On this page
1) What the different types of transfers?
2) Minimum transfer requirements for the Bachelor of Science
3) Minimum transfer requirements for the Bachelor of Arts and Science
4) Submitting a transfer application
Before you apply
The Faculty of Science welcomes transfer applications to the Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) and the Bachelor of Arts & Science (B.A. & Sc.) degrees from McGill undergraduate students who have not graduated.
Applications are available for the Fall semester only. There are no inter/intra-faculty transfers for the Winter or Summer Terms.
Note: If you are studying at another university and want to transfer to McGill, you must apply through the Admissions website as a Transfer student.
| Inter/Intra-Faculty Term | Module Opens | Module Closes |
|---|---|---|
| Fall term | April 1st | May 15th |
1) What are the different types of transfers?
| Transfer type | Description |
|---|---|
| INTRA-Faculty | Refers to B.Sc. students who want to switch from one program group within the B.Sc. degree into another program group (e.g. transferring from Biological, Biomedical and Life Sciences (BBL) Group to the Physical, Earth, Math and Computer Science (PEMC) Group). Students do no need to apply for an intra-faculty transfer to change programs within their current group (e.g. a student in the BBL Group who changes from a Major in Biology to a Major in Physiology). |
| INTER-Faculty | Refers to changing from one degree to another (e.g. from a B.Sc. to a B.A. & Sc.). Please review the section below for an overview of the implications of an inter-faculty transfer. |
| Readmission & Transfer | Refers to students who are returning to their studies after an interruption of one term or more and wish to apply for both readmission to McGill and an inter/intra faculty transfer. Students interested in readmission and transfer should also read through the information on readmission in Section 6 of the Science Handbook. |
What are the implications of an INTER-faculty transfer?
Degree Requirements
Students who change degrees are required to meet all degree/course requirements their new degree (consult general degree requirements for B.Sc. or B.A. & Sc.), this includes the Foundation program requirements (consult the B.Sc. Foundation program or B.A. & Sc. Foundation program requirements).
Tuition Fees
Consult the Student Accounts website for information on the possible change of tuition fees and other services when changing between degrees.
Exchange / Study Away
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If you have already applied or are applying for an Exchange/Study Away in the upcoming academic year, you must contact the appropriate advisor (see section 5.6 below for contacts) to discuss how transferring to the Faculty of Science may impact your Exchange/Study Away program
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If you have or will study away in the current academic year/summer, you should contact your current Faculty to ensure that your transfer credits will be processed.
Advanced Standing / Transfer Credits
If accepted for an inter-faculty transfer to the B.Sc. or B.A. & Sc. any previous advanced standing/transfer credits from courses taken outside of McGill will be reviewed. If you will be receiving any additional credits/exemptions or if any of your previous credits/exemptions will be excluded, you will be informed in your offer of acceptance.
Courses outside Arts and Science
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If accepted for a transfer into the Bachelor of Science: You will receive credits for all courses completed in the Faculty of Arts or Faculty of Science and up to 18 credits of approved courses from outside Arts and Science (some exceptions may apply; each applicant is assessed individually).
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If accepted for a transfer into the Bachelor of Arts and Science: You will receive credits for all courses completed in the Faculty of Arts or Faculty of Science and up to 12 credits of approved courses from outside Arts and Science (some exceptions may apply; each applicant is assessed individually).
If any of your completed courses will be excluded from counting towards the B.Sc. or B.A. & Sc., you will be informed in your offer of acceptance.
Grade Point Average
If accepted for transfer, your CGPA will continue in the new Faculty reflecting all grades including D, F's, and J's. If the conditions differ from the above, this will be explained in your offer of acceptance.
What are the limits on eligibility to transfer?
You do not qualify for transfer if:
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You are registered in the School of Continuing Studies and have never been registered in a degree program at McGill University, or are a special student, or have already completed an undergraduate degree. If any of these apply to you then you must apply for admission to McGill through the Undergraduate Admissions Office.
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You are entering U3 with 84 or more credits:
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Students admitted to McGill from a CEGEP DEC and transfer students from another university – your credit limit is 84 credits. This is indicated by the TOTAL CREDITS value on your Minerva transcript.
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Students admitted to McGill from International Baccalaureate or the French Baccalaureate, or who were granted advanced standing due to Advanced Placement examinations, GCE A-Levels, and other qualifications – your credit limit is 84 + the number of advanced standing credits indicated on your Minerva transcript. (In other words, 84 credits post-admission.)
2) Minimum transfer requirements for the Bachelor of Science
| IMPORTANT NOTE: Applications for transfer are competitive and depend on space available. Grades equal to or better than those listed do not guarantee your transfer will be granted. |
In addition to the minimum course requirements of each group below, note the following:
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The minimum CGPA required is 3.00.
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Students entering U2 must have completed a minimum of 9 credits which can be applied to the proposed program, with a minimum grade of B in each course.
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Students entering U3 with 84 or more credits are no longer eligible to apply to transfer into the B.Sc.
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Students entering U3 with less than 84 credits, must have completed a minimum of 24 credits which can be applied to the proposed program, with an average GPA of 3.0 in these credits with no grade below "C."
| Program Group | Minimum Transfer Requirements |
|---|---|
| Biological, Biomedical & Life Sciences |
All courses must be passed with a minimum grade of B or higher:
|
| Bio-Physical-Computational Sciences |
All courses must be passed with a minimum grade of B or higher:
|
| Neuroscience |
Students interested in applying to Neuroscience must review the requirements on the Neuroscience website . In addition to the Minerva transfer application, students must also complete an application webform on the Neuroscience website. Students applying to the Neuroscience Group must also satisfy the minimum transfer requirements of the Bachelor of Science. The following courses must be passed with a minimum grade of B or higher:
|
| Physical, Earth, Math & Computer Science |
All courses must be passed with a minimum grade of B or higher:
|
3) Minimum transfer requirements for the Bachelor of Arts & Science
| IMPORTANT NOTE: Applications for transfer are competitive and depend on space available. Grades equal to or better than those listed do not guarantee your transfer will be granted. |
In addition to the minimum course requirements below, note the following:
-
The minimum CGPA required is 3.00.
-
Students entering U2 must have completed a minimum of 9 credits which can be applied to the proposed programs, with a minimum grade of B in each course.
-
Students entering U3 with 84 or more credits are no longer eligible to apply to transfer into the B.A. & Sc. See the information under Limits on Eligibility to Transfer.
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Students entering U3 with less than 84 credits, must have completed a minimum of 24 credits which can be applied to the proposed programs, with an average GPA of 3.0 in these credits with no grade below "C". Of these 24 program credits, at least 9 credits must have been completed in the Faculty of Arts and at least 9 credits in the Faculty of Science.
Minimum course requirements for transfer to B.A. & Sc.
All courses must be passed with a minimum grade of B or higher:
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Two (2) of the following MATH courses: MATH 139/140/150, MATH 141/151 or MATH 133/134
AND any three foundation program sciences from:
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BIOL 111 or BIOL 112
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PHYS 101/131 or PHYS 102/142
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CHEM 110 or CHEM 120
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At most two of: COMP 202, ESYS 104 or PSYC 100
4) Submitting a transfer application
| Applications are available for the Fall semester ONLY. |
To submit an application for transfer: Log into Minerva > Student Menu > Student Records Menu > Faculty Transfer/Readmission Menu:
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If you are currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Science and wish to apply for transfer to a different Bachelor of Science Program Group, select the "Request for Intra-faculty Transfer" option.
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If you are currently enrolled in an undergraduate degree other than the degree you wish to transfer to, select the "Request for Inter-faculty Transfer" option.
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If you are returning to your studies after an interruption of one term or more and you wish to apply for both readmission and an inter/intra faculty transfer, select the "Request for Readmission" option. Indicate in the appropriate fields and Comments section that you also wish to transfer.
Selecting your program – Bachelor of Science
(Scroll a little further for Bachelor of Arts & Science info)
When you apply for an inter- or intra-faculty transfer to the Bachelor of Science, you will be asked to nominate one of the following program groups and a major/subject within that group:
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Biological, Biomedical and Life Sciences Group
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Bio-Physical-Computational Sciences Group
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Neuroscience Group
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Physical, Earth, Math and Computer Science Group
It is important to apply for the group that interests you most. If admitted, your choice of a major or honours program will be limited to the options available in that group. You must indicate at least one program on your application.
For full details of the programs available in each program group, refer to: Bachelor of Science program groups.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
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Do not submit multiple applications to the same group. Multiple applications to the same group will be cancelled. If you are interested in more than one program within the same group, please indicate all programs within that group that you wish to be considered for (in order of preference) in the Comments section of your application.
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Do not select Major Undeclared or Major Foundation program (previously known as "Freshman year". If you do not indicate your intended major, your application will be cancelled.
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Honours programs: The Faculty of Science does not have the authority to approve an application to an honours program. If select an honours program, your application will be changed to the major program. If you are accepted and want to pursue an honours program, you must contact the department and ask for permission to register for this program and only then can you change your program on Minerva.
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Internship Program: Due to a programing error, you may see the option for “Internship Program” under Concentration. Students are not allowed to self-declare this option. If accepted to transfer, interested students should contact the Science Internship and Field Studies Office.
Selecting your program – Bachelor of Arts and Science
(See above for Bachelor of Science info)
Students in the Bachelor of Arts and Science are required to have a minimum of two programs. Consult program options and degree structures available in the B.A. & Sc. in the eCalendar.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
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You must indicate your second program in the Comments section of your application. If you submit an application with only one program indicated, you will be contacted by email and your application will be made incomplete. If you fail to provide this information, your application will be cancelled.
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Do not submit multiple applications to the Bachelor of Arts and Science. Multiple applications to the B.A. & Sc. will be cancelled. If you are interested in multiple programs in the B.A. & Sc., please indicate all programs that you wish to be considered for (in order of preference) in the Comments section of your application.
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Honours programs: The Faculty of Science does not have the authority to approve an application to an honours program. If you select an honours program, your application will be changed to the major program. If you are accepted and want to pursue an honours program, you must contact the department and ask for permission to register for this program and only then can you change your program on Minerva.
Students applying to multiple groups/degrees
If you are submitting multiple transfer applications (e.g. to more than one Bachelor of Science Program Group or to multiple degrees), you must list all your choices (in order of preference) in the Comments section of EACH and EVERY application you submit.
If you fail to provide your order of preference, your applications to the Faculty of Science will be made incomplete and you will be contacted by email. If you fail to reply to this email, all your applications to the Faculty of Science will be cancelled.
Additional documentation
If additional information or documents are required to process your transfer application, you will be contacted via your McGill email address. If you do not supply the requested information by the indicated date, your application(s) will be cancelled.
Readmission and Transfer applicants who completed courses at another university during their absence are required to submit official transcripts. Official transcripts must be sent directly from the university you attended to McGill. Please refer to section 6. Readmission (below) for more information.
Appeals
Any inter/intra-faculty transfer applicant who does not meet the minimum transfer criteria must submit a letter of appeal (which should not be longer than one page) with the electronic application. Enter the appeal in the Comments area of the electronic application outlining the following:
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Any reasons which may have contributed to your performance
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Steps you have taken or plan to take to improve your academic performance
If applicable, send any supporting documents separately to the relevant contact in the SOUSA Office (see section 5.6 below for contacts).
5) Contacts
| Transfers for | Contacts |
|---|---|
| Transfers into the Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) | mary.gauthier [at] mcgill.ca (Mary Gauthier) |
| Transfers into the Bachelor of Arts & Science (B.A. & Sc.) | marina.saunders [at] mcgill.ca (Marina Saunders) |