Your Mac ID is essentially your username for accessing services and systems at McMaster.

McMaster email

Once you have your MAC ID set up and have enrolled in your courses, your McMaster email will become active. A link to your McMaster email will be sent to your applicant email address. Please continue to monitor your applicant email address in the meantime.

As a new student, you need a McMaster Student Photo ID card. Your student card is an important piece of photo identification that is required to access supports, services and even spaces on campus.

To create your student card, please upload your photo as soon as possible. Please visit the Mosaic Student Centre (Personal Information > Demographic Data) to upload your photo.

Photo requirements

To be accepted as your student ID photo, your uploaded photo must:

• be recent and similar to a passport photo (head shot only, looking straight into the camera)
• have a neutral or smiling expression
• be in colour, in focus and of good quality (scanned photos of your driver’s license, passport or health card are not acceptable)
• be on an uncluttered background and of you alone (no other people or animals permitted in photo)
• not contain props (i.e. hats, sunglasses or graduation caps)

Maximum file size of your photo must be 3MB or less to be successfully uploaded.

Uploaded photos not meeting the above criteria, will be deleted resulting in delays in receiving your student card.

Photo troubleshooting tips

Having issues uploading?

Check your file size. If your jpg image is too big, you will get a generic error message. The file should be less than 3MB in size. Try picking a different picture with a smaller file size or resize your image in Paint or Photoshop.

How will I get my student card?

Beginning in May 2022, student cards will be available for pickup in the Registrar’s Office, Gilmour Hall Room 108. Please visit the RO website to learn more about joining their virtual line.

It’s important to update your personal and contact information – especially your  address – in Mosaic, so that you receive all important information.

You can add a new address or revise an existing one. Your “Mailing Address” will be the address to which you receive any mail from the university.

Scholarship payments

If you have a scholarship payment owing to you, we will coordinate the refund for you. You will receive an e-transfer to your McMaster email address within one week after we have processed the payment.

E-transfers are provided for the following:

• Graduate scholarship
• Entrance Scholarship
• Department Scholarship
• External scholarship
• Tuition scholarship
• Tri-agency awards (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC)

Research scholarships and employment payments

McMaster University uses direct deposit for all research scholarship and employment payments to graduate students. This means that all monies will be deposited directly into your banking account.

You will need to enrol in direct deposit for

• Research scholarship
• Teaching assistant (TA)
• Research assistant (RA) in lieu of TA

McMaster’s HR website provides details to help you understand all aspects of payments relating to being a Teaching Assistant or a Research Assistant in lieu of a TA (including Income Tax receipts and address changes).

You will need to fill out the Employee Contact and Deposit form (downloaded from the HR site) and either:

• email the completed form to hr.mcmaster@mcmaster.ca, or
• deliver the form to Human Resources, located in the Campus Services Building, room 202. (Building 31 on the campus map)

Please note: For the January 2022 term, you will not be able to drop the form off at Human Resources; please email the completed form. 

If you are an international student looking for more information about banking in Canada, visit International Students: Banking.