It is an applicant demographic data collection initiative to help better understand the composition of our applicant pool and address identified areas of underrepresentation.

No, the Applicant Census is not mandatory and each question in the census includes a “prefer not to answer” option.

We encourage all applicants to complete the Applicant Census to facilitate our understanding of the composition of our applicant pool and our ability to address identified areas of underrepresentation accordingly.

It should take less than 10 minutes to complete the census.

All applicants are strongly encouraged to complete the census. This includes applicants in certificate, undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate programs, both domestic and international applicants, as well as those applying for enrolment on either a part-time or full-time basis.

The Applicant Census population excludes: Residents & Fellows, Postdocs, Non-Credit/Collegial-Level, Quebec Inter-University Transfers, Inbound Exchange, Special & Visiting.

The Applicant Census is available in the Application Portal when submitting a web application.

McGill is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion. These principals are fundamental to our core values and are essential to our excellence as an institution.

Advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion is an ongoing and continuous effort which is essential across the University. Collecting applicant demographic information facilitates our planning for our communities; including data driven resource allocation, initiatives, and strategic planning.

The information from the Applicant Census helps identify representational and resource gaps, systemic barriers, as well as who is and who is not represented at McGill University (in general as well as within specific departments and programs).

This data allows us to measure our success in engaging and supporting our diverse student body and to better understand intersections, experiences, and needs.

Applicants can complete the Applicant Census at the time of their application.

No, applicants cannot change their responses after they have submitted their application.

Students at McGill can respond to the McGill Student Census, McGill’s student demographic data collection, which allows students to change their responses at any time.

The Applicant Census is a fundamental component to McGill University’s mission and commitments made in the Final Report of the Provost’s Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education, McGill’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan 2020-2025, and McGill’s Action Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism.

The collection of data through the Applicant Census enables McGill to be aware of and plan for its communities.

The information from the Applicant Census allows for data driven resource allocation, initiatives, and strategic planning in areas such as:

• increasing the representativeness of the student body,
• promoting wellness, success, and support especially for students from underrepresented groups,
• enhancing the capacity of teaching staff and student services to create and maintain respectful, safe, and inclusive settings for students.

The Applicant Census does not ask about certain demographic data such as age citizenship, and Indigenous self-identification as this information is already collected in the application.

We would like to assure you that this data is used in our operational planning and decision making so as not to neglect the needs of our diverse student body.

For some questions, the Applicant Census adopts categories from Statistics Canada's 2021 Census. The survey collects data on demographics such as gender, sexual orientation, disability, race and ethnicity, and educational attainment of parents/guardians.

The data will be used in operational decision making such as organizing community outreach efforts and determining support needs.

To offer feedback, or for more information, and questions about the Applicant Census please contact, EDI.ES [at] mcgill.ca.

This data will allow McGill to better understand and serve all applicants and students. We are best able to anticipate and meet the needs of all our applicants and students when we understand who our applicants and students are.

McGill University is committed to protecting privacy and safeguarding personal information in accordance with Quebec privacy law. Data from the Applicant Census is stored on our secure servers. Results are masked when cell sizes are less than 5 to prevent identification of individuals.

Identifying data from the Applicant Census is kept strictly confidential, is used for operational purposes only, and is not used or shared outside of McGill.

Access to detailed or identifying participant data is highly restricted to a small number of employees for the purposes of building aggregate reports and responding to data requests.

Your individual responses containing any personally identifiable information will never be shared with any internal or external bodies. Responses will never be considered in the context of any application to McGill, nor will any personal information about you ever be shared with your instructors, supervisors, or fellow students.

For further details, see the Applicant Census - Privacy Protection and User Rights Statements page.

No, data can be used for operational purposes only and not for any other purpose, it will never be used in admissions decisions or to affect any academic evaluation or disciplinary action, nor will any information about you ever be shared with your instructors, supervisors, or fellow students.

No, data can be used for operational purposes only and not for any other purpose, including research or marketing.

Your individual responses containing any personally identifiable information will never be shared with any internal or external bodies.

Faculties and administrative units can request more granular data than what is publicly reported for operational purposes only and in pursuit of EDI objectives. All data provided from the Applicant Census is anonymized and only reported in aggregate. All requests for data from the Applicant Census are subject to review and require approval by the Registrar. Access the Applicant Census data governance and request form.