Academic FAQs
I am a new first-year student. How will I find out when I need to be on campus for part of my program?
Unless you are in Nursing or a limited number of health care professional programs, you will not be expected to be on campus for any part of the fall 2020/winter 2021 terms. Students in these programs are being contacted directly by their department with more information.
How will I learn how to use McMaster learning technology?
You will have access to a full suite of digital supports , including student wellness and mental health services, athletic and recreational classes, academic counselling and academic skill development, help learning online student systems, learning resources and the library. These will begin over the summer months and we encourage you to take full advantage of what is offered.
The Archway Program looks like a great way to meet other students and to have a mentor for the year. Do I have to sign up for the program?
All incoming first-year students will automatically be admitted to the Archway Program. If you have accepted your offer to McMaster for September 2020, you will have access to Archway! Expect an email in mid-July to get you connected.
I had applied for residence and paid a deposit. Will that be refunded?
Yes, your deposit will automatically be refunded to the credit card used to make the payment. A very limited number of residence spaces will be provided and managed in alignment with Public Health directives, and with additional social distancing expectations in place to ensure the safety of students and staff. Information about eligibility criteria for residence, rates for room and meal plans, and instructions on how to apply will be available on the Housing website on as soon as it is available.
When will I be able to register for courses?
Enrolment appointment dates are now available on our website and in your Mosaic Student Center.
How will tuition fees be impacted by the change to online for the fall/winter terms?
Tuition fees for Canadian citizens will remain frozen for this year in keeping with government policy. Tuition for international students will vary by program and faculty.
What supports will be available for online learning?
McMaster is committed to providing students with a rich and robust online learning experience. You will be contacted in the coming months about the supports available to help ensure that you can get the most out of your semester.
Aid & Awards FAQs
Should I indicate online learning as the method of instruction on my 2020-2021 OSAP application?
If your courses will be delivered online for the fall 2020/winter 2021 terms, please indicate online learning as the method of instruction.
Can I indicate that I am ‘living away from home’ on my OSAP application if I have signed a lease on a residence in Hamilton for fall 2020/winter 2021?
Students should indicate living away from home if they will be moving to Hamilton and/or living outside of the family home. Where the family home is within 30km, the student is expected to live at home.
Students who have already signed a lease for the fall/winter terms and have financial need should take advantage of all resources available such as the Canada Emergency Student Benefit, OSAP, McMaster General Bursary and other aid and awards.
Will I be eligible for my entrance scholarship(s) next year if I defer my admission to my program?
The deferral of the scholarship is automatic with the approval of a deferral of admission.
How will OSAP assess my current financial situation when I am providing 2019 income tax information for my parents/spouse?
A ‘Lower Estimated Income Appeal for Spouse/Parent’ is available on the OSAP website. This appeal is used to ask the government to consider 2020 estimated income instead of the 2019 income reported to Revenue Canada in cases of extenuating, one-time circumstances such as job loss or illness.
Would I be eligible for OSAP as a part-time student?
Students studying at less than a 60% course load or 40% for students with disabilities are encouraged to apply for OSAP for Part-Time Students. The application for 20-21 will be available on the OSAP website soon.
What would be the implications of not applying for OSAP while studying from home?
Some of the implications may be:
- You accumulate less debt.
- You do not demonstrate financial need to be considered for bursaries, work programs, academic grants etc.
- You would need to complete a Continuation of Interest Free Status application if studying full-time, so that your loans do not accumulate interest or go into repayment.
- You would miss out on grants available through the federal and provincial government.
How does living at home impact my OSAP entitlement?
The maximum amounts of aid for OSAP for Full-Time Students has been increased from $400 to $545 per week for single dependent students and $680 to $830 per week for married and sole-support students. Canada Student Grants have also been increased. More information is available at https://www.ontario.ca/page/maximum-amounts-aid. We are awaiting further information from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities regarding the living allowances and the impact on the OSAP assessment.
Will the value of my entrance award change based on any reported final grades?
Fees FAQs
Will tuition fees be impacted by the move to online classes?
Your education is a significant investment. Our investment in and commitment to delivering the very best teaching and learning to our students is unchanged; in fact, at McMaster we are investing significantly in the online learning experience by bolstering our resources to better serve our students and faculty.
Isn’t it cheaper to teach online?
No. Designing virtual classrooms and online opportunities for students needs instructors, technology and experts to deliver the high-quality experience our students expect and deserve. Plus there is still all of the marking, academic advising, office hours and support that we want to provide.
How can online learning cost the same or more?
The same number of instructors who have been engaged in the teaching mission of the university will be working for the fall and winter terms, alongside sessionals, teaching assistants and others — all of whom help us provide excellent teaching at McMaster.
In addition, the university is investing considerably to bring in more people specifically skilled in digital learning to help instructors develop courses, learn the best technology and help students understand and take full advantage of our learning systems. That extra resourcing includes redeploying staff so that each Faculty is assigned educational developers to provide training and consultation on pedagogy, course design and educational technologies, and hiring more educational developers to bolster these teams. We have also recruited graduate students as educational development fellows who will support course design efforts and teaching development.
Other than my courses what does tuition pay for?
Almost all of the services students normally receive continue to be available. Here are just a few:
- The library has invested in a new service that makes more than 800,000 books from the collection available online along with ongoing subscriptions to journals and other resources for students
- For this fall’s entering class the new Archway Program is putting every student into a small group of 30 students along with a staff mentor to help guide them and keep them involved throughout the year
- A number of Faculties are developing special programs to help students get ready for online learning including the new Ember program in Engineering, the DeGroote StartUp Experience and the Student Transition Education Programming in Social Sciences (STEPSS)
- Supervision for research projects, upper-year thesis projects and graduate work continue
- For health professional students, requisite experiences in clinical education, such as simulation, must be arranged and clinical placements must be organized and supervised
- Health and mental health services continue to be available to all students
- Career services will continue to run online programming to help students prepare for their careers, as well as co-op and career counsellors within faculties
- Academic advising offices within Faculties will continue to offer personalized guidance to all students for their academic success
- The Equity and Accessibility Office is ready to help with online programs and confidential services and support
- Emergency financial support, along with scholarships and bursaries, are all part of the financial services available to students
- Free student access to computer programs like Microsoft Office and Teams and access to professional research related software
What about supplementary fees?
While most university-delivered services are continuing to provide services online (for example, the Student Wellness Centre), supplementary fees will be adjusted appropriately for any service where access has been reduced due to the Covid-19 situation.
Fee amounts charged by student union/associations are the responsibility of those organizations and are not controlled by the university.
Academic FAQs
I am a new first-year student. How will I find out when I need to be on campus for part of my program?
Unless you are in Nursing or a limited number of health care professional programs, you will not be expected to be on campus for any part of the fall 2020/winter 2021 terms. Students in these programs are being contacted directly by their department with more information.
How will I learn how to use McMaster learning technology?
You will have access to a full suite of digital supports , including student wellness and mental health services, athletic and recreational classes, academic counselling and academic skill development, help learning online student systems, learning resources and the library. These will begin over the summer months and we encourage you to take full advantage of what is offered.
The Archway Program looks like a great way to meet other students and to have a mentor for the year. Do I have to sign up for the program?
All incoming first-year students will automatically be admitted to the Archway Program. If you have accepted your offer to McMaster for September 2020, you will have access to Archway! Expect an email in mid-July to get you connected.
I had applied for residence and paid a deposit. Will that be refunded?
Yes, your deposit will automatically be refunded to the credit card used to make the payment. A very limited number of residence spaces will be provided and managed in alignment with Public Health directives, and with additional social distancing expectations in place to ensure the safety of students and staff. Information about eligibility criteria for residence, rates for room and meal plans, and instructions on how to apply will be available on the Housing website on as soon as it is available.
When will I be able to register for courses?
Enrolment appointment dates are now available on our website and in your Mosaic Student Center.
How will tuition fees be impacted by the change to online for the fall/winter terms?
Tuition fees for Canadian citizens will remain frozen for this year in keeping with government policy. Tuition for international students will vary by program and faculty.
What supports will be available for online learning?
McMaster is committed to providing students with a rich and robust online learning experience. You will be contacted in the coming months about the supports available to help ensure that you can get the most out of your semester.
Fees FAQs
Will tuition fees be impacted by the move to online classes?
Your education is a significant investment. Our investment in and commitment to delivering the very best teaching and learning to our students is unchanged; in fact, at McMaster we are investing significantly in the online learning experience by bolstering our resources to better serve our students and faculty.
Isn’t it cheaper to teach online?
No. Designing virtual classrooms and online opportunities for students needs instructors, technology and experts to deliver the high-quality experience our students expect and deserve. Plus there is still all of the marking, academic advising, office hours and support that we want to provide.
How can online learning cost the same or more?
The same number of instructors who have been engaged in the teaching mission of the university will be working for the fall and winter terms, alongside sessionals, teaching assistants and others — all of whom help us provide excellent teaching at McMaster.
In addition, the university is investing considerably to bring in more people specifically skilled in digital learning to help instructors develop courses, learn the best technology and help students understand and take full advantage of our learning systems. That extra resourcing includes redeploying staff so that each Faculty is assigned educational developers to provide training and consultation on pedagogy, course design and educational technologies, and hiring more educational developers to bolster these teams. We have also recruited graduate students as educational development fellows who will support course design efforts and teaching development.
Other than my courses what does tuition pay for?
Almost all of the services students normally receive continue to be available. Here are just a few:
- The library has invested in a new service that makes more than 800,000 books from the collection available online along with ongoing subscriptions to journals and other resources for students
- For this fall’s entering class the new Archway Program is putting every student into a small group of 30 students along with a staff mentor to help guide them and keep them involved throughout the year
- A number of Faculties are developing special programs to help students get ready for online learning including the new Ember program in Engineering, the DeGroote StartUp Experience and the Student Transition Education Programming in Social Sciences (STEPSS)
- Supervision for research projects, upper-year thesis projects and graduate work continue
- For health professional students, requisite experiences in clinical education, such as simulation, must be arranged and clinical placements must be organized and supervised
- Health and mental health services continue to be available to all students
- Career services will continue to run online programming to help students prepare for their careers, as well as co-op and career counsellors within faculties
- Academic advising offices within Faculties will continue to offer personalized guidance to all students for their academic success
- The Equity and Accessibility Office is ready to help with online programs and confidential services and support
- Emergency financial support, along with scholarships and bursaries, are all part of the financial services available to students
- Free student access to computer programs like Microsoft Office and Teams and access to professional research related software
What about supplementary fees?
While most university-delivered services are continuing to provide services online (for example, the Student Wellness Centre), supplementary fees will be adjusted appropriately for any service where access has been reduced due to the Covid-19 situation.
Fee amounts charged by student union/associations are the responsibility of those organizations and are not controlled by the university.
Aid & Awards FAQs
Will I be eligible to my entrance scholarship(s) next year if I defer my admission to my program?
The deferral of the scholarship is automatic with the approval of a deferral of admission.
Will the value of my entrance award change based on any reported final grades?
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