Courses

What's the cost? Graphos Add/Drop/Withdrawal dates - Winter 2024 Offerings - Spring/Summer 2024 Offerings

Why take a writing course?

Writing at the graduate level is challenging. For many students, this will be the first time they've been expected to produce publication-quality scholarship. Take a Graphos writing course to:

• Understand and master the conventions that govern writing in your field.
• Learn the fundamental maneuvers that academic writers employ to craft their arguments.
• Become a skilled self-editor—essential for ensuring clarity and coherence.
• Learn to summarize, critique, and situate your work alongside existing scholarship in the field.

Who may enrol in a writing course?

Students enrolled in a graduate program at McGill. If you are currently in the thesis evaluation or per credit non-thesis program, you are able to register for a course, but you will be responsible for the fees associated with those categories, along with the fees associated with the Graphos course. 

McGill postdoctoral fellows and non-McGill graduate students may be able to register for Graphos courses as "Special Students" on a case-by-case basis (please contact us at graphos [at] mcgill.ca for more details). 

Recently launched courses:

WCOM 614 (formerly CCOM 614) "Communicating Science to the Public"

Production of written and oral assignments designed to communicate scientific problems and findings to varied audiences in English. Analysis of the disciplinary conventions of scientific discourse in terms of audience, purpose, organization, and style; comparative rhetorical analysis of academic and popular genres.

WCOM 676 (formerly CEAP 676) "Thesis Writing Lab"

Writing and revising of a chapter or manuscript for structure, clarity, cohesion, and disciplinary conventions; practical strategies for writing and rewriting productively; techniques for organizing ideas and editing for flow; in-class writing labs and exercises; peer review; and instructor audio feedback.

Winter 2024 Offerings

Are there costs associated with taking a 1-credit Graphos course?

The University has established a tuition sponsorship arrangement for Graphos 1-credit courses such that McGill graduate students in certain degree programs who register for and complete these courses do not have to pay extra tuition or copyright fees.

Eligibility by Program: If you are currently enrolled in a doctoral program or thesis-based Master’s program, and you are not in your 'thesis evaluation' term, then you are eligible for tuition sponsorship. If you are in a non-thesis program, you would be responsible for any fees associated with registration in these courses.

Please note that if you are in thesis program but in the 'thesis evaluation' stage, you must register as a "Special Student" in the School of Continuing Studies, and you will be responsible for the fees associated with those categories, along with the fees associated with the Graphos course. Also, if you are considered to be externally-sponsored—that is, you have a sponsor outside of McGill (e.g., your home country’s embassy or cultural bureau) to whom your entire tuition bill is sent—then your external sponsor will be billed for the cost of the course. If your external sponsor will not pay for these courses, please contact graphos [at] mcgill.ca to see how you might be added to the University's sponsorship. 

Eligibility by Completion: Once you are registered for a course, you must also complete the course—that is, you must remain in the course and submit all required assignments in a timely fashion. If you do not submit all required assignments, you will earn a mark of “J” at the end of the term. In these cases, students initially eligible for sponsorship will have the tuition and copyright fees added back by Student Accounts.

Fall and Winter term add/drop/withdraw rules

If you decide to drop a fall or winter course (no record on your transcript), you must do so before 11:59 pm on the date of the second class meeting. After the add/drop deadline, you can only submit a withdraw request in Minerva and may incur a financial cost. After 11:59 pm of the second class and up to 11:59 pm on the date of the third class, you can “withdraw without financial penalty." You would earn a mark of "W" on your transcript but you would not be responsible for the tuition and copyright fees. After 11:59 pm on the third class and up to 11:59 pm on the fourth class meeting, you can only "withdraw with financial penalty." You would earn a "W" grade on your transcript and be charged the tuition and copyright fees, even if you were initially eligible by program. Graphos courses finish before the end of the regular term, and the University's standard add/drop and withdrawal dates do not apply. Before registering, please consult the section below for more details about Graphos add/drop/withdraw deadlines because these dates are determined by the specific day of the week that the class meets.

Spring/Summer term add/drop/withdraw rules

If you decide to drop a Spring/Summer course, you must do so before 11:59pm on the date of the 2^nd class. The course would then be removed from your record without financial penalty. After the add/drop deadline, i.e., after midnight on the evening of the 2^nd class, you can only withdraw from the course and incur a financial cost. After midnight on the evening of the 2^nd class and before 11:59 pm on the date of the 4^th class, a withdraw request would be considered a “withdraw with financial penalty.” You would earn a “W” grade on your transcript, and Student Accounts would charge the tuition and copyright fees, even if you were initially eligible by program.

Graphos courses are classified by the University as "extra to program" and therefore cannot be counted toward any degree requirement, the sole exception being the non-thesis Master's program in Second Language Education, toward which only WCOM 642, WCOM 645, WCOM 661, and WCOM 662 may be counted: since these credits count towards completion of the program, the costs associated with the Graphos courses are included in the tuition bill.

If you are uncertain about your eligibility, please send an email with your McGill ID and your program to graphos [at] mcgill.ca.

PLEASE NOTE: Even if you are eligible for sponsorship, tuition and copyright fees will be assessed when you register.  The amount of the fees will depend on your residency status and your program (thesis or non-thesis). Student Accounts provides an updated table with Fall / Winter and Spring/Summer  tuition and copyright fees by residency and program. While charges will appear when you first register for a Graphos course, if you are eligible for the sponsorship, the Graphos tuition and copyright fees will be credited back to you in one to two weeks' time. Any delay is because these charges have to be credited back manually by someone in the Student Accounts office. No action is necessary on your part, though you can confirm if Student Accounts has made the change by viewing the details of your 'Account Summary by Term' (not your e-bill). To access this menu, click on the Student tab in Minerva, click on Student Accounts Menu, find and click on Account Summary by term, then select the term. You should locate the Detail Code for WPPI (in the Description of Grad Writing Course Sponsor Payment) and under Payments/Credits, you can see the amounts that have been credited back.
 

Please note that amounts vary every year, so this link to Student Accounts will contain the most accurate information.

Can I drop or withdraw from a Graphos 1-credit course?

Graphos 1-credit courses run on a 10-week schedule in the fall and winter. While the University's standard add/drop and withdrawal dates do not apply, there is a Graphos-specific add/drop period, as well as a period within which you may withdraw, with or without financial penalty. For each 1-credit course in the Summer term, the add/drop and withdraw dates are determined by the day of the week when the class meets. Be sure to review the information below.  

For each 1-credit course in the Fall and Winter terms:

• the add/drop period runs up to 11:59 pm on the date of the 2nd (second) class meeting. A course that is dropped before this deadline will not appear on your transcript.
• you may withdraw from a course without a financial penalty up to 11:59 on the date of the 3rd (third) class meeting. The course will appear on your transcript with a mark of "W".
• you may withdraw from a course with a financial penalty up to 11:59 pm on the date of the 4th (fourth) class meeting. The course will appear on your transcript with a mark of "W". Even if you are eligible for sponsorship by program, by withdrawing from the course at this time, you would be responsible for the tuition and copyright fees associated with the course (even if you were initially eligible by program).
• to withdraw from a course after the 'withdraw with penalty' deadline, you must submit a Course Change Request form available at Student Records Forms to your academic unit. If your unit supports your request, then they will forward the request to the Management of Academic Records Office, Enrolment Services, along with the recommendation from your Graduate Program Director (GPD). Refer to Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for the registration and withdrawal policies for graduate students. NOTE: If your academic unit does not support your request for withdrawal after the deadline, you will still be responsible for the fees associated with the course, and the course will appear on your transcript with whatever mark you earn in the course.

For each 1-credit course in the Spring/Summer term:

• the add/drop period runs up to 11:59 pm on the date of the 2nd (second) class meeting. A course that is dropped before this deadline will not appear on your transcript.
• after the add/drop deadline, you can only withdraw from a course with a financial penalty up to 11:59 pm on the date of the 4th (fourth) class meeting. The course will appear on your transcript with a mark of "W". Even if you are eligible for sponsorship by program, by withdrawing from the course at this time, you would be responsible for the tuition and copyright fees associated with the course (even if you were initially eligible by program).
• to withdraw from a course after the 'withdraw with penalty' deadline, you must submit a Course Change Request form available at Student Records Forms to your academic unit. If your unit supports your request, then they will forward the request to the Management of Academic Records Office, Enrolment Services, along with the recommendation from your Graduate Program Director (GPD). Refer to Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for the registration and withdrawal policies for graduate students. NOTE: If your academic unit does not support your request for withdrawal after the deadline, you will still be responsible for the fees associated with the course, and the course will appear on your transcript with whatever mark you earn in the course.

* A course that is dropped by this deadline will not appear on your transcript.

*** The course will appear on your transcript with a mark of "W." Even if you were initially eligible for sponsorship, by withdrawing from the course before this date, you would be responsible for the tuition and copyright fees associated with the course.

Read our FAQ for other important information about Graphos 1-credit courses.