GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
Name of the University:
Names of the students:
Exchange semester:
McGill University
Carina Bucher
Fall 2008
1. ACADEMIC INFORMATION
General Information about the School
The school is the oldest university in Montreal and was founded in 1821. McGill
enjoys an excellent academic reputation, which is a justifiable reputation. The university has
two campuses, 11 faculties and over 34000 students. The downtown campus, which is where
the management faculty is situated, is in the heart of downtown Montreal just at the foot of the
Mount Royal. McGill is a university with students from 160 countries; in fact almost 19% of all
students are international either as exchange or full-degree students. 70% of all students are
undergraduate and 22% are graduate students.
The Teaching situation
All courses are taught in English. The level of study is relatively higher at McGill in
relationship to BI. McGill University has the highest entry requirements in Canada and this is
also reflected in the level of study. Depending on the course there usually is a mix of cases,
papers, assignments, presentations and projects in addition to midterms and finals, usually
though not all of them in one course. The workload is quite a lot heavier at McGill than at BI.
You are expected to hand in more assignments than at BI and they usually do not account for
more than 5%-7% of your grade. The relationship between professors and student is good,
the classes are usually small, except for core courses, and this creates an “intimate”
environment with much dialog between students and professors. The faculty truly is there to
help you with anything you might need and they are always helpful.
Required Literature
The required literature is in English and is either a textbook or a course pack where the
professor puts together articles and cases for the course. The literature is used for both
detailed knowledge and a broad overview depending on the course. The literature I would
estimate to be at the same level as BI. In my studies at BI we only use English textbooks and
my opinion is that there is little difference on the literature. The difference though is how the
books are used. Usually at McGill you are expected to know more detailed what the literature
says and you will usually have a section on the midterms and finals based solely on what the
literature consists of. On exams you are expected to have a rather detailed knowledge on the
literature.
Exams
As your grade usually consists of a mix of instruments, there is not necessarily a final
exam in each course. I had three final exams with a weight between 30% and 60%. In all
courses I was graded on different work. Usually grades are given on 3 assignments,
participation, a midterm and a final paper or final exam. Assignments are normally done in
groups and are relatively easy as you are freer to discuss with both professors and other
students. Midterms and finals are relatively more difficult as you normally are expected to
have quite detailed knowledge. A score of 49% and below is considered fail and thus the
grading can be tougher than at BI. But none of this is not manageable; one thing I learnt very
quickly at McGill is time-management, which is essential if you want to do anything other than
studying.
Other
The library at the management faculty was renovated during the summer 2008, the
whole building really, and has a good standard. Even though it is supposed to be a quiet area,
it certainly is not as quiet as the quiet section of the BI library. It isn’t very disturbing but if you
are disturbed by the occasional short conversation, just bring an iPod. Every faculty has a
library and there also is a main library. All students have access to all the libraries. The main
library has a section that is open all day and night during the whole year. Most libraries are
open 24 hours in exam times. Students also have access to all the library’s resources and
computers. There are many computers in all the buildings and students have access to all of
these. Instead of BIs blackboard, McGill uses Minerva but it is not as actively used by all
professors.
Description of Courses
FINE 342: Finance 2: 3 assignments, 1 midterm and 1 exam. Good instructor. Should have
completed a finance course before.
MGCR 382: International Business: 1 term project, 1 midterm, and 1 final. This is a core
course. No prerequisites.
MGSC 272: Advanced Business statistics: 3 assignments, 1 midterm 1 final. Excellent
instructor. Should have completed at least one statistics course before.
MRKT 483: International Marketing Management: 4 presentations, 1 term paper, and 2
midterms. May be beneficial with one marketing course before.
MGPO 470: Strategy and Organizations. 4 assignments, 1 presentation, 1 midterm and 1
final. Good instructor. No prerequisites.
As you are required to be on top of the prerequisites yourself, you need to be quite realistic
regarding what is expected of you. Enrollment was not easy to do online, as mostly it is not
possible to sign up without having the prerequisite courses from McGill. This problem was
solved directly through the exchange students’ coordinator, who registered me onto all my
courses directly only asking if I had the prerequisites needed. So there is nothing stopping
you enrolling in courses that are too hard for you. It might be a good idea to send a mail to the
coordinator with the courses you wish to take ask and them for help.
2. PRACTICAL INFORMATION ON THE SCHOOL AND THE EXCHANGE EXPERIENCE
Information before you left
The information package came less than a month after I was accepted to McGill. It is
very useful to read through before you go.
Visa Procedure and travel experiences
There is no need for a visa if you are planning to study in Canada for less than 6 months.
If you are going there for one semester you only need to bring a passport and the acceptance
letter.
Academic Calendar
I ordered my tickets to arrive a few days before the start of Frosh (introduction week,
much like Fadderullan), which was a good thing. This gave me the opportunity to find an
apartment in good time. I only signed up for the faculty Frosh which I regretted doing. I would
really advise you to sign up for SSMU frosh as well, the frosh for the whole school. Arriving
early is very important as this gives you time to sort out your courses and find a place to live.
The first day of the semester was 2 nd of September; I arrived the 23rd of August. Classes
ended 2nd of December with exams to the 18th of December. The midterms were in October.
Reception
The school had information sessions for exchange students and this is where I meet
my first fellow exchange friends. There are information sessions for the school, the
international office and for the faculty. I attended all these and I found it to be very useful.
They give you a lot of information on the technical details, for example how to get your
student ID and health insurance. There was a meet-and-great for the exchange student at
management, but this took place a month after semester start and by that time I had already
meet many of the students. In many ways you are responsible yourself to make sure you get
to know people, so do not wait for them to come to you.
Housing
I found my room through the McGill classifieds. Good sites are craigslist.ca, McGill
classifieds and McGill off-campus housing. The latter has an office on campus where you can
go and use the phone to find an apartment if you need this. The earlier you arrive the easier it
will be to find housing. It is very important to not get stressed searching for a place to stay,
book yourself a hostel room for the first week and don’t just take the first best thing because
you are afraid not to get anything else. I was actively searching for an apartment for 3 days
and the one I found was perfect, even though those 3 days seemed like an eternity for me.
Costs
The most important expenses are rent and books. You should be able to find a room
for around $450 - $650 a month. Books vary between $30 - $120 a piece. There is a used
bookstore, Haven bookstore, close to campus that might have the textbooks you need for half
of the new price. On average the cost of living is lower than in Norway.
Social Activities
There is the McGill International Student Network (MISN) that organizes trips to for
example New York and Boston. McGill has a vast amount of student organizations and clubs
with activities ranging from knitting to rock climbing to language clubs. All you need to do is
sign up. People are very outgoing and there is no problem making new friends. Join their
group on facebook to get some information beforehand.
Culture and Language
Montreal is in the province of Quebec. Quebec is a French province and hence this is
their main language. However very few people do not speak English and for example menus
are usually bilingual. I do not speak French and managed just fine, and even picked up a bit
of French during my stay.
Cultural and Social Effects from the Exchange Experience
I attend a well-diversified bachelors program at BI and was used to having many
different nationalities around me before I left. Mostly I learnt how the educational system
works in another country. I meet many new friends and had an incredibly rewarding
experience. Even though McGill requires more of you in terms of the workload, I still found the
time to do many things other than school. I would really recommend McGill to those who are
ready to take on a challenge, McGill is not for the lazy student. McGill is known all over the
world for its excellence and it will certainly benefit you to have McGill on your CV. Moreover
Montreal is a great, vibrant city with many possibilities. If you are lucky enough to get
accepted to McGill, you should not hesitate to make use of this fantastic possibility.
Name and e-mail:
Carina Bucher, carinabucher@hotmail.com