McGill Arts admission requirements: Ontario Top 6, BA concentrations and honours planning

McGill requires an OSSD and at least six Grade 12 U, DU or M courses for Ontario admission. At least four of the six must be 4U or DU, and all prerequisites must have that level. A maximum of two M courses can enter the calculation. For Arts, the prerequisite is a core language at the 4U level: English or French. McGill selects the higher eligible core-language result and doesn't accept second-language English/French as the prerequisite.

The university includes required subjects in its own Top 6 calculation. It also limits applied-course eligibility: only named technology courses and the listed physical-education course qualify, while 4M performing-arts courses are eligible. A generic average made from whichever six grades are highest may therefore differ from McGill's result. Keep the course types and language choice visible when checking your transcript. Students in Quebec CEGEP, an international curriculum or a transfer route must use their own requirements. The Ontario six-course rule isn't an instruction to convert every background to an invented percentage.

The Ontario page marks BA Psychology and BA Population and Global Health as separate application routes. Population and Global Health also has additional supporting documents considered in admission. This guide covers general Arts; don't assume a broad Arts selection is the same application simply because the degree abbreviation includes BA.

The typical minimum admission range for Arts is high 80s to low 90s, both for Top 6 and the required English or French. McGill says the information is guidance and meeting it doesn't guarantee admission. It doesn't supply a general Arts offer/application acceptance percentage here. Compare the desired department and the actual application route before interpreting a grade range. The interfaculty BA and Science is another distinct qualification, with mathematics and science preparation not required by the broad Arts row. If you want equal Arts/Science study, read that degree's requirements instead of assuming the BA automatically offers the same structure.

McGill's department list offers subjects across humanities, languages and social sciences, including history, economics, political science and philosophy. A department can offer more than one program structure, so a department name isn't itself a complete degree plan. Read its concentration or honours requirements and the first-year subjects they need.

For a useful comparison, choose two fields whose methods interest you. Economics and history, for example, may offer different kinds of evidence and analytical work even when both contribute to Arts study. Ask how the combination meets the BA rules and which department will advise each component. The OASIS degree-planning page directs students to departmental advisers for program requirements. It warns against using Minerva's degree-evaluation display or myProgress alone to confirm completion. That is a practical limit on relying on an automated audit: the school says the official requirements and departmental confirmation control the result. Use tools to organize the plan, then verify it with the responsible advisers.

OASIS describes the 90-credit multi-track portion through three options: a major concentration with a minor and electives; a major with two minors and electives; or two majors with electives. Major concentrations usually require 36 to 48 credits, while minors require 18 to 24, depending on the subject. These program credits sit inside the BA's overall credit requirement; they don't establish that every new Ontario student finishes after only 90 total credits.

The concentrations must come from different teaching units or departments, and the same course cannot satisfy two concentration requirements. Starting with Fall 2025 entrants, at least one Faculty of Arts program must be included to graduate with a BA. That matters when a student wants an Arts degree built heavily around subjects taught elsewhere. Ask how the proposed fields meet the faculty requirement, rather than assuming any pair of university programs can be labelled a BA. Map the actual required courses and remaining electives before choosing a second concentration.

The OASIS guide says honours admission normally comes after U1 and gives a minimum prior-year CGPA of 3.00, with departmental program-GPA requirements varying. Honours programs require 42 to 72 program credits and usually a minor from another teaching unit, plus any remaining electives. Joint honours combines two components from different disciplines, normally 30 to 37 credits each, without a required minor.

These are distinct structures, not prestige labels you automatically receive with a high Grade 12 average. Their university course and grade requirements govern progression. The guide also describes enriched honours and faculty-program exceptions, so confirm the specific route rather than applying the normal minor rule universally. If graduate study is a goal, compare the relevant department's methods and advanced coursework, and check the future graduate program's own prerequisites. Honours can support focused study, but it doesn't guarantee admission to another qualification. Your initial Arts offer and the later honours decision should remain separate parts of the plan.

The BA requires at least 120 credits including eligible advanced standing. OASIS places students with fewer than 24 advanced-standing credits in U0 and those with at least 24 in U1; transfers with the maximum 60 can begin in U2. U0 students complete the Foundation Program. Don't assume an Ontario offer alone determines that the Foundation Program is waived.

At least 60 credits must be completed at McGill and at least two-thirds of program requirements must be completed there. Program courses need C or higher, and the degree requires a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0. Those are graduation/progression rules on the university scale, not high-school admission percentages. Advanced standing can reduce the credits still needed, but credit and a course exemption don't always answer the same question. Ask advisers how any prior learning applies to your intended concentration. Keep required/complementary program courses separate from electives, and check prerequisites before registration. An exemption doesn't justify skipping another required course without approval.

McGill's Arts Internship Office supports internship opportunities, advising and funding. Its current identity is the David M. Culver Centre: Arts Internship Office. It is a resource to use as your interests develop, not proof that every BA includes a paid co-op placement. The checked BA sources don't publish a universal work-term sequence attached to general Arts entry.

Ask about academic recognition, departmental approval, supervision and whether a particular internship is paid or supported by an award. Those questions determine how the experience fits a concentration and budget. The degree-planning rules still apply during internship or study-away planning, including residency requirements and the credits needed to graduate. A political-science research experience and a cultural-organization placement may develop different skills; choose the opportunity for the work and learning involved. Don't treat a listed opportunity or funding program as a personal award. An office helping students find placements isn't an employer guaranteeing that every applicant will be hired.

McGill's dated event confirms February 1, 2027 for applicants studying or last studying at a Canadian high school outside Quebec. Other applicant categories have different dates on the admissions site. Submit through the current admissions process and follow the document tasks attached to your category. A transfer or Quebec applicant shouldn't inherit the Ontario deadline just because the eventual degree is Arts.

For tuition and entrance scholarships, use the McGill overview and the official 2026-27 rate page. Residency and admission cohort change tuition treatment, and those published rates aren't a confirmed future-year invoice. The BA-specific question to resolve next is your program combination: which fields you want, what first-year preparation they require and whether honours is a later goal. Bring those choices to departmental advising rather than relying only on an automated degree display. A careful plan respects McGill's different-department rule, the Faculty of Arts component and the separation between program credits, electives and advanced standing.