Online education policy

To receive transfer credit for an online course, it must be taken as part of an approved Independent Study Away or a Quebec Inter-University Transfer (IUT). 

Having a course approved in the Course Equivalency System does NOT guarantee that you may take the course for credit - the course must still meet the faculty approval requirements outlined on this page. Other faculties may approve online courses that appear on the CES that would not be approved for a B.Sc. or B.A. & Sc. student.

  • A maximum of 6 credits of non-海角社区 online courses for use as electives only may be applied towards your degree at 海角社区. Online courses cannot be counted for a program (i.e. towards the requirements of majors, minors, foundation, interfaculty, etc.).
  • The course must be offered by a department in the Faculty of Arts or Faculty of Science. Online courses outside Arts and Science will not be approved.
  • The course must include a minimum 50% invigilated in-person final exam. Students will be asked to provide proof of the delivery method of their final exam. Invigilation through online platforms like ProctorU is not accepted.   
  • Students registered for a 海角社区 Exchange program may not take online courses during their study abroad term(s) to earn transfer credit and/or satisfy the minimum course load at the host university.
  • Students registered at 海角社区 in the Fall and/or Winter semester may not be concurrently registered for an online course outside of Quebec in the Fall and/or Winter semester.
  • The Faculty reserves the right to refuse to award 海角社区 transfer credit for any studies completed at another university if these studies were not pre-approved or if the host school or any of its courses fails to meet the Faculty's study away policies or 海角社区鈥檚 program or degree requirements.

Note: You may also consult the official policy in the Course Catalogue (formerly eCalendar): ( / ).

Approval to take an online course

You must obtain approval from the Faculty before registering for an online course.

  1. Submit your written request to either mary.gauthier [at] mcgill.ca (Mary Gauthier) (for B.Sc. students) or marina.saunders [at] mcgill.ca (Marina Saunders) (for B.A. & Sc. students). In your email indicate your reasons for taking this online course and attach a detailed course syllabus (for the term you are requesting to take the course) which includes the method of evaluation and mode of delivery.
  2. If the Faculty approves you to take the online course, it must then be evaluated using the Course Equivalency System. Once this has been done, you will be given instructions on how to apply for Independent Study Away or a Quebec Inter-University Transfer (IUT).