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Note: This is the 2010–2011 edition of the eCalendar. Update the year in your browser's URL bar for the most recent version of this page, or click here to jump to the newest eCalendar.
Note: This is the 2010–2011 edition of the eCalendar. Update the year in your browser's URL bar for the most recent version of this page, or click here to jump to the newest eCalendar.
All required and complementary courses used to fulfil program requirements must be completed with a grade of C or better. If you fail to obtain a satisfactory grade in a required course, you 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; you should consult your academic adviser.
Normally, you 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.) If a required course is failed a second time, you must appeal to the Associate Dean (Student Affairs) for permission to take the course a third time. If permission is denied by the Associate Dean and/or by the Committee on Student Standing, on appeal, you must withdraw from the program. If the failed course is a complementary course required by your program, you may choose to replace it with another appropriate complementary course. If you choose to substitute another complementary course for a complementary course in which a D was received, credit for the first course will still be given, but as an elective. If you repeat a required course in which a D was received, credit will be given only once.
Full details of the course requirements for all programs offered are given in each unit’s section together with the locations of departmental advisory offices, program directors and telephone numbers should further information be required.
The Faculty of Arts does not prevent you from registering for courses if you do not have the required prerequisites. However, if you lack the prerequisite course, you must consult with the instructor of the course you want to take, to ensure that you have the necessary background. Please note that other faculties may not allow registration without the required prerequisite courses.
You will not receive additional credit towards your degree for any course that overlaps in content with a course for which you have already received credit at Æ»¹ûÒùÔº, CEGEP, at another university, or Advanced Placement exams, Advanced Level results, International Baccalaureate Diploma, or French Baccalaureate. It is your responsibility to consult Arts OASIS 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. Please refer to the following website for specific information about advanced standing credits and Æ»¹ûÒùÔº course exemptions: www.mcgill.ca/student-records/transfercredits.
Credit for statistics courses will be given with the following stipulations:
Credit for computer courses will be subject to the following restrictions:
The following regulations apply to you if you wish to take courses outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science:
If you transfer from a faculty outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science at another institution, you may transfer up to a maximum of 30 credits under the following conditions:
You will normally have counted for credit (for grades of D or better) and/or GPA (regardless of the grade) all courses in Arts and Science, and up to a maximum of 30 credits of courses outside of Arts and of Science.
A maximum of 6 credits of elective courses taught through distance education may be used towards your degree at Æ»¹ûÒùÔº. Courses taught through distance education from institutions other than Æ»¹ûÒùÔº will be approved as transfer credits under the following conditions:
The combined total of regular course credits and distance education course credits may not exceed the permitted maximum number of credits per term according to Faculty regulations. Courses taught through distance education may not be used to complete program requirements, except on an individual basis when serious, documented circumstances warrant it. In such cases, prior approval must be obtained from your departmental academic adviser and the Associate Dean (Student Affairs).
The Faculty of Arts offers internship courses for credit. For more information, refer to Faculty of Arts Internship Program.
Up to a maximum of 12 credits of ESL courses, including academic writing courses for non-anglophones, are open to you if your primary language is not English and you have studied for fewer than five years in an English-language secondary institution.
Placement tests are required for all courses offered through the English and French Language Centre. Soon after the tests are evaluated, you will be issued a departmental approval for course registration.
Registration for First-Year Seminars is limited to students in their first year of study at Æ»¹ûÒùÔº, 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 is 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.
You may take only one First-Year Seminar. If you register for more than one, you 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 Faculty of Science > Registration for First-Year Seminars in this publication.