McMaster University offers a Late Withdrawal option to help students who have fallen behind in a course and are not prepared to write final exam (or equivalent).

Contact an Academic Advisor to discuss your situation and the options that are available to you.

Notes:

• Requests for Late Withdrawal cannot be made in courses for which the final exam (or equivalent) has been attempted or completed. This also includes courses where a final grade has been assigned.
• Students cannot use the Late Withdrawal option for courses in which they are under investigation or for which they have been found guilty of academic dishonesty.

A course approved for Late Withdrawal will be:

• Assigned a non-numeric grade of LWD
• Excluded from the calculation of the GPA
• Ineligible for a tuition refund

Approval of a late withdrawal is final, and requests to be re-enrolled in a withdrawn course will not be considered.

Once you have downloaded and completed the Late Withdrawal Form, submit the form through MacHub.

The Petition for Special Consideration: Request for Deferred Examination (Form B) is used when a student misses an examination because of compelling medical or personal reasons. Please review the information provided in the General Academic Regulations section of the Undergraduate Calendar.

A deferred Examination must be written as follows, and if not written cannot be deferred a second time:

• Fall Term exams will be written during Winter Reading Week (in February)
• Winter Term exams will be written in late June
• Spring/Summer Term exams will be written during the Fall Mid-Term Recess Period

Students who defer of more than one examination may be required to reduce their course load during the term in which the Deferred Examinations are being written. The decision regarding a reduced load will be communicated by email.

Download and complete the Request for Deferred Examination form before  submitting through MacHub.

If exceptional circumstances prevent you from finishing work after the last day of classes, meet with an Academic Advisor to see if an extension is reasonable.

Instructors make the final decision about extensions.

To enroll in a scheduling conflict between two courses you must complete the course conflict form and receive email permission from both instructors.

If your instructors approve the conflict, please submit the completed form in MacHub along with email confirmation from both instructors. You can leave the Advisor section of the form blank and the email permission from your instructors can be used instead of their signatures.

Please be aware that enrolling in a conflict is against academic advice and you will not be given any accommodation for missed work due to the conflict.  As such, you must be sure that there will be no assessments given at the same time as you will not be approved for an MSAF.  The same is true for final examinations. You will not be permitted to defer one of them due to this conflict.

Download then complete the Course Conflict Form before submitting through MacHub.

The deadline to apply is the first day of classes in the relevant term.

Most program changes happen through the Program Application, which opens each year in April. You can use it if you are not in your final program level. If you’re unsure of your level, check the Levels section in MOSAIC.

If you want to change programs when the application is not open, contact your Faculty Academic Advising Office for next steps.

If you are ineligible to continue at the University (i.e. your result of session on your last academic review was “May Not Continue at University” or “Required to Withdraw”) and you wish to apply for reinstatement, you must submit a Reinstatement Request Form by the appropriate deadline.

Reinstatement is not guaranteed. The Faculty of Science does not consider requests for reinstatement for the Spring/Summer session.

Eligibility

• Open to students in good academic standing (except second-degree students).

Course & Credit Limits as per the Faculty of Science and General Regulations

• Max of 18 units allowed on LOP for B.Sc. or Honours B.Sc.
• Required courses for the degree cannot be taken elsewhere.
• Non-Science electives may be taken, subject to regulations.
• Up to 6 units may count toward a Minor.
• Students must complete their final level at McMaster (residence requirement).

Applications

• Apply through Mosaic (instructions available here.)
• Please contact the Office of the Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies with any questions or concerns.
• Must apply 30 days before the start of classes via Mosaic.
• Please review Student Responsibilities for information regarding impacts on International Students and Services and Supports.
• Students must also consult the institution they wish to attend for any relevant deadlines and application procedures.

Deadlines

Course Equivalency & Approval

• Check Transfer Credit Search for approved courses.
• If not listed, submit a detailed course outline to:
  lopsci@mcmaster.ca
• Courses are reviewed by the relevant McMaster department.

Transfer Credit & Grades

• Minimum grade of C- (60%) required for transfer credit.
• Transcript will show:
  • ‘T’ for Transfer (C- or better),
  • ‘NC’ for No Credit (below C-).
• Transfer credits:
  • Do not count toward GPA or term averages.
  • Cannot be used to raise academic standing.

Transcript Submission

• Must be sent directly from the host institution.
• Official transcript
• Can be electronic or paper:
  • Email: lopsci@mcmaster.ca
  • Mail:
    1280 Main Street West
    Burke Science Building – Room 136
    Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1
    Canada

• To be Eligible for an overload, students MUST have a minimum GPA of 7.0 (on McMaster’s 12-point scale) for the previous academic year’s Fall/Winter Terms.
• Overload requests for the Spring/Summer Term is generally not permitted. Overloads are limited to a MAXIMUM of 18 Units per Term for the Fall and Winter Terms.
• Overload requests CANNOT be approved in the same term for which a Course Conflict has been approved.
• Please note that overloading courses is against academic advice as students tend to see a drop in their grades when taking on this extra work. 

• Students may be eligible to receive up to 18 Units of Transfer Credit (hyperlink – Transfer Credits for High School Students – Future Students) for their completion of Advanced Placement (AP), British Patterned – General Certificate of Education (GCE), French Baccalaureate, or International Baccalaureate (IB).
• Please note that Transfer Credit is not guaranteed and your request will be reviewed by an Academic Advisor.