Student Report
Name of the University: McMaster University, DeGroote School of business, Hamilton,
Canada.
Exchange semester: Spring, 2013
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
You have to apply for subjects very early, but that is only for getting the subjects approved by
the international office. The application for the subjects is during June. But the head of the
exchange students is very helpful with everything
All students at McMaster, including the exchange students, need to pay UHIP
insurance. But as a Norwegian student you are excluded from this, however you need a health
insurance for students abroad, which you will receive from the Norwegian government by
mail prior to departure. When you get the insurance confirmation, inform your contact person
at McMaster so they can exclude you from the UHIP fee system.
When you get accepted as a student at McMaster, you will receive a confirmation
letter and information about the school, by mail and email.
Before you arrive, you may request a mentor from McMaster’s mentorship program.
The mentor is a student from McMaster that may help you answering any question you have
regarding life in Canada. You will get more information about this as soon as you get the
study acceptance.
Furthermore, McMaster will provide you with necessary information and confirmation of
acceptance came in June/July. In any case, make sure that you read through the guidelines on
their webpage, as there are several deadlines you have to meet. The webpage could be
difficult to use before you get familiar with it, and you need to search for relevant courses
yourself.
Applying for a visa
As a Norwegian you can stay in Canada for up to six months without a visa, so we did not
need to apply for that. Remember to explain that you are an exchange student when getting
into the country. You should bring with you the letter of confirmation you get from the
school, addressed to the Canadian Immigration Authority, this proves that you are accepted at
the school. Inform them that your stay will be less than six months, otherwise they may nag
about you needing a student permit, and there can be some delay.
Travel
Several airlines fly to Toronto. Taking the plane from a country in Europe to Canada may be
easier than stopping in the U.S on the way. When arriving at Pearson Airport, the cheapest
alternative for getting to Hamilton is taking GO Bus at 9.95 CAD. Take 34 to Bramalea GO
Station from terminal 1, and change to 47 there for McMaster University Go Station
(alternatively to square one in Toronto and then to Hamilton). Check Google Maps for bus
schedule. Another alternative is for example to fly to New York, stay there for a few days,
and then take the bus to Toronto/Hamilton.
Housing
If you are an undergraduate student, you can live on campus, which is what I did. But I found
out later that this is crazy expensive (comfortable though) compared to not live on campus.
But when you do this the school fix everything, even a meal plan which is mandatory.
Costs
Living and eating are a bit cheaper than Norway, but really not that that much. For undergrads
is bus transport free of charge with the governmental buses. School books are even more
expensive though. I paid an average of 130 CAD per book. I couldn’t find them used, but
some of the others managed that.
Rent
Books
(first
month)
Food
Transport
Other
NOK 3500
NOK 4000
Meal plan
NOK 200
NOK
Culture and language
As an English-speaking nation, language is no issue. The culture is quite similar to Norway,
but EVERYONE is really nice and polite. You should have ample time to travel around
Canada and the U.S. Several student clubs arrange different trips, and it is easy to get around
with bus, rental car and plane. However, Canadians are in general a friendly bunch of people.
There are a lot of social happenings, both arranged for your classes and international students.
Participate as much as you can, especially in the beginning to get to know people.
Cultural and social effects from the exchange experience
When you go on exchange you get to meet people from all over the world. You get to practice
your English and experience a new culture. It is beneficial and can provide you an edge when
you apply for future jobs.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
McMaster main campus is situated west of central Hamilton. The area is quiet and almost
suburban, but the students liven up the place. Several student bars are available, and house
parties are frequent. Hamilton downtown is not very nice; it is a typical rustbelt town with lots
of social problems it seems. Go downtown, and there are more drug addicts and crazy people
that talk to them selves than “normal” people. The secret is to know where to go, King
William Street has a few good cafés and bars, and Toronto is only an hour away with the GO
bus. Motown on Wednesdays is something you ought to experience. Toronto is truly one of
the better cities in North America, and should be extensively explored. Although the
description of Hamilton may seem a bit rough, there is no reason to feel unsafe.
Undergrads study at the main campus, while grad students have to take a shuttle bus to the
Burlington campus, about 25 minutes away. The shuttle bus is free and runs throughout the
day from the main campus.
The Canadian study structure is very different from the study structure at BI. As a student you
have a lot of group works and presentations in many of the courses. Participation in class
matters and you will get many tests during the semester that count to your final grade. The
courses are more practical with a lot of cases, and you get knowledge about a lot of
corporations. Overall there is less to do than at BI and you get to enjoy your spare time.
Receiving a good grade is not that hard.
Course registration
Course registration is quite comprehensive and tricky, so start early. You first get it approved
by the international office, then register it on SOLAR(like @bi). Before you choose courses,
make sure you get a lot of information about the courses and that you know the time you can
apply, the most popular courses goes first, and as an exchange student you compete on the
same line as the Canadian students. Make sure that BI approve the courses and list as many as
possible on your learning agreement (LA). It is possible to change courses after the semester
has started, but then you need to have listed them on the LA. Note that courses and content
may vary from year to year and that previous years’ course descriptions might deviate from
the new ones. More information is provided on McMaster’s web pages.
I was selected in as a level 3 student, which was an okay level for me
Academic calendar (for students, Spring 2013)
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Welcome week
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
Last day of classes
January 6.
January 7.
January 7-11
April 12-30
Winter break, week 8
and some Easter days
First week of April
Arrival
The school administration was well prepared for our arrival, and they were very friendly and
welcoming. During the welcome week, they were hosting events every day to help you get to
know the other students and to get to know the campus. The welcome week entailed quizzes,
parties, concerts, information meetings, and sports events. We were also introduced to the
M.I.X. McMaster International & Exchange Club, which arranged parties and events for the
exchange students during the school year. We recommend you to take initiative to talk to
other exchange students as soon as you can. Remember that everyone is new and will
welcome your friendship. Facebook provides a lot of information concerning the social
events.
The International Office
The international office and the Bizx exchange program help you with any issues. They are
always helpful and will answer any questions you may have by email.
Promoting BI and Norway
I did not get any official chance to do it, but I advertised Norway the best I could!
Social activities
As one of 20 other exchange students from all over the world, you have to socialize with the
local students. Interaction with Canadian students usually happens in class or if you happen to
rent your room in a house with other Canadian students. Canadians in general are very
friendly and are easy to get a long with. However we mostly got international and exchange
friends, since most of the events are targeting these students. If you have a desire to get to
know Canadian students in particular, we recommend you to participate in sport groups and
other student groups on campus. Living with Canadians could be a good idea and a way to get
to know the locals. There are at least 50-100 different groups and you will definitely feel
connection to some of them. As mentioned earlier, the M.I.X. McMaster International &
Exchange Club arrange special activities and gatherings for exchange students every week,
they also have a Facebook site that will keep you updated. Another popular group for
McMaster’s students is the McMaster Outdoor Club, also worth checking out on Facebook.
They arrange trips and hiking tours in Canada and this is a good way to meet friends and to
explore what Hamilton and the rest of Canada has to offer.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
All courses are taught in English; however, some professors speak fast or mumble. Inform the
teachers and professors that you are an exchange student and they may take it into account.
The teaching style is somehow different from the lectures at BI. Many of the classes are
located in small classrooms and the teachers expect the students to interact in class
discussions. As an exchange student you may feel insecure about the English language, and
there are many new people at once, but most teachers are aware of this and the Canadian
students don’t seem to bother. As once you get used to participate in class, this could matter
for your final grade and you will also realise that you learn more through participation
Group work and presentations happens frequently and is a good way to connect to the
other students and to manage the course material. You may prepare to study more during the
semester compared to BI (for undergrads, graduates have much less to do compared to BI’s
master programs), but at the other hand you won’t need to study a lot in the last weeks, since
the teachers have been rated you throughout the whole semester, and many courses have no
final exams.
The teaching is mostly practical and the teachers use Power Point presentations. The
relationship between the students and professors are very different from BI. There are fewer
students per professor at McMaster and the professors are easy to talk to. They are very
concerned about you, and they encourage you to schedule meetings with them or their
Teaching Assistants if you may have any problems with the course material. The relationship
between the students in the class is similar to BI, though loads of group works makes it easy
to connect with new people, but you might not always get to choose yourself whom to work
with.
Course materials
As an undergrad student you may need several books and booklets for each course. The books
are normally well written and very educational. However, there’s a lot to read if you are not
used to study in English. Though, not everything in the book is essential for the course. Get an
understanding of what you actually need to know and do your assignments on time, and you
don’t necessarily need to read the entire book. In addition, McMaster only accepts the CASIO
FX 991 calculator on exams, but for mid-terms the teachers normally won’t mind if you use
other types.
Exams
The exams were usually based on what the professors had taught us in class. The exams and
mid-terms were normally written tests. Group presentations and home assignments during the
term are highly prevalent. Though they have many tests during the year, the workload per test
is smaller, some mid-terms counts only 5% of the final grade.
Library and technology
As a commerce or business student you’ve got an easy access to all of the school libraries, but
the Innis library placed in the DeGroote School building is mainly reserved to
commerce/business students. Computers are provided in all the libraries and there’s free WiFi all over campus. McMaster has the same printing system as BI where you can fill your
student card to be able to print. You should bring your own personal computer if you have
one, as the school computers are a bit simple and too few for all students.
Course code
& name
COMMERCE
3S03
Management
Skills
Development
COMMERCE
2KA3
Intro to ITsystems
COMMERCE
3QC3
Operations
management
COMMERCE
3FB3
Securities
analysis
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
Exam form
Prerequisite
s
Multiple Chioce, Registration
but only 30% of in any
grade
Commerce
program
Approved
as
Elective
Comments
Bachelor
Multiple choice,
40%
Elective
Introduction to IT
systems. Relatively easy,
and interesting
Bachelor
Mandatory
Operations management.
Not too hard if you open
the book
Elective
Finance. Very cool to
actually do some trading
in a trade simulator during
the stock challenge
Commerce
4SA3
International
Business
Bachelor
Final exam.
Mid-terms and
and mandatory
quizzes as well
Multiple Choice
and a stock
challenge
throughout the
semester
Final exam and
several group
works
Registration
in any
Commerce
program
Registration
in any
Commerce
program
Registration
in any
Commerce
program
Registration
in any
Commerce
program
Elective
My favourite. Very cool
to get the Canadian
perspective on
international business
Bachelor
An interesting course
about personalities and
how to be a good leader.
Not too difficult.
Conclusion
We had a wonderful experience in Canada and obtained memories for life. It all felt like a
long 4 months vacation that went by really fast. Exchange is something that you ought to
experience. Try to plan in advance in order to combine travelling with school. We travelled
before school started and after, but also during weekends. The whole experience is very
intense and it is always something happening. Enjoy you stay!
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact any of us through international office at
BI. We are more than glad to answer your questions.