Program decision · McGill University
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McGill University Programs & Pathways
Montreal, Quebec
Program strengths and how to compare pathways. This focused guide keeps the detailed tables, official sources, and practical next steps in one manageable reading path.
Reviewed August 16, 2026 · Information checked against official university sources · How we review guides
Programs and Pathways
McGill programs, U0 versus U1, and the routes that differ
Eleven faculties and fifteen schools sit behind one application, but the entry structures are not equivalent. A CEGEP student usually enters at U1 with 30 credits of advanced standing and finishes in three years. An Ontario or international student usually enters at U0, completes a 30-credit freshman year, and finishes in four. That single difference changes the total price of the degree.
Arts, B.A. & Sc., and Social Work
The Faculty of Arts covers humanities and social sciences, the interfaculty B.A. & Sc. combines both, and Social Work runs its own written submission.
Selection: Arts was the lowest Ontario Top 6 reference at 90% for September 2025; the B.A. & Sc. reference was 89% with an 89% mathematics/science component.
Science
McGill splits Science admission into Biological/Biomedical, Bio-Physical-Computational, Neuroscience, and Physical/Earth/Math/Computer groupings rather than one BSc entry point.
Selection: The grouping you choose changes the reference cut-off: 28.0 to 33.5 on the CEGEP R-score scale for September 2025.
Management (B.Com.)
The Desautels Bachelor of Commerce is a deregulated-tuition program with its own mathematics prerequisite.
Selection: September 2025 references were a 93% Ontario Top 6 with 90% mathematics, or a 29.4 CEGEP R-score.
Engineering
Ten published entry routes: Bioengineering, Chemical, Civil, Computer, Electrical, Global, Materials, Mechanical, Mining, and Software Engineering.
Selection: References spanned 89% to 96% on the Ontario Top 6 for September 2025, so treat 'Engineering' as ten different competitive bars, not one.
Nursing and rehabilitation sciences
Nursing runs as the B.Sc.(N.) and the B.N. Integrated (including an online B.N. Integrated); Occupational and Physical Therapy share the B.Sc. Rehab.Sc. route.
Selection: These programs require documented French proficiency at B2 as well as competitive academic results, and Physical Therapy was the highest published rehabilitation reference at a 33.0 overall R-score.
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (Macdonald Campus)
Food Science, Nutritional Science, Bioresource Engineering, and the B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.) run from the Macdonald Campus in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, not downtown.
Selection: These were McGill's most accessible published references at 78% to 79% Ontario Top 6, or 25.0 R-score.
Three programs require documented French
Human Nutrition (Dietetics), Nursing, and Physical & Occupational Therapy include a mandatory stage in a hospital, clinic, social service centre, or school, so McGill expects B2 or higher — level 6 on the Échelle québécoise — with Nursing and Rehabilitation Science applicants needing B2 in all four components of written and oral expression and comprehension. Everywhere else, McGill requires proof of English proficiency and no French at all.
Freshman year
U0 = 30 credits
Non-CEGEP entrants complete a 30-credit freshman year and finish in a minimum of four years, roughly 120 to 140 credits.
Advanced standing
Up to 30 credits
CEGEP, IB, French Baccalauréat, AP, A-Level and AS-Level results, or prior university work can count, subject to faculty rules.
Second campus
Macdonald Campus
Food Science, Nutritional Science, Bioresource Engineering, and the B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.) are taught in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, not downtown.
Current academic structure
U0 versus U1 changes the length of the degree
McGill defines U0 as the freshman level: students coming from Canadian provinces outside the CEGEP system or from other countries may enter at this level and complete a 30-credit freshman year, finishing in a minimum of four years with roughly 120 to 140 credits. Most CEGEP students enter at U1 after a two-year DEC, typically with 30 credits of advanced standing, leaving about 90 to 110 credits — three years of full-time study. Students entering with 24 or more advanced-standing credits may also begin at U1.
An Ontario student and a CEGEP student admitted to the same McGill program are usually not doing the same-length degree. Price the extra U0 year into any tuition comparison.
McGill University: Academic terminology: U0, U1, advanced standing, program length · Verified August 16, 2026
Current academic structure
The 30-credit advanced-standing ceiling
McGill states that applicants from certain school systems — CEGEP, IB, the French Baccalauréat, AP, and A-Level or AS-Level examinations — or from another university may be eligible to receive up to 30 credits toward a McGill degree for university-level work already completed.
McGill University: Academic terminology: U0, U1, advanced standing, program length · Verified August 16, 2026
September 2025 admitted
Engineering is ten separate admission decisions
McGill's Ontario cut-off table lists Bioengineering, Chemical, Civil, Computer, Electrical, Global, Materials, Mechanical, Mining, and Software Engineering as distinct entries. September 2025 references spanned 89% Top 6 for Materials Engineering to 96% for Bioengineering and Mechanical Engineering, and 27.5 to 33.0 on the CEGEP R-score scale. Global Engineering published no cut-off values.
Global Engineering is one of the programs McGill lists as requiring additional supporting documents, which is the likely reason it publishes no numeric reference.
McGill University: Ontario high-school requirements and previous lowest grades · Verified August 16, 2026
September 2025 admitted
Science admission is split into competitive groupings
Rather than one Bachelor of Science entry bar, McGill publishes separate references for Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Bio-Physical-Computational Sciences, Physical/Earth/Math/Computer Sciences, and — on the CEGEP table — Neuroscience. For September 2025 that ran from 91% Top 6 for Physical/Earth/Math/Computer Sciences to 93% for Bio-Physical-Computational, and from 28.0 to 33.5 on the R-score scale.
McGill University: Quebec CEGEP requirements and previous lowest R-scores · Verified August 16, 2026
September 2025 admitted
What Desautels Management actually asks for
An Ontario applicant to the Bachelor of Commerce needs 4U English or French plus Calculus and Vectors, and the September 2025 reference was a 93% Top 6 with 90% in the mathematics prerequisite. On the CEGEP side, Management published 29.4 both overall and in core mathematics. B.Com. also carries a higher Duolingo English requirement of 130.
McGill University: Ontario high-school requirements and previous lowest grades · Verified August 16, 2026
September 2025 admitted
Nursing and rehabilitation sciences run multiple routes
McGill's Quebec table separates the B.Sc.(N.) at a 27.0 R-score, the B.N. Integrated at 26.7, and an online B.N. Integrated at 26.0, alongside Occupational Therapy at 31.0 overall with a 31.5 core and Physical Therapy at 33.0 overall with a 33.5 core. Ontario applicants to Nursing saw an 80% Top 6 and 80% mathematics/science reference.
These same programs carry McGill's French proficiency requirement, so an 80% Ontario average is only half the entry condition.
McGill University: Quebec CEGEP requirements and previous lowest R-scores · Verified August 16, 2026
Current requirements
Three programs require documented French
McGill requires French proficiency for Human Nutrition (B.Sc.Nutr.Sc. Dietetics and the M.Sc.A. credentialing route), Nursing (B.Sc.(N.)), and Physical & Occupational Therapy (B.Sc. Rehab.Sc.), because those degrees include a mandatory stage in a hospital, clinic, social service centre, or school. Students are expected to obtain B2 or higher, level 6 on the Échelle québécoise, and Nursing and Rehabilitation Science applicants must reach B2 in each of the four components of written and oral expression and comprehension. Accepted evidence includes DELF/DALF, TCF, TEF, TEFaQ, TEF Canada, and McGill's own Certificate of Proficiency in French.
Exemptions exist — Nursing lists seven pathways including Quebec secondary schooling in French and passing the CEGEP épreuve uniforme de français — but an Ontario or Caribbean applicant should assume the requirement applies and plan the test.
McGill University: French language proficiency: which programs require B2 · Verified August 16, 2026
September 2025 admitted; 2026-2027 fees
The Macdonald Campus route is the most accessible entry
Food Science, Nutritional Science, Bioresource Engineering, and the B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.) published McGill's lowest reference values for September 2025 — 78% to 79% on the Ontario Top 6 and 25.0 to 27.0 on the CEGEP R-score scale — and carry the lowest published Canadian out-of-province fee total of the programs compared here at about $15,153.17 for a 30-credit year.
These programs are taught at the Macdonald Campus in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, not downtown, which is a genuine lifestyle difference rather than a technicality.
McGill University: Ontario high-school requirements and previous lowest grades · Verified August 16, 2026
Official Sources and Next Steps
Stellar keeps this guide structured for comparison, but official university pages remain the source of truth for program requirements, tuition, residence, scholarships, deadlines, and policy changes.
Prepared by Stellar Advisers Editorial Team · Reviewed August 16, 2026 · Editorial, corrections, and source methodology