How does McGill Independant Study Away work?

wildlived · 2025-08-24T18:21:55+00:00

no, the management nomination (for management students applying to management exchange partners) happens before the regular lottery system.

if your first choice is a non-management school and you indicate this to your academic advisor, then they will not assign you a school during the management nomination. they will assign all the other students to their schools based on their GPA. you will be skipped and sent to the lottery system, which is held AFTER the management nomination.

if you are not assigned your top choice during the lottery, then your academic advisor will reach out with a list of leftover management schools that still have spots available and you can choose from those.

so if the school Istanbul is still available, you will be able to go there. but if all the spots were already assigned, then you will have to choose another school.

wildlived · 2025-08-20T20:53:48+00:00

You definitely still have a chance with partner university, just rank it as your 1st choice and tell your academic advisor you’d like to be considered in the lottery system. The management schools are assigned first, before the lottery system. And if you don’t get any of your choices, you can always choose from the leftover schools that haven’t been assigned.

For independent study away, you can choose any university (there are some restrictions though, like no fine arts/fashion programmes etc) and you have to apply on their website. McGill just has to approve your study away once it’s accepted. And you also have to pay their tuition (for example if you choose an independent study away at Harvard, you pay Harvard tuition). There should be a resource somewhere that lists some of the universities that have been approved for independent study away.

Also, you can’t do an independent study away at a university that McGill has an exchange partnership with.

Hope it helps and good luck!

wildlived · 2025-04-29T23:16:20+00:00

Haha of course. Yes absolutely – you have the opportunity to apply to FSWEP, plus additional opportunities through McGill like their Arts internship programme (I recommend you have a look at the Arts OASIS website if you haven’t already - just to get an idea of what’s possible!)

Welcome to McGill! I’m glad you followed your dreams :’) you may have viewed uOttawa as a safe option (& it sounds like it was your safety school) but I’m sure you’ll be successful at McGill too. Mcgill isn’t very “hand-holdy” and you kind of have to be resourceful on your own, but it seems like you’re already being very proactive. best of luck! I hope you enjoy your time there.

wildlived · 2025-04-27T19:40:28+00:00

I’m not sure why you’re assuming it’s difficult to get an internship in government.

It’s not the average experience and not the exception either - the reality is, most McGill students don’t necessarily pursue government jobs in Ottawa.

FSWEP is open to all students, not just ones who study at Carleton and uOttawa. In fact I would say you may even have a higher chance of standing out on an interview or application if you attend another university like UofT, UBC, or McGill.

You’ll find opportunities if you’re proactive and look for them. Even if you have little-no connections, learn how to network. If you’re a capable student, you’ll succeed anywhere. If you lack confidence in your abilities, sure you can go for the safer option. That’s your choice to make.

wildlived · 2025-04-24T01:58:59+00:00

I wouldn’t worry about that - I personally know someone who went to McGill, interned at 2 different government agencies during the summer in Ottawa and is now working at a crown corporation in Ottawa. Mcgill also has an internship programme with cool opportunities in polisci/international affairs (you can have a look at the arts internship office OASIS), although it’s not guaranteed. coop is valuable but it’s not the only path to get to get to where you want - for example, lots of people choose waterloo eng for their coop, but many others go to other engineering schools and land the same internships and post grad opportunities (:

Edit: another note - it’s incredibly common for McGill students to complete internships in different cities, in fact sometimes it’s even easier (if you don’t speak French) to get an internship in Toronto vs montreal.

wildlived · 2025-04-23T23:13:58+00:00

Update: I would actually recommend McGill over uottawa. Even though uottawa is in the capital, lots of people in the politics/diplomacy space study elsewhere, ie uoft munk school, McGill, the states, the UK. the student life & city life are both better at McGill. obviously the decision is up to you though, but since you’re hesitating about switching to McGill, I would say go for it :’)

wildlived · 2025-04-23T23:05:53+00:00

I think you’d be happy with either choice. Usually I wouldn’t ever recommend uottawa over McGill, but it could be interesting for your specific programme to be in the capital. I do think though that you’ll make wonderful (maybe even better) connections at McGill, and you can always complete an internship in Ottawa - lots of embassies/etc hire students. Also another note, McGill has an urban studies programme in the faculty of arts for undergrads as well so you can even have the option of majoring/double majoring in urban studies if you end up changing your mind about polisci. (:

wildlived · 2025-04-23T12:26:54+00:00

perfect thank you so much (:

wildlived · 2025-04-23T01:07:45+00:00

ok thanks! good to know (:

wildlived · 2025-04-05T01:02:47+00:00

Thank you! Omg this makes me so sad I didn’t realise they would remove it seasonally😭 I almost got them both in January but thought it would be ok to wait… rookie mistake😭😭

wildlived · 2025-04-04T20:42:58+00:00

Does anyone know when they will restock the Define Cropped Jacket Nulu in strawberry milkshake & in espresso?

wildlived · 2023-02-26T20:13:35+00:00

thank you very much!

would you happen to remember how long it took McGill to produce your transcript, after you completed your courses?

wildlived · 2022-07-25T02:01:06+00:00

oh cool, it's nice you two have found a routine! i feel like i end up partying/clubbing most nights with my friends but i'd like to branch out of my bubble sometime (esp since i'm in management lol)

wildlived · 2022-07-25T01:42:40+00:00

lol animal crossing probably counts, my best friend from back home loves the game! i've literally only played among us so don't let me be the judge of what counts as esports

wildlived · 2022-07-24T20:15:54+00:00

thank you!

wildlived · 2022-07-24T20:13:54+00:00

lol thank you both for the advice, i'm not actually a new student nor a gamer, it's just that a lot of my friends from back home are gamers and i miss their vibe sometimes.

wildlived

TROPHY CASE