Course Requirements

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All required and complementary courses used to fulfil program requirements must be completed with a grade of C or better. If a student fails to obtain a satisfactory grade in a required course, they must either pass the supplemental examination in the course if this option is available, or repeat the course. Course substitution will be allowed only in special cases; students should consult their departmental academic advisor.

Normally, students are permitted to repeat a failed course only once. Failure is considered to be a grade of less than C or the administrative failures of J or KF. Before attempting a required course for the third time, meeting with an Arts OASIS faculty academic advisor to determine if a student should continue in their academic program is strongly recommended. If the failed course is a complementary course for a program, a student may choose to replace it with another appropriate complementary course. If another complementary course is substituted for a complementary course in which a D was received, credit for the first course will still be given, but as an elective. If a student repeats a required course in which a D was received, credit will be given only once.

For more information on course requirements, please contact a departmental advisor.

Course Prerequisites

The Faculty of Arts does not prevent students from registering for courses if they do not have the required prerequisites. However, if they lack the prerequisite course, they must consult with the instructor of the course they want to take to ensure that they have the necessary background. Please note that other faculties may not allow registration without the required prerequisite courses.

Course Overlap

A student will not receive additional credit towards their degree for any course that overlaps in content with a course for which they have already received credit at McGill, CEGEP, at another university, or advanced placement exams, advanced level results, International Baccalaureate Diploma, or French Baccalaureate. It is the student's responsibility to consult with a faculty advisor in Arts Academic Advising (OASIS), the Science Student Advising (SOUSA), or the department offering the course as to whether or not credit can be obtained and to be aware of exclusion clauses specified in the course description in this publication. More information about transfer credits and advanced standing can be found here.

Sometimes, the same course is offered by two different departments. Such courses are called 'double-prefix' courses. When such courses are offered simultaneously, a student should take the course offered by the department in which they are obtaining their degree. For example, in the case of double-prefix courses CHEM XYZ and PHYS XYZ, Chemistry students take CHEM XYZ and the Physics students take PHYS XYZ. If a double-prefix course is offered by different departments in alternate years, the student may take whichever course best fits their schedule.

Note for Arts students: Credit for computer courses offered by the School of Computer Science is governed by rules specified in each individual course description. 

Note for Science, and Bachelor of Arts and Science students: Credit for statistics courses offered by faculties other than Arts and Science requires the permission of the Associate Dean (Student Affairs), Science, except for students in the B.Sc. Major in Environment, who may take required statistics courses in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences necessary to satisfy their program requirements. Credit for computer courses offered by faculties other than Science requires the permission of the Associate Dean (Student Affairs) Science, and will be granted only under exceptional circumstances.

Credit for statistics courses for Arts, Science, and Bachelor of Arts and Science students will be given with the following stipulations:

  • Credit will be given for only one of the following introductory statistics courses:
    Course Title Credits
  • Students who have already received credit for PSYC 204 Introduction to Psychological Statistics. will not receive credit for any of the following:
    Course Title Credits
  • Credit will be given for only one of the following intermediate statistics courses:
    Course Title Credits
    1

    Students may receive credit for both PSYC 305 Statistics for Experimental Design. and ECON 227D1 Economic Statistics./ECON 227D2 Economic Statistics. or ECON 257D1 Economic Statistics - Honours./ECON 257D2 Economic Statistics - Honours..

  • Students who have already received credit for MATH 324 Statistics. or MATH 357 Honours Statistics. will not receive credit for any of the following:
    Course Title Credits
  • For 500-level statistics courses not listed above, students must consult a program/department advisor to ensure that no significant overlap exists. Where such overlap exists with a course for which the student has already received credit, credit for the 500-level course will not be allowed.

Credit Limit for Courses Outside the Faculties of Arts or Science — For Arts Students

The maximum number of credits allowed outside the Faculties of Arts or Science depends on the program. Most students are limited to 12 credits, but students in designated interdisciplinary programs may take up to 30 credits, including required courses.

The following regulations apply to Arts students:

  1. Regardless of the minimum credit requirement towards their B.A. degree, students are allowed a maximum of 12 university-level credits for the entirety of their degree in elective and/or complementary courses taken in faculties other than the Faculties of Arts or Science.
  2. In certain designated programs that include a number of required and complementary courses in other faculties, students are permitted a maximum of 30 university-level required, complementary, and elective credits outside the Faculties of Arts or Science for the entirety of their degree. The designated programs are:
    1. Minor concentrations
      • Education for Arts Students
      • Educational Psychology
      • Entrepreneurship for Non-Management Students
      • Field Studies1
      • Geography Urban Studies1
      • Management for Non-Management Students
      • Musical Applications of Technology
      • Musical Science and Technology
      • Music Composition
      • Music Education
      • Music History
      • Music Theory
    2. Major concentrations
      • Geography Urban Studies
    3. Honours
    4. Joint Honours
    5. Faculty Program
      • Environment
  3. If a student combines any two or more of the programs listed above, they may not exceed 39 credits outside the Faculties of Arts or Science.
  4. Any courses taught at McGill University may be used towards the maximum allowed with the following exceptions:
    • School of Continuing Studies: courses with subject codes that start with 'C' are not eligible for credit towards their degree.
    • Distance Education (Online Courses): refer to the Policy on Transfer Credit for Online Courses in this publication for eligibility details.
  5. For the purpose of this policy, courses taught in other faculties and specifically listed in the Arts or Science sections of the Course Catalogue are considered courses taught in the Faculties of Arts or Science.  
  6. For the purpose of this policy, all courses taken to fulfil the requirements for an approved Field Study semester will be considered as courses in Arts or Science.
  7. The maximum number of credits allowed will be strictly enforced. If a student uses Minerva to register for a course, and it exceeds the specified limitations, the course will be flagged for no credit after the course change period.
1

located within the Faculties of Arts or Science

Minor offered by another faculty: If a student wishes to complete a minor that does NOT appear on the list of minors offered by other faculties available to Faculty of Arts students, they must first request Faculty Permission. Details on how to submit this request are provided on the same page. Note that submitting a request for permission does not guarantee approval.

Inter-University Transfer Credit Policy for Courses Taken Outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science

If a student transfers from a faculty outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science at another institution, they may transfer up to a maximum of 30 credits under the following conditions:

  • Only courses passed with a grade of C or better will be transferred. Grades of C-, P, or S are not acceptable. The letter grades applied by a student's former home institution take precedence over the numerical grades, if provided.
  • Decisions on whether a course is outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science will be based on the original faculty in which their course was taken.
  • Refer to Policy on Transfer Credit for Online Courses.
  • Transfer credits for Continuing Education courses will be granted only if the courses can be used towards a degree program in a faculty other than Continuing Education at their former home university.
  • They will be allowed to take courses outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science at McGill only if they have transferred fewer than 12 university credits, and then only up to a maximum of 12 credits.
  • If a student registers for a Faculty of Arts program that requires additional credits outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science, they will be allowed to take only the number of credits outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science required to complete their program, as long as the total number of credits outside the Faculties of Arts and Science, including transfer credits, does not exceed 39 credits.

Interfaculty Transfer Credit Policy for Courses Taken Outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science

Upon a successful interfaculty transfer to the B.A. degree, students will normally receive credit for all the Arts and Science courses they have completed and up to a maximum of 30 credits for courses outside of Arts and Science completed with grades of D or better. The grades for these courses will remain included in the GPA (regardless of the grade).

  • Upon transfer, students will be allowed to take courses outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science at McGill only if they have transferred fewer than 12 credits, and then only up to a maximum of 12 credits.
  • If the student registers for a Faculty of Arts program that requires additional credits outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science, they will be allowed to take only the number of credits outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science required to complete their program, as long as the total number of credits outside the Faculties of Arts and Science, including transfer credits, does not exceed 39 credits.

Policy on Transfer Credit for Online Courses

Definition of Online Courses for Transfer Credit

For transfer credit assessment, the Faculty of Arts at McGill considers a course "online" if more than 20% of its delivery is online. This includes:

  • Courses that are entirely online.
  • Courses with a mix of delivery methods where the online portion exceeds 20% (e.g., 25% online and 75% in-person).

Refer to the Transferring Credit Process (in-person and online) for further details on course requirements and procedures.

Credit Limit for Online Courses

A maximum of 6 credits of online courses taken through Independent Study Away may be applied towards a degree at McGill for use as electives only.  Such online courses will be approved as transfer credits under the following conditions:

  • the course is given by a government-accredited degree-granting institution acceptable to McGill;
  • the course counts for credit towards degrees granted at the institution giving the course (i.e., not courses taken towards a certificate/diploma, nor offered through Continuing Studies);
  • students have carefully read and completed the steps specified by Arts OASIS;
  • prior approval for the course is obtained from Arts OASIS.

The combined total of regular course credits and online course credits may not exceed the permitted maximum number of credits per term according to Faculty regulations.

Exceptions

  • McGill Exchange or Quebec Inter-University Transfers (IUT) are exempt from this policy, meaning both online and in-person courses are accepted equally and there is no distinction. This means that whether a student takes a course online or in person while on an exchange program or IUT, Arts OASIS will—for Arts courses—aim to articulate (record) it as a McGill equivalent.
    • Example: if a student takes the McGill equivalent of ANTH 343 at their exchange university, it will be transferred and recorded as ANTH 343 on their McGill transcript without any special designation for online or in-person formats.
    • Students are strongly advised to prioritize in-person courses while studying abroad to fully engage in the exchange experience.
    • Courses Administered by the Faculty of Science:
      • CHEM, COMP, ENVR, GEOG, MATH, PHYS, and PSYC courses are available to Faculty of Arts students but are managed by the Faculty of Science.
      • The Faculty of Science determines whether an online course in these disciplines qualifies for transfer credit, and the Faculty of Arts will abide by their decision.
    • Courses Administered by the Desautels Faculty of Management:
      • BUSA, INSY, FINE, MGCR, MGPO, MGSC, MRKT, and ORGB are examples of courses that are available to Faculty of Arts students but are managed by the Desautels Faculty of Management.
      • The Desautels Faculty of Management determines whether an online course in these disciplines qualifies for transfer credit, and the Faculty of Arts will abide by their decision.

For restrictions, and for the application process, refer to the Arts OASIS webpage for further details.

Internship Courses

The Faculty of Arts offers internship courses for credit. For more information, refer to Faculty of Arts Internship Program.

Courses in Academic English for English as a Second Language Students – Bachelor of Arts Degree

If a student's primary language is not English and they have studies for fewer than five years in an English-language secondary institution, they are eligible to take up to 12 credits of WCOM courses. These courses emphasize academic writing and provide valuable support for non-native English speakers. For more information, please check the McGill Writing Centre's course offerings. Students are also strongly encouraged to speak to an Arts faculty advisor, via Arts OASIS.

Placement tests are required for most WCOM ESL courses. Once a student receives their test result, the MWC will issue them a permit for course registration.

First-Year Seminar Courses

Registration for First-Year Seminars is limited to students in their first year of study at McGill, i.e., newly admitted students in U0 or U1. These courses are designed to provide a closer interaction with professors and better working relations with peers than are available in large introductory courses. These seminars endeavour to teach the latest scholarly developments and expose participants to advanced research methods. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. The maximum number of students in any seminar is 25, although some are limited to even fewer than that.

Students may take only one First-Year Seminar. If they register for more than one, they will be obliged to withdraw from all but one of them.

For a complete listing, see First-Year Seminars.

The First-Year Seminars offered by the Faculty of Science are also open to Arts students. For a complete listing, see the Faculty of Science's First-Year Seminars: Registration.

Graduate-Level Courses

Undergraduate B.A. students can request to enrol in 600-level courses, subject to available space and per the following eligibility criteria:

  • The student has a CGPA of at least 3.30;
  • The student is in U3 or higher;
    • Note: Visiting, Special, or Exchange students are ineligible;
  • The professor of the course and the program advisor or the director of the undergraduate program provide written approval supporting the request;
  • The course is at the 600-level (registration in 700 or 800-level courses will not be permitted);
  • The student has not already exceeded the six credits maximum of 600-level courses to be counted towards their Arts degree, subject to regular degree requirements.

If permission to enrol is granted, the following conditions apply:

  • The actual course number (and eventual grade) will appear on the student's transcript;
  • The course evaluation methods and grading standards are the same for all students, whether graduate or undergraduate; and
  • The regulations and practices of the Faculty of Arts are also applied to such a course.

The form to submit a request is available on the Arts OASIS website.

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