Course Change Period

You may make changes to your course registrations (add or drop courses) from the opening date of registration until the end of the course change period (i.e., add/drop deadline). All course registration changes are subject to the requirements and restrictions of your program and individual courses. The course change deadline coincides with the deadline for late registration.

If you are registered in the Fall term, you may add and drop Winter term courses throughout the Fall term until the Winter term course change/late registration deadline.

After the course change deadline, you may add courses only with written permission of the instructor, and the Associate Dean or Director of your faculty. A fee will be charged for each course you add.

Please see the Important Dates site for specific dates.

Note for the Faculties of Arts and Science (including B.A. & Sc.): Requests made after the course change deadline must be made through Service Point. However, it is important that you also consult a Faculty advisor to talk about your options and the effects that your request may have on your studies.

Dropping all courses

If you drop all Fall courses before the end of August (or drop all Winter courses before the end of December), you will not be registered in that term. If you are a newly admitted student, you may be able to defer your admission (see Deferred Admission), or you may have to apply for a later term. If you are a returning student and want to register in a later term, you must follow the procedures for readmission (see Readmission).

If you drop all Fall courses after the end of August (or drop all Winter courses after the end of December), you are considered University Withdrawn and your transcript will display a notation in that term. Whether you are a newly admitted or returning student, you must follow the procedures for readmission. For more information, see Readmission.

Note for Health Sciences: For information on readmission procedures, you should refer to your Faculty/School section in this publication.

Course withdrawal

After the course change deadline in the Fall and Winter terms, there is a period of a few days during which you may withdraw, with a grade of W, and receive a full refund of course fees.

After the Withdrawal (with refund) deadline, there is a period during which withdrawal from a course will also result in a grade of W but no course fees will be refunded.

Courses that begin in the Fall 2025 Term

Deadline for withdrawal (grade of W) with refund:

• Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Deadlines for withdrawal (grade of W) without refund:

• Single-term courses: Tuesday, October 28, 2025
• Multi-term courses that begin in Fall term (refund for the Winter portion of the course only): Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Courses that begin in the Winter 2026 Term

Deadline for withdrawal (grade of W) with refund:

• Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Deadline for withdrawal (grade of W) without refund:

• Single-term courses: Tuesday, March 10, 2026
• Multi-term courses that begin in Winter term (refund for the Summer or later portion of the course only): May 15, 2026¹

After the withdrawal (without refund) deadline but before the end of term, and only under exceptional circumstances, you may be granted permission to withdraw from a course. Permission will not be granted merely because you are doing unsatisfactory work. A grade of W or WF, as appropriate, will appear on your transcript but will not be calculated in your GPA. For further information, consult your Faculty Student Affairs Office.

Note:

1. To withdraw from required or complementary courses after the withdrawal (without refund) deadline, you may need to obtain permission from your advisor, and you must fill out and submit a course withdrawal form, available from your Faculty Student Affairs Office. Additional restrictions for Music courses are indicated on the Schulich School of Music page.
2. It is solely your responsibility to initiate a course withdrawal in Minerva. Neither notification of the course instructor nor discontinuing class attendance is sufficient. The date on which you withdraw in Minerva is the official date of withdrawal, even if you had stopped attending lectures earlier.
3. You may still withdraw from a course after the course change deadline without academic penalty provided that you do so within the appropriate withdrawal deadlines for the term. Otherwise, after this time, your name will continue to appear on the class list and grade reports and, in the event that you do not take the exam, you will be given a J grade.
4. Fee refunds, if any, will be in accordance with Fees and Withdrawal from the University.
5. Withdrawing from one or more courses during the term may—where applicable—affect your government aid and/or McGill's Work Study Program eligibility. For international students, it may also impact your immigration status and/or permission to work in Canada. Please ensure that you are aware of any consequences related to the course withdrawal request; consult with the Scholarships & Student Aid Office, International Student Services, and/or your faculty Student Affairs Office, where relevant.

Note for the School of Human Nutrition: Intensive internship courses, like Professional Practice (Stage) in Dietetics, may have different start dates and withdrawal dates than other courses. You should consult the course outline.

Note for the Faculties of Arts and Science (including B.A. & Sc.): Requests are made through Service Point. However, it is important that you also consult a Faculty advisor to talk about your options and the effects that your request may have on your studies. For more information, see mcgill.ca/students/advising.

Note for the Faculty of Law: You are encouraged to meet with a student advisor before withdrawing from a course (without refund).

Note for Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies: To add/drop/withdraw a course after the deadline has passed, you must submit a course change Request form, available at Student Records Forms, to your department. If the department supports the request, the department will forward the request to the Student Records Office, Enrolment Services, along with the recommendation from the department Graduate Program Director (GPD).

Graduate students who wish to withdraw from McGill should consult University Withdrawal, and submit a "Request for a University Withdrawal" form, available at Student Records Forms. Please note that this form is sent to the Student Records Office, Enrolment Services.

Note for Health Sciences: Withdrawal (W) deadline dates are listed at mcgill.ca/importantdates. The health profession programs described in this Course Catalogue are highly structured and students should consult their advisor or Student Affairs Office to determine what course changes, if any, are allowed.

1. To withdraw from required or complementary courses after the withdrawal (without refund) deadline, you may need to obtain permission from your advisor, and you must fill out and submit a course withdrawal form, available from your faculty Student Affairs Office. (Note 1 is not applicable to Medicine, Dentistry, and Nursing. For information, you should refer to your Faculty/School section in this publication).
2. It is solely your responsibility to initiate a course withdrawal in Minerva. Neither notification of the course instructor nor discontinuing class attendance is sufficient. The date on which you withdraw in Minerva is the official date of withdrawal, even if you had stopped attending lectures earlier.
3. You may still withdraw from a course after the course change deadline without academic penalty, provided that you do so within the appropriate withdrawal deadlines for the term (see deadlines above). Otherwise, after this time, your name will continue to appear on the class list and grade reports and, in the event that you do not take the exam, you will be given a J grade.
4. Fee refunds, if any, will be in accordance with Fees and Withdrawal from the University.

Note for Ingram School of Nursing: To withdraw from any courses after the withdrawal (without refund) deadline, you need to obtain permission from your Program Director. To do so, submit a formal request by email to the Ingram School of Nursing Student Affairs Office along with proper documentation to support this request.

Note for School of Physical and Occupational Therapy: The Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy programs are highly structured and you must receive the approval of the Program Director to determine what course changes, if any, are allowed. You can consult the Student Affairs Office for information on policies and procedures.

If you are blocked from withdrawing from a required course on Minerva, and have permission to do so, you must contact the Student Affairs Office.

Note for M.D.,C.M. program: Course changes are not permitted and withdrawals are only permitted when the student is on an approved leave of absence from the program.