Transferring credit

Review the steps below to find out how to transfer credit towards your McGill University undergraduate Bachelor’s degree for courses satisfactorily completed during an approved exchange or independent study away.

For University courses done prior to your admission to McGill, please refer to the University transfer page.

Studies completed at another university MUST be pre-approved in order to be considered for transfer credit. After-the-fact requests for transfer credit will be refused.

If you have any transfer credit questions once you have reviewed the 6 steps of the transferring credit process, book and attend a Drop-in Q&A Transfer credit online session: OASIS Booking

You can also contact the Study Away Team, submit a request via the Arts OASIS Service Portal.

Please note that outbound exchange participants are ineligible to pursue online courses during their term(s) away.

Step 1: Course requirements

Arts OASIS reserves the right to refuse to award McGill transfer credit for any studies completed at another university if these studies were not pre-approved or if the host school or any of its courses fails to meet the Arts OASIS study away policies or McGill’s program or degree requirements. Requests to study away via intermediary study abroad organizations or companies will not be approved.

For online courses, please refer to the online education policy

Online / Blended / Multi-modal course:
For the purpose of assessing transfer credit from a non-McGill course, the Faculty of Arts defines a course to be online if the proportion of its mode of delivery exceeds 20%. Accordingly, a course delivered entirely online is categorized as being an online course, as is the case for a course for which there is a blend of delivery modes where the online proportion exceeds 20% (eg. over 25% online and 75% in person).

In order for a course to be considered for transfer, it must meet the following conditions:

  1. Course must be delivered on-campus (ie in person) and be part of the host university’s undergraduate curriculum.
  2. Course must count for credit toward a degree at the host institution. Courses taken toward a certificate/diploma or courses taken through continuing studies will typically NOT be credited unless they count toward an undergraduate degree at that institution.
  3. Course must have a syllabus that includes, at a minimum, contact hours, course objectives, readings, mode of delivery, and method of evaluation.

NOTE: Students must verify that they have the required prerequisite for any course they intend to take at the host university. Students should not take a course at the host university if they do not have the required academic background to succeed in the course.

  1. Course must not overlap in content with a course for which credit has already been granted. (See Course Overlap)
  2. Course may not exceed the maximum of credits that can be taken outside the Faculty of Arts or Science. (See Courses Outside the Faculties of Arts or Science)
  3. ALL components of the method of evaluation of each course must be completed by the end of the term of study at the host university.
  4. Course must generate a final grade that can be recorded on the host university’s official transcript.

Courses that are NOT accepted for transfer credit toward your degree are:

  1. Continuing education courses applied only toward certificates and/or diploma programs at the host institution.
  2. Courses applied only toward certificates and/or diploma programs at the host institution.
  3. Language courses offered by Language Centers or Institutes not associated with a degree granting institution.
  4. Practicum ("How to") courses: e.g., dance, fashion designing, journalism, orientation, photography, fine arts, sports, web designing, wine tasting, etc.
  5. Skills-improvement courses such as “art workshop”, “civilization”, and “methodology” (“Welcome Program”).
  6. Volunteer programs.
  7. Graduate level courses.
  8. Independent Research or Reading courses.
  9. Internship courses.

Step 2. Get your course assessed for equivalency

Content and Credit Equivalency

IMPORTANT Please note that a content equivalency on the McGill Course Equivalency Database does NOT guarantee that you will receive transfer credit for this course. You need to ensure that the credit value for this course is sufficient or matching*, that you achieve a satisfactory grade and that you have been approved for a study away or an exchange.

* For example,  if a course is equivalent to a 4-credit course at McGill it needs to be worth 4-credit at the host to be granted 4 McGill transfer credit.

Credit equivalency:

Verify the credit system at the Host institution using the following lists of approved host institutions by continent. The third column on the lists indicate the full-time course load per fall or winter Term, equivalent to 15 credits at McGill.

Africa

America

Asia and Middle East

Europe

Oceania

Online

Host credit system Equivalent to 15 credit at mcgill
ECTS (European Community Transfer Credit) 30 ECTS
Australia 4 courses
UK credit points 60 credit points
Japan 16-18 credits

Content Equivalency:

There are two types of content equivalencies:

  1. A course can be deemed equivalent to an existing McGill course like for example POLI 244 or PSYC 305.
  2. A course can receive a level equivalency (2XX, 3XX, 4XX, 5XX). If McGill doesn’t offer an exact equivalent course but the course meets McGill's course standards, a level equivalency can be granted. The last three digit indicate what level the course has been deemed equivalent to. These courses can be used to meet program requirement with departmental approval.

Search for the courses you plan to take in the McGill Course Equivalency System to see if they have been already assessed for content equivalency already.

When searching for a course equivalency, always include expired decision.

If a course is not on the Course Equivalency Database, submit a new request by logging to the Course Equivalency Database. To submit a new request you must have the course syllabus ready in PDF format and you must indicate the right course number at the host.

If it is expired, submit a re-assessment.

Please note that when you submit a request for a Topics/Seminar course, the course title should be « Topics/Seminar course” and the actual topic can be entered in the comments field.

When you submit an equivalency assessment request, if McGill doesn’t have this subject or it is an interdisciplinary course, you can select No Matching Subject and then you must choose one of the following Area of Study:

GNST General Studies Elective

HUMN Humanities

SOSC Social Science

LANG Language, for language courses that are NOT offered at McGill.

If the course you wish to take has been approved on the McGill Course Equivalency System, this does NOT:

  • Infer that the host university meets the Faculty of Arts host school requirements;
  • Constitute approval to study away;
  • Confirm that you will receive transfer credit for this course towards your McGill degree.

McGill’s Course Equivalency System does not provide a credit value for the course content that is being evaluated. Arts OASIS is responsible for allocating the number of credits assigned to a course. This is referred to as establishing course equivalence. Given the number of different credit allocation systems across institutions, this function is centralized for the purpose of consistency across disciplines.

Please be advised the McGill Course Equivalency System is a reference tool and is not binding. The ultimate approval for the course lies with the Faculty.

Please note that Departments are responsible for assessing the course content and assigning course equivalencies for courses taken at another university using the McGill’s Course Equivalency System. The Faculty is responsible for assessing the credit value of a course.

For information about how to use the McGill’s Course Equivalency System consult the McGill Course Equivalency FAQ section for students.

Placement test for French language courses

If a French-as-a-Second Language course has been taken at another university, you must take a post-test upon your return. The post-test is made of two parts: an online written test at home AND an oral interview at the French Language Center. To complete the post-test, you must follow the instructions here. The result of the post-test must be received bystudyaway.arts [at] mcgill.ca ( Arts OASIS) before transfer of credit can be assessed.

Step 3. Grade required to receive transfer credit

The grades earned at the host university will NOT appear on your McGill record and will NOT be calculated in your McGill CGPA.

However, the grade earned in the host university course(s) must be equal to or higher than the grade/CGPA required to graduate from the host university. Normally, this is equivalent to a grade of C or better according to the host university’s grading scheme. The policy applies to both elective and required courses.

Grades of C- or less, Pass (P) and Satisfactory (S) are usually not acceptable. The letter grade earned takes precedence over the corresponding numerical grades if both are indicated on the transcript.

You are expected to maintain your McGill academic standing at the host university. If your host university grade average is not comparable to your final McGill CGPA, the designations of Distinction or Dean’s Honour List may be withdrawn at graduation.

Some host universities outside North America do not use the letter grade system. Refer to the following chart for the minimum passing grade for some popular study abroad countries.

Country minimum passing grade
Argentina 4 or greater ( scale of 0-10)
Australia 50%
France 10 (scale of 0-20)
Netherlands 6 or greater
Spain 5 or greater
United Kingdom 40% or greater ( Third Class Honours or higher)

Step 4. Report your courses on the Minerva Transfer Credit Assessment Form

Once the courses you are taking abroad, on an approved exchange or independent study away, have been assessed on the McGill Course Equivalency System, you must access the Minerva Transfer Credit Assessment Form attached to your Faculty Approved McGill Exchange or Independent Study Away application to add the course(s) you are taking at the host university.

Please note that you can only add courses that have a valid equivalency on the McGill Course Equivalency System and this form must be completed in order to be eligible to receive transfer credit.

To access the form, log on to Minerva and navigate to: Student Menu > Student Records Menu > Exchange/Study Away Menu > View Application Status > Click on the Details. At the bottom of your Minerva Exchange or Study Away application, click on Course Approval and Transfer Credit Form to access the Minerva Transfer Credit Assessment form.

For instructions on how to complete the Minerva Transfer Credit Assessment form, select the word “HELP” in the upper right hand corner of the Minerva screen.

Minerva Transfer Credit Assessment Form Deadlines

Study away Semester

Minerva Transfer Credit Assessment Form must be updated to reflect courses that will be completed and recorded on the official transcript

Deadline for when final official transcript must be received


Winter

April 15

August 15

Summer

concurrent with application

December 15

Fall

November 15

April 1

Your Minerva Transfer Credit Assessment Form (MTCAF) will be considered complete once all the courses you are taking at the host have been added to the Form.

The Faculty of Arts does not provide Faculty approval for the courses listed on your Minerva Transfer Credit Assessment Form until the courses have been completed and the official transcript from the host institution has been received.

For program requirements approval, please refer to Step 5 below.

A REGISTRAR’S HOLD will be placed on your record after the above deadline if the MTACF is not complete. This hold will prevent you from registering or ordering official transcripts on Minerva.

You may be charged a fee for any change that needs to be made to your student record after government reporting deadlines have passed.

IMPORTANT: The courses entered on the Minerva Transfer Credit Assessment Form will be Faculty approved by Arts OASIS as transfer credit and equivalency ONLY not by course category (elective, complementary, required). The Program Requirement Approval process is independent of the Minerva Study Away Application and/or Minerva Transfer Credit Assessment Form process.

Once McGill’s Enrollment Services receives an official transcript of completed studies (including course numbers and individual final grades) directly from the host school, the Minerva Transfer Credit Assessment Form will be verified to ensure that the courses on the official transcript match the courses on the Minerva Transfer Credit Assessment Form and meet the requirements for transfer credits.

Step 5. Residency & Program Requirement Approval

Degree residency requirement: You must complete satisfactorily a minimum of 60 credits at McGill University.

Program residency requirement: A minimum of two-thirds of all program requirements (Multi-track, Honours, Faculty program) must normally be completed at McGill. Some departments may require that you complete specific components of your program at McGill. Thus, a maximum of one-third of all program requirements may be completed at another university. Exceptionally, and subject to departmental approval, if you are in a minor concentration and you pursue an approved exchange or study away program, you may complete up to half of the minor concentration requirements elsewhere. The following table is for reference only.

Program Required credit Transfer credit allowed
Minor 18 6
Major 36 12
Joint Honours 36 12
Honours 60 21

*Note that students in the honours program may count 21 transfer credits toward their program (i.e. one credit more than one-third).

Program requirement approval

You will need departmental approval if you want to use the courses taken abroad, while on an approved exchange or independent study away, to meet program requirements (e.g., towards an honours, faculty, major or minor concentration).

It is your responsibility to contact the department that administers the program of study and follow the program audit procedures explained on their website.

The departmental adviser(s) will take note of the approval(s) via the departmental audit sheets or any other process in place in the department, which may include using the Departmental approval section of the Minerva Transfer Credit Assessment Form.

Remember to keep all course materials (exam questions, graded work, methods of evaluation, reading lists, etc.) for courses taken at another university in the event that McGill program advisors require additional information to determine if a course can be used to complete a McGill program requirement.

Step 6. Transcript & U3 and Graduation

Transcript

An official transcript of completed studies (including course numbers and individual final grades – not pass/fail) must be provided to McGill’s Enrolment Services by the deadlines indicated below in order to process your transfer credit. A provisional transcript or a certificate indicating only the completion of studies will not be accepted.

The preferred method is for the host university to directly email the Official Transcript to officialschooldocs [at] mcgill.ca

Electronic transcripts forwarded by the student to this email account will not be considered official.

Official transcript can also be sent by mail or courier (not by fax) directly from the host university to the address below:

McGill University

Enrolment Services

Management of Academic Records

3415 McTavish Street

Montréal, Québec

Canada, H3A 0C8

ATT: Arts Study Away

Study Away Semester Final transcript must be received by

Winter August 15
Summer December 15
Fall April 1
Full-year exchange ( Fall & Winter) August 15

NOTES:

A Registrar's Hold may be placed on your record if your final official transcript is not received by the deadline you have been given. This hold will prevent you from making changes to your student record or ordering official transcripts on Minerva. Furthermore, you may be charged a fee for any changes that need to be made to your student record after government reporting deadlines have passed.

Transcripts from a study away, become the property of McGill University and will not be returned to you or forwarded to another institution. However, if you are applying to a program at McGill (i.e. Law, Medicine, Graduate studies), you can request that a copy of your transcript be added to your application. This would be done by Service Point.

U3 & Graduation

Students who are taking one or more courses at another university during their term of graduation WILL NOT be eligible to graduate at the end of that final term. These students MUST select the NEXT available term of graduation. Therefore, students participating in any type of study way or exchange in the last term of their final year (U3) of study, will delay their graduation by one term.

For example, if your final term of study at McGill is the Winter term and you take one or more courses at another university in the Winter term, your term of graduation will not be the Winter term. Your term of graduation will become the next semester, which is the Summer term.

A Summer term graduation means that your Minerva transcript will not indicate that you have completed your undergraduate degree until the end of October and your convocation ceremony will be held in November. If you intend to begin employment or pursue further studies in September, you are advised to inquire whether the official confirmation of the completion of your undergraduate will impede your plans

Study Away Semester

I expect my courses to be completed by

Date by when final official transcript must be received (from host university) AND must match courses listed on Minerva Transfer Credit Assessment Form

Term of Graduation

notation of "Bachelor of Arts Granted" on my Minerva record

Convocation Ceremony

Winter

April

August 15

Summer

end of October

October or November

Summer

August

December 15

Fall

end of January

June

Fall

December

April 1

Winter

end of May

June

 

 

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