3990
Fax: 514-398-2626
Email
Web site http://www.mcgill.ca/applying/graduate/
Application procedures Master of Music (M.Mus.)
