Information Technology (IT) Services

McGill University students, faculty, staff, and other members of the McGill community benefit from a variety of Information Technology resources. Please visit Resources for Students for details.

IT Support

McGill's IT Support site is your one-stop shop for information and support on using IT services including email, Microsoft 365 tools, Wi-Fi, VPN, and more. Search the IT Knowledge Base for instructional articles, report issues, make requests for services, chat with support agents, view announcements and system status, and follow up on your support tickets all from one convenient location.

Communication and Collaboration

McGill offers communication and collaboration tools that work together to support and enhance your educational experience.

Email

All students are assigned a McGill email address (usually in the form of firstname.lastname@mail.mcgill.ca) and given a McGill email mailbox. Please refer to Email Communication for further information on email services.

MS Teams

Microsoft Teams is the recommended application for conducting virtual meetings, audio and video calls, text messaging, and filesharing among McGill students, faculty, and staff members.

OneDrive

Students are given 1 Terabyte of free file storage space on the Microsoft 365 cloud where you can store and share documents.

Microsoft Office and 365 Apps

As a student you can download and install the entire Microsoft 365 apps (previously ProPlus apps) suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, etc.) to your personal devices, and sync your files with the online versions in OneDrive.

Other Microsoft 365 apps include Forms (surveys and data collection), Sway (interactive online presentations), Stream (video streaming platform), SharePoint Online, and more.

Note for Continuing Studies: The above services are not available if you are registered in short courses or seminars not recorded on the official McGill transcript.

Online Course Materials and Lecture Recordings

Sign in to myCourses for your online assignments, reading materials, and syllabus. Many course lectures are recorded for streaming playback on demand.

Zoom is the cloud-based tool used for attending remote classes when on-campus classes are not available.

See the Teaching & Learning Services website for more information.

Minerva

Minerva is McGill's web-based information system serving applicants, students, staff, and faculty. To access Minerva, go to mcgill.ca/minerva and log in with your McGill username and password or with your McGill ID and Minerva PIN. Once logged in, you can:

• Apply to McGill and view your application status
• View class schedules, including course descriptions and spaces available in course sections
• Register and make course changes
• Change your major or minor program (not all faculties)
• View your unofficial transcript and degree evaluation reports
• View your McGill Username, used to access computers on campus, WiFi, Email, Office 365, campus printing, and more
• View your Permanent Code, citizenship, and Quebec residency status, and fee information
• Update personal information such as address, telephone number, and emergency contacts
• Update your preferred first name
• Submit an online course evaluation
• Submit an application to participate in an exchange program (not all faculties)
• Apply to graduate
• View graduation status and convocation details
• Order official transcripts
• Retrieve tax receipts
• Official documentation to order a reduced-fare STM Opus card

For information on accessing Minerva, visit McGill's IT Portal.

Secure Your Journey

McGill IT Services wants to ensure students have a safe and secure journey from the moment you apply to the university to graduation, and beyond. Our new Secure Your Journey website contains tips on:

• Starting your McGill journey safely with strong passwords and two-factor authentication (2FA);
• Learning securely; and
• Staying vigilant against cyber threats such as phishing.

Visit mcgill.ca/cybersafe for tools and resources to secure your student journey at McGill.

McGill University students, faculty, staff, and other members of the McGill community benefit from a variety of Information Technology resources, which are used in accordance with University policies and directives. Visit the IT policies site for further details.

Responsible Use of McGill Information Technology Resources

Each of us has responsibilities when using McGill's IT resources. The Policy on the Responsible Use of McGill Information Technology Resources is a code of conduct that identifies what is acceptable when working with McGill technology resources.

For more information, view the Policy on the Responsible Use of McGill Information Technology Resources, available on the Secretariat website.

Note for M.D.,C.M., and D.M.D. Programs: For guidelines regarding the use of social media by M.D.,C.M., and D.M.D. students, see mcgill.ca/ugme/policies-procedures/guidelines-social-media and mcgill.ca/thewelloffice.

Report Security Incidents

Please inform IT Services immediately if you experience or are aware of an IT security incident!

• Contact IT through the IT Service Desk;
• Or by telephone at 514-398-3398 for immediate help;
• For additional information, please see Reporting IT security incidents.

If the incident involves bullying, harassment or other potential risks to the health and safety of individuals, please contact McGill Security Services at 514-398-3000 in the Downtown Campus or 514-398-7777 at the Macdonald Campus immediately.

Use of Cloud Services

McGill's Cloud Directive governs your usage of cloud services—programs and apps delivered over the Internet. McGill has approved cloud apps and solutions that are available for your use while at McGill. However, you will need to choose your apps wisely as not all apps are safe, and they will not all adequately protect sensitive data (either your own or McGill's).

To learn how to safely use cloud apps and solutions, please refer to the Cloud Services Page.

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

All student, faculty, and staff accounts are protected with two-factor authentication (2FA), an additional security measure that requires a secondary method of authentication (e.g., acknowledging a prompt or entering a code sent to your mobile device via a mobile app) when signing into many McGill systems. 2FA makes it much harder for cybercriminals to access your account and your personal information, even if they obtain your password. 2FA is required for all higher education institutions in Canada.

Email Communication

All students are assigned a McGill email address (usually in the form of firstname.lastname@mail.mcgill.ca) and are given a McGill email mailbox. It is your responsibility to monitor your McGill email regularly because this is the official means of communication between McGill University and its students. Ensure that you read and act upon the emails in a timely fashion.

To access your McGill email, go to the Microsoft Office website and sign in with your McGill username and password.

Note: Confirm your McGill email address or set your McGill password on Minerva, under the Personal Menu. You can also change or reset your McGill password by following the instructions on the McGill Password Reset Checklist.

If you have another email account using an external service provider (such as Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.), please review the Options for dealing with multiple email services article on the IT Knowledge Base.

For more information, visit the Policy on E-mail Communication with Students, available on the Secretariat website.