Frequently Asked Questions
Answers
- I got an error message on Minerva when I tried to register in a FACC, MATH, CHEM, or PHYS course. I am required to take this class this term as part of my program. What should I do?
You will need to contact the McGill Engineering Student Centre (MESC) for assistance with registration in the following courses (which are part of your program):
FACC courses
MATH courses
Foundation-Year Science courses (CHEM 110/120; PHYS 131/142)
The Department of Chemical Engineering can only authorize registration in CHEE XXX courses. The department does not authorize registration in non-departmental courses.
Refer to the Course Registration Form on the MESC website for non-departmental courses (courses other than CHEE XXX) that are administered by MESC, for instructions on how and when you can request registration authorization.
You can contact MESC if you have any other questions.
- A non-CHEE course (course other than CHEE XXX) I want to register in this Fall is already full. What should I do?
Please continue trying to register in the course throughout the summer as there is constant fluctuations in course registration. If you still cannot register in the Fall course by August, please contact the department or office administering the course.
The Department of Chemical Engineering cannot override class capacity for non-CHEE (non-departmental) courses.
Refer to the Course Registration Form on the MESC website for non-departmental courses (courses other than CHEE XXX or non-CHEE) that are administered by MESC, and instructions on how and when you can request registration authorization.
You can contact MESC if you have any other questions.
If the course is not administered by MESC, you will need to contact the offering department. You can see the list of engineering departments on the Faculty of Engineering Advising page.
For departments outside of the Faculty of Engineering, you can find the departmental advisor contact information on the website of each department or unit, which you can locate by browsing academic units by faculty/school.
- All the courses that I need show scheduling conflicts with each other. The course sections that don’t conflict are already full and don’t have a waitlist. What should I do?
Please continue trying to register in the course throughout the summer as there is constant fluctuations in course registration. For Fall courses, if you still cannot register in the course by August, please contact the department or office administering the course.
For Winter courses, please continue trying to register until mid December.
For CHEE courses (CHEE xxx) that are full, please email ugrad.chemeng [at] mcgill.ca for assistance.
Math and Foundation-Year Science courses are administered by McGill Engineering Student Centre (MESC).
Refer to the Course Registration Form on the MESC website for non-departmental courses (courses other than CHEE XXX or non-CHEE) that are administered by MESC, and instructions on how and when you can request registration authorization.
You can contact MESC if you have any other questions.
If the course is not administered by MESC, you will need to contact the offering department. You can see the list of engineering departments on the Faculty of Engineering Advising page.
For departments outside of the Faculty of Engineering, you can find the departmental advisor contact information on the website of each department or unit, which you can locate by browsing academic units by faculty/school.
- I got a registration restriction message (e.g. Program/Degree Restriction) on Minerva when I tried to register in a non-CHEE course. What should I do?
You may have attempted to register in a restricted section (a section reserved for certain groups of students). Check the Class Remarks for each section to find out who the class is restricted to. If you meet the co/pre-requisite requirements for this class, then try to find another section that is non-restricted to register in.
When you are on Minerva or the Visual Schedule Builder, please expand the “Descriptions” and “Class Remarks” sections under each course and read the notes/instructions carefully to select the right section(s).
- I want to register in a non-CHEE course and received a “Pre-requisite/Test Score” error. What does that mean? Can I still register in the course?
The Pre-requisite/Test Score error means that you have not completed the course pre-requisite(s) or have not successfully passed the course pre-requisite(s). Students must make sure that they meet the pre-requisite/co-requisite requirements for a course before they register in the course.
If you believe that you have completed the course pre-requisite(s) or their equivalents, please contact the department or unit administering the course to request registration permit overrides (and provide your justification).
The Department of Chemical Engineering cannot authorize registration in a non-CHEE course nor override the registration permits for these courses.
Some non-departmental courses are administered by MESC, some are administered by the teaching department.
Refer to the Course Registration Form on the MESC website for non-departmental courses (courses other than CHEE XXX or non-CHEE) that are administered by MESC, and instructions on how and when you can request registration authorization.
You can contact MESC if you have any other questions.
If the course is not administered by MESC, you will need to contact the offering department. You can see the list of engineering departments on the Faculty of Engineering Advising page.
For departments outside of the Faculty of Engineering, you can find the departmental advisor contact information on the website of each department or unit, which you can locate by browsing academic units by faculty/school.
- According to the program curriculum, in the Foundation Year, I will need to take 3 credits selected from the approved list of Complementary Studies Group B courses (Humanities and Social Sciences, Management Studies and Law). Where can I find the course list?
You will find your Chemical Engineering degree program outline and details of each course and the program components on the Programs and Courses page of the Chemical Engineering website.
Review the webpage thoroughly and scroll down to see the course list(s) you are looking for.
- I attempted to register in a course and received an error message. I don’t understand what that means. Where can I find the explanation? Can you register me in the course?
To avoid wait time and delay in your registration, it is strongly recommended that you equip yourself with knowledge about common registration errors on Minerva.
In most cases, errors occur because students have selected a section that they are not eligible to register in, have not added the associated lab component of a course, or chosen a course section that is already full.
Some common registration error messages on Minerva are explained on the Courses and Programs website.
For most of the cases, solutions range from picking another section, adding the linked Course Reference Number (CRN), or trying again at a later time. If you still cannot register for the class, please contact the office administering the course for directions.
Note that the Department of Chemical Engineering cannot register you for courses, students must register themselves through their Minerva account.
The Department of Chemical Engineering cannot authorize registration in a non-CHEE course nor override the registration permits for these courses.
Some non-departmental courses are administered by MESC, some are administered by the teaching department.
Refer to the Course Registration Form on the MESC website for non-departmental courses (courses other than CHEE XXX or non-CHEE) that are administered by MESC, and instructions on how and when you can request registration authorization.
You can contact MESC if you have any other questions.
If the course is not administered by MESC, you will need to contact the offering department. You can see the list of engineering departments on the Faculty of Engineering Advising page.
For departments outside of the Faculty of Engineering, you can find the departmental advisor contact information on the website of each department or unit, which you can locate by browsing academic units by faculty/school.
- What are the differences between Technical Complementary (TC) courses and Complementary Studies (CS) courses? How many courses of each type I have to complete?
Technical Complementary (TC) courses
Technical Complementary (TC) courses provide students with an area of specialization within the broad field of chemical engineering. Students also can use the TC courses to increase the breadth of their chemical engineering training.
Note that many of the TC courses are offered only in alternate years. Students should, try to plan their TCs as far ahead as possible.
There are TC courses from Group A, Group B and Group C. To complete their Chemical Engineering degree, students are required to complete a total of 9 credits of TC courses, the breakdown of which is as follows:
Group A: at least 3 credits and up to 9 credits
Group B: from 0 up to 6 credits
Group C: from 0 up to 3 credits
The TC course lists can be found on the Programs and Courses webpage, on the Department of Chemical Engineering website, and in the Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Student Handbook.
Complementary Studies (CS) courses
These classes provide students exposure to non-technical subjects. There are two groups of CS courses:
Group A - Impact of Technology on Society
Group B - Humanities and Social Sciences, Management Studies, and Law
For course listings and regulations related to CS courses, refer to the Chemical Engineering Programs and Courses webpage, the Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Student Handbook, or the section for the Chemical Engineering program in the University's eCalendar.
Non-CEGEP students:
9 credits of CS courses are required in addition to the core courses of the chemical engineering program. Of these, 3 credits must be chosen from Group A - Impact of Technology on Society. The remaining 6 credits must be taken from Group B - Humanities and Social Sciences, Management Studies, and Law.
CEGEP students:
Generally, students admitted to the engineering program from CEGEP are granted 3 transfer credits, the equivalent of one course, from the CS Group B list.
As a result, CEGEP students are required to complete 6 credits of CS courses, in addition to the core courses of the Chemical Engineering program. Of these, 3 credits must be chosen from Group A - Impact of Technology on Society. The remaining 3 credits must be taken from Group B - Humanities and Social Sciences, Management Studies, and Law.
- Where can I find the list of approved Group C Technical Complementary (TC) courses for Chemical Engineering program?
Please visit the department’s Group C Technical Complementary Courses web page for the list of currently approved TC Group C courses. The list can also be found in Appendix A of the Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Student Handbook.
Students who choose a non-CHEE course from the approved list will have to contact the offering/teaching unit or department to request registration permission.
Students who wish to take a course outside of the published list to count as a Group C TC for their Chemical Engineering degree must obtain the department’s approval before registering in the course.
- What are pre-requisites and co-requisites?
Refer to the Academic Advising website for a complete explanation about pre-requisites and co-requisites.
You can also find more regulations concerning pre-requisites and co-requisites on the McGill Engineering Student Centre (MESC) website.
- Do I have to take the co-requisite courses in the same term?
Co-requisites are supposed to be taken in the same term.
Refer to Academic Advising website for a full explanation of Co-requisites and Pre-requisites.
Some students may have been granted transfer credits for one or more of the co-requisite courses. This should be officially reflected on your McGill transcript.
If you have been granted transfer credits for the required co-requisites, you should be able to register on Minerva without any issue.
If your transcript does not reflect the transfer of credits for the co-requisite courses (and/or pre-requisite courses), and you believe you’re eligible for them, please studentrecords.engineering [at] mcgill.ca (email the McGill Engineering Student Centre (MESC)) to have your transfer credits verified and updated.
- I want to add a Minor program. Where can I find information about all available Minor programs? What steps are required for me to be registered in a Minor program? How can I know which courses can be double counted for my major and minor?
The University eCalendar has information about Minor Programs available to students in the Faculty of Engineering .
Note: A minor can only be declared after your first full year of study; and you cannot add a minor to your record in your final term before graduation, unless you completed the majority of courses pertaining to that minor.
To register in a Minor Program (declare a Minor Program), fill out the form and submit your request to the McGill Engineering Student Centre (MESC). You will need to login to see the form.
MESC will review and process your request.
It is your responsibility to ensure that all requirements for a minor are satisfied, including not going over the maximum allowable credit overlap with your degree program. To do so, please meet with your Minor Program Advisor, who can advise you on the program requirements as well as courses that can be double counted for your major and minor.
The contacts for all Minor Program Advisors can be found on the Faculty’s Minor Programs page.