Is Grad School for You? Consider McGill! Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies McGill University 1

2 Should I go to Grad School? The decision-making basis should be: A genuine interest in your area of studies Thorough analysis of your long-term goals NOT to avoid making career planning decisions * Having a Master’s or PhD does not automatically make you more or less employable.

Things to do first Explore career possibilities upon bachelor graduation Consult career advisors and alumni in your own faculty CaPS offers excellent advising services and career planning resources Conduct a self-assessment of the “soft”, transferable skills you would need in your future career Where can you best develop them?

Things to think about Can I take a year off to ‘see the world’? Will it be hard to come back to school? Should I get some work experience in a related field? Should I take several streams or concentrate on one subject area? Should I stay at McGill or go somewhere else?

Options Master’s Degree Professional Degree Doctoral Degree Graduate Diploma or Certificate 5

Master’s Degree Requires a Bachelor’s Degree Extensive Research and Analysis Advances Career and Earnings Potential Can often choose Thesis or Non-Thesis option 6

Doctoral Degree Original research in a specific field with a supervisor (prof. advising on research) Requires a Bachelor’s Degree Normally requires a Master’s Degree (some exceptions) Research- and Work-intensive 7

What’s the Difference? Master’s Degree (Academic) Average Length: 2 years Career-oriented (usually) Most require a thesis or a project Doctoral Degree (Academic) Average Length: 4-7 years Research-oriented Typically requires a dissertation 8

Application Considerations Who will write your letters of recommendation? –Graduate programs generally require letters of recommendation from professors –Become involved in research throughout your undergraduate career –Try to have something published Honours Programs will give you an “edge” 9

McGill At A Glance: Outstanding School 10  Founded: 1821  Associated with  8 Nobel laureates  2 Canadian prime ministers  128 Rhodes Scholars (more than any Canadian university)  Ranked 18 th in 2009, 20 th in 2008 and 12 th in 2007 in the Times Higher Education Supplement ranking of the world’s best universities, along with Harvard, Oxford, MIT and Caltech  Named best public university in North America  Named Canada’s top medical-doctoral university in Maclean's magazine‘s  Ranked 1 st in Canada by U.S. News & World Reports

McGill At A Glance: Outstanding Students 11  34,208 students total  Highest average entering grades among Canadian universities at 88.9%  6,392 (18.7%) international students  from over 160 countries  7,635 (22.3%) graduate students  highest proportion in Canada  Enrolment by Place of Origin  Enrolment by Mother Tongue

McGill At A Glance: Outstanding Faculty 12  1,616 tenured and tenure-tack faculty  163 Canada Research Chairs allotted  135 members of the Royal Society of Canada  On average, full-time McGill professors publish more peer- reviewed articles than colleagues at any other Canadian university  Nearly 60% of the faculty are recruited from outside Canada

McGill At A Glance: Outstanding Faculty 13  McGill professors have won many prestigious international and national awards: Rhodes Scholarship Nobel Prize Kyoto Prize Gairdner International Awards Templeton Prize Killam Prizes

McGill At A Glance: Outstanding Research 14  11 faculties and 10 schools; more than 300 programs of study  Most research intensive university in Canada  International reputation for scholarly achievement and scientific discovery  Encourages interdisciplinary approaches  $ million awarded in research funding in  147 international research and development partnership  180 contracts worth $14.7 million signed between McGill and industry in  the largest patent estate of all Canadian universities

15 McGill At A Glance: Outstanding Research

McGill At A Glance: Outstanding Facilities 16  Nearly 50 distinct research centers and institutes, all on the cusp of groundbreaking research  Life Sciences Complex  high-tech music building  Macdonald Campus living laboratories  four affiliated hospitals in Montreal

McGill At A Glance: Outstanding Facilities 17  Many external research stations, including  Gault Nature Reserve, Mont-Saint-Hilaire  Bellairs Research Institute, Barbados  McGill Sub-Arctic & Arctic Research Stations

McGill At A Glance: Outstanding Opportunities 18  In Quebec, a student visa allows you to work for three years after graduation  McGill University maintains important global connections with other universities, hospitals, governments, industry and NGOs  MIDAs Program: international doctoral students pay same tuition as domestic students  Reasonable tuition rates compared to peer institutions in Canada and the U.S.

McGill’s General Admission Requirements Bachelor’s Degree Requirements vary by program ( Minimum CGPA* over duration of Bachelor’s: 3.0 out of 4.0 OR minimum CGPA over last two full-time years of Bachelor’s: 3.2 out of 4.0 Int’l degree equivalencies available e/ e/ * CGPA = Cumulative Grade Point Average 19

Useful Links 20  Arts OASIS: After a B.A. degree: What about graduate studies?   McGill Prospective Graduate Students Website   CaPS: Applying to Graduate Studies and Professional Schools 