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Graduate Studies

How to Enrol

All graduate students, in both the regular and part-time programs, are required to enrol in every academic term until they complete their program, unless they are on an approved break (e.g., a Leave of Absence).* Once a student has added enrolment, they will need to wait between 24 and 48 hours to access their Confirmation of Enrolment in Mosaic. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure they are enrolled and failure to do so could result in withdrawal in good standing. 

*If you are on an approved Leave of Absence (LOA), your enrolment will be adjusted to reflect the duration of your leave and tuition will only be charged for the months that you are in the program.  

Do you have conditions of admission on your offer?

It is your responsibility to clear your conditions by the deadline.

Learn more

To complete your registration, you will be asked some self-identification questions to confirm you are attending for the academic year. You then need to enrol in your academic courses according to the term they are being offered. You must have one course in each term.

If you don’t have any courses in a term you must enrol in a placeholder course. The placeholders are:

  • SGS 700 for programs charged per term
  • SGS 711 for programs charged per course
  • SGS 302 for visiting research students

If you do not add a course in each term, you may have impacts on aspects of your student life, including scholarships, fee assessment and ordering transcripts.

Note: Students prevented from enrolling in a term due to a hold on their account will not be assessed the late registration fee. If you have a financial hold, please reach out to stud.billings@mcmaster.ca to get it removed. If you experience any other enrolment issues, please reach out to sgsrec@mcmaster.ca and provide a screenshot where possible.

Deadlines for adding and dropping courses are available on Dates and Deadlines.

Expandable List

  1. Sign into Mosaic.
  2. Click Student Centre.
  3. Click on Enrol (under Academics).
  4. Enter your search parameters and click Search.
    • You can search for classes using one or both of the following methods:
      • Enter the unique class number, or
      • Check the “Class Search” button and click Search
        • Now, enter your search parameters and click “Search”
  5. Once your course search results are displayed, select the desired class and section by hitting Select Class.
  6. Review your choice and then press the Next button. You may add multiple classes to your shopping cart before you enrol.
  7. Once you have added your courses to your shopping cart – but before enrolling – you must confirm that the course is available to you. This process is called validating.
  8. To validate a course:
    • check the box next to your course and click Validate.
      • If you see a green checkmark under status, you are eligible to enroll in this course
      • If you see a red  X,  you may need permission from your department or you are missing a requisite for the course. Please speak to your department graduate administrator for assistance.
    • Click “Shopping Cart” to return to the Shopping Cart.
  9. To enrol in validated classes, click the checkboxes next to each course, and then click Enroll.
  10. Review your Shopping Cart and confirm that your class choices are correct. Then click Finish Enrolling.
  1. Sign into Mosaic.
  2. Click Student Centre.
  3. Click on Enrol (under Academics).
  4. Select the Drop tab.
  5. Check the course you would like to drop and click Drop Selected Class.
  6. Confirm the course you are dropping and click Finish Dropping.
  7. View your results.

Please note: Course will not be dropped if it is the last remaining course in the term.

Information Box Group

If you have conditions on your offer Learn more

You’re responsible for ensuring that all documentation is submitted to your program office prior to the deadline. Late submissions will affect your admission status.

How to enrol in and complete SGS 101 and 201 Learn more

All new graduate students must complete SGS 101 and 201. Learn more about enrolling and completing the courses before your deadline. If you start in

  • Fall – September 30
  • Winter – January 31
  • Spring/Summer – May 31

 

 

Understand your offer Learn more

Learn more about the different offers of admission and what you must do to successfully complete that offer!

Pay your deposit fee Applicant portal

Some programs require a deposit fee. Refer to your Applicant Portal (Account Summary) to see what, if any, fee is due.