Arts

About the Faculty of Arts

McGill University's Downtown Campus offers a peaceful retreat amidst the vibrant energy of downtown Montreal. At the centre of the Downtown Campus is the McCall MacBain Arts Building, the oldest building on campus and the University’s flagship. For years, its front steps have been a favorite spot to meet and to take a respite from the rigours of coursework. With classrooms, administrative offices, the McCall MacBain Arts Building is truly at the heart of Faculty of Arts and the University. In addition, Faculty of Arts departments and programs are housed in numerous buildings across campus, including principally the Leacock Building, Ferrier Building, Peterson Hall, Morrice Hall, Wilson Hall, the Birks Building, and 680 Sherbrooke St. West. The Office of the Dean of Arts is located in Dawson Hall.

The Faculty of Arts has grown steadily since it was established in 1843 and remains by far the largest faculty at McGill. The Faculty is home to 15 departments, 4 schools, 4 institutes, and 12 research centres. It has more than 350 full-time academic staff teach approximately 8,000 undergraduates and over 1,100 graduate students. Yet, despite the numbers, the majority of classes in Arts are smaller than those offered by any other large research university in Canada. The humanities, social science, and language disciplines that constitute the faculty share a common endeavor: to understand the human condition in order to improve it.

The faculty maintains bilateral exchange programs with many universities around the world and encourages students to spend a term or two studying abroad through an approved program. Internships have also now become an integral part of an undergraduate degree. The Faculty of Arts Internship Office (AIO) assists students who wish to pursue short-term internship opportunities before completing their studies. The Faculty of Arts stands alone nationally in the scope and extent of services its established infrastructure and comprehensive support system makes available to students before, during, and upon their return from their internship. Each year over 200 students intern with organizations around the globe.

McGill is known throughout the world as one of Canada’s premier institutions of learning and as one of the leading research universities in the world. Professors at McGill are leaders in their fields and leaders in education and have been the recipients of numerous awards for both research and teaching. The Faculty of Arts prides itself on being immediately responsive to developments and changes within and outside academia and develop its curricula in response to these new realities.

Administrative Officers

Administrative Officers

Name	Title
Lisa Shapiro	Dean of Arts
Manuel Balán	Associate Dean, Student Affairs and Strategic Initiatives
Michael Fronda	Associate Dean, Academic
Cecily Hilsdale	Associate Dean, Graduate Studies
Michael Blome-Tillmann	Associate Dean, Research
Jessica Coon	Associate Dean, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Richard Courtois	Director of Administration

* Students must complete at least one Faculty of Arts program - as part of their  Multi-Track, Honours or Joint-Honours requirements - to graduate with a B.A. degree.

** Please note that the following departments and programs are located in other Faculties: Cognitive Science, Computer Science, Education for Arts Students, Educational Psychology, Environment, Geography, Management for Arts Students, Mathematics and Statistics, Music, Science for Arts Students.  

Departments, School, and Institutes

Location

Dawson Hall
853 Sherbrooke Street West
Montreal QC H3A 0G5
Telephone: 514-398-1029
Fax: 514-398-2157
Website: mcgill.ca/arts
Faculty of Arts Office of Advising and Student Information Services (OASIS) website: mcgill.ca/oasis