Health Sciences Student Services and Regulations
Student Advising
Student Advising
The Mission Statement of the University expresses the commitment to offer students “the best education available”. An essential component of this is the advising process. The active participation of students in the advising process is essential in order for them to access the full range of academic opportunities during their studies. They must be proactive in seeking meetings with advisers, professors, counsellors, and such to ensure that they receive the advice they need to meet their academic goals. It is their responsibility to inform themselves about the rules and regulations of the University faculty, and their program. With the students' cooperation, all advisers and counsellors will work together to help students throughout their program.
Students are responsible for the correctness and completeness of their records. While faculty advisers and staff are always available to give advice and guidance, it is the student’s ultimate responsibility for completeness and correctness of course selection, for compliance with and completion of program and degree requirements and for observance of regulations and deadlines. It is the student's responsibility to seek guidance if in any doubt; misunderstanding or misapprehension will not be accepted as cause for dispensation from any regulation, deadline, program or degree requirement.
Your adviser
- is a faculty member with whom you can build a relationship to counsel you throughout the program;
- can guide you with both academic and non-academic concerns;
- is the person in your Faculty or School with whom you can discuss any matter and to whom you may go for advice;
- will provide ongoing advice and guidance on the program;
- will assist you with workload management;
- will assist you with guidance regarding career options or considerations;
- will offer help managing academic situations during periods of personal, financial, or medical problems, by working with students to identify various possibilities and strategies for making informed decisions;
- will communicate with other advisers within the University and, with a student's permission, serve as a direct link to other University resources.
Related Services
Please refer to Student Services – Downtown Campus or Student Services – Macdonald Campus for a list of services available to you.
Language Policy
Language Policy
Students should be aware that most of the clinical affiliation placements undertaken in the province of Quebec, including those in Greater Montreal, require proficiency in both English and French.
It is recommended that students who lack proficiency in English or French avail themselves of the opportunity to take an English or French as a second language course, prior to, or early in their program of studies. Please refer to University Regulations and Resources > Undergraduate > General Policies and Information > Language Policy for more information.
Medical students are expected to be functional in French by the time the clinical rotations begin (January of the second year of the M.D.,C.M. program). Students are in contact with francophone patients in the teaching hospitals and may be assigned to francophone training sites for their clinical rotations.
Proof of Proficiency in English
Proof of Proficiency in English
Applicants are not required to submit proof of proficiency in English if they meet one of the following conditions: their mother tongue/first language is English; or they have completed both Secondary V and a Diploma of Collegial Studies in Quebec; or they have studied for five or more years in an institution where English is the primary language of instruction.
All other applicants must demonstrate proficiency in English, using one of the following five options:
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Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
Most undergraduate programs require 90 (iBT; 577 for the PBT (paper-based test)). Some programs require higher or lower scores.
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ƻԺ Certificate of Proficiency in English
For further information about the program, contact:
- Department of Language and Intercultural Communication, School of Continuing Studies
- 688 Sherbrooke Street West, 11th floor
- Montreal QC H3A 3R1
- Telephone: 514-398-6160
- Email: info.conted [at] mcgill.ca
- Website: www.mcgill.ca/continuingstudies/programs-and-courses/languages
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International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
A band score of 6.5 or better.
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University of Michigan English Language Test (MELAB)
A minimum mark of 85%.
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Advanced Placement International English Language (APIEL)
A minimum score of 4.
Vaccination/Immunization Requirements for Health Sciences Programs
Vaccination/Immunization Requirements for Health Sciences Programs
A compulsory immunization program exists at ƻԺ for students in the Health Sciences programs. Health Sciences students must start the immunization process as soon as they are accepted at ƻԺ and must complete it well before they are permitted contact with patients. Entry into the ƻԺ Teaching Hospitals may be delayed if immunizations are incomplete according to the information provided by the ƻԺ Student Health Service: www.mcgill.ca/studenthealth/immunize/forms.
Proof of immunity must be written and signed by either a nurse or a physician. For details, see www.mcgill.ca/studenthealth/immunize/vaccine.
There are no exceptions to these requirements. Students who do not meet these requirements will be asked to withdraw.
Vaccination against other infectious diseases such as influenza may be required.
Current information indicates that there is a potential risk of transmission of Hepatitis B from practitioner to patients in the clinical dental setting. Therefore, applicants for the D.M.D. program, Multidisciplinary Residency Program in Dentistry and M.Sc. in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery will be required to be tested for Hepatitis B surface antigen by the ƻԺ Student Health Services. Applicants who test positive for Hepatitis B surface antigen will be tested for Hepatitis B “e” antigen and Hepatitis B viral DNA to help determine infectivity risk. If either Hepatitis B “e” or Hepatitis B viral DNA is positive, the offer of acceptance will be withdrawn and registration in the program will not be completed.
Health Sciences students who think they might be infected or think they have been exposed to a blood-borne disease should be tested for any or all blood-borne pathogens.
Students who are seropositive for Hepatitis B, C, HIV, and/or any other blood-borne pathogens have an obligation to notify the Dean or Director of the school as soon as they know their serologic status. These students will be referred to the "Service d’évaluation du risque de transmission d’infections hématogènes", a provincial service responsible for all infected workers, including medical students. This service will make recommendations to the students and Faculty based on current scientific knowledge and relevant guidelines and practices. Students must follow the recommendations of the Service. The Service may recommend restricting the practice of these students. Students who carry blood-borne pathogens may not be permitted to perform procedures involving needles, scalpels or other sharp objects as this may pose a risk to patients and co-workers. This means that they may not be able to complete their clinical requirements and may be required to withdraw.
Applicants who know they are carrying blood-borne pathogens should consider carefully their intention to become healthcare workers and govern themselves accordingly.
Students involved in patient care who develop any contagious disease placing patients at risk must immediately discuss their condition with their supervisor and they may be required to temporarily stop clinical activities. ƻԺ considers it important for Health Sciences students to fulfil their ethical obligation to patients by taking appropriate measures to minimize the transmission of disease.
Students will receive details of the immunization requirements with their acceptance package and on the following website: www.mcgill.ca/studenthealth/immunize/forms. Immunizations can be completed at ƻԺ Student Health Services which operates during the summer.
For information on how to make a Student Health Services clinic appointment see www.mcgill.ca/studenthealth/see-doctor/appointments.