McMaster University
Programs
47
Range spans
80–93
With co-op
36
McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on 152.4 hectares (377 acres) of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Gardens. It operates six academic faculties: the DeGroote School of Business and the faculties of Engineering, Health Sciences, Humanities, Social Science, and Science. It is a member of the U15, a group of research-intensive universities in Canada.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
How McMaster actually handles things
From the OUAC’s Guidance Dialogues Resource Guide (Spring 2026), which OUAC publishes for guidance counsellors rather than students. Read the original. Policies change — confirm anything you’re about to act on.
- If you repeat a course
We will use the highest grade reported in the calculation of the admission average.
We may ask students who repeated more than 2 courses, or individual courses more than twice, to provide a letter detailing any extenuating circumstances that may have led to repeating multiple courses.
- Summer school, night school, e-learning and private school
We accept all Ministry-inspected and -approved courses. • Students may not use summer school courses taken in 2026 to meet the conditions of an offer of admission for September 2026 because the coursework is completed after the June 30, 2026, deadline.
- Your Grade 11 marks
All programs will make offers of admission using Grade 12 grades only.
Midwifery may review Grade 11 Biology, Chemistry and English grades for applicants to the Midwifery program if the mandatory Grade 12 prerequisite courses are in progress at the time of application.
- Whether your OUAC ranking matters
No effect on admission.
- If you don't get your first choice
We encourage applicants to apply to up to 3 programs. We will consider each program choice simultaneously and communicate an admission decision for each program they select in their OUAC application.
- Supplementary applications
Eleven direct-entry programs at McMaster require the submission of a supplementary application for admission consideration: Arts & Science, Bachelor of Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours), Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences, Integrated Business & Humanities, Integrated Science (Honours), Midwifery, Nursing I and Wilson College Leadership and Civic Studies I.
iArts requires an electronic creative submission. • Business I offers students the opportunity to fill out an optional supplemental application.
- Automatic entrance scholarships
Guaranteed entrance scholarships are based on final admission averages. All awards are non-renewable. https://registrar.mcmaster.ca/entrance-awards
- Scholarship deadlines
The general entrance award deadline is February 19, 2026 (past), at 11:59 pm (ET) though some award deadlines may vary. To learn more about individual awards, visit: https://registrar.mcmaster.ca/entrance-awards.
- Scholarships you have to apply for
The McMaster Brighter World Entrance Award for Black students is valued at $5,000 each (50 available).
The Marjorie Anderson Financial Award for Indigenous Students is valued at $80,000 ($20,000 per year).
Access Awards for students from underrepresented groups in the Greater Toronto Area are valued at up to $20,000 per year.
Over $20 million in awards, for international fee-paying undergraduate students entering in fall 2026. https://registrar.mcmaster.ca/ aid-awards-for-international-students
- Bursaries
General Bursaries are available once a student is enrolled at the university. Applications open in August 2026. https://registrar.mcmaster.ca/entrance-awards
- Special consideration
Students with extenuating circumstances may submit a request for a special consideration form. https://admissions.mcmaster.ca/manage/login?realm=&r=/portal/ extenuatingcircumstances
We evaluate extenuating circumstances on a case-by-case basis.
- Deferring your offer
Students may submit a request to defer their offer for a period of 1 year.
We review requests on a case-by-case basis and make decisions on deferrals in late August.
If we grant a deferral, the student may not attend any educational institution (including high school) for the deferral period.
- When offers go out
First Round: Late February to early March. Based on 4U/M grades available as of the end of February. Students must present a minimum of 3 courses with final grades and registration in any remaining required courses (for a minimum of 6 enrolled courses), or 6 interim grades, including all required courses, to be completed by June 30, 2026. o Note: Some by-selection programs will not make offers during this round.
Second Round: Late April to early May. Based on six 4U/M courses, including all required courses available as of early May. Where students are unable to present grades for six 4U/M courses, we will assess them on the available grades, provided they are registered in any outstanding courses with a completion date of June 30, 2026.
- Tuition deposit
Visa and McMaster English Language Development applicants are required to submit a $2,000 tuition deposit. https://registrar.mcmaster.ca/payment-methods/#tab-10
- AP and IB
AP: We will consider applicants who completed AP courses for admission to a Level I program.
Applicants who completed the AP exams in acceptable courses with a minimum grade of 4 may be recommended for up to 18 units of advanced credit upon request.
IB: Students may present a full IB diploma or a combination of IB courses (certificate) and 4U/M courses (or equivalent).
Students may request to be evaluated for advanced credit of up to 18 units for completed Higher Level courses with a minimum final score of 5, at the discretion of the faculty.
- Changing programs
Music 1 is still not offered for fall 2026. • Business 1 and Integrated Business and Humanities will now offer co-op. Students will have access to 4-, 8- and 12-month paid co-op work terms. Students apply to co-op after their first year and must complete a minimum of 12 months (maximum of 16 months) of work experience. • Midwifery: The minimum average required is now 85%. Students must obtain at least an 85% in the 3 required courses (Biology, Chemistry, English). Casper is no longer required. The Identity and Admissions Survey is still required. • Social Sciences: Co-op is now available for Anthropology, Environment & Society (Aging & Society and Health & Society) and Sociology (in addition to Economics, Political Science, and Work and Labour Studies).
Engineering & iBioMed: Applicants applying for fall 2027 will have the option to apply directly to a discipline or choose after Level I.
- Transfer credit
https://future.mcmaster.ca/university-transfer-student
- English proficiency
At our discretion, students may be exempt from submitting an English-language proficiency test if they have: a) resided in an English-speaking country for at least 4 years immediately prior to September 2026 or b) attended an English-medium educational institution in a full-time academic program for at least 4 years immediately prior to September 2026.
Which mark they use when you take a course twice.
Whether courses taken outside your regular day school are treated the same.
Whether they look at Grade 11, and when.
Does the order you list programs in change anything?
Whether they'll offer you a related program instead.
Whether this university wants more than marks.
Money you get for your average without applying for it.
Awards beyond the automatic ones.
If something happened that affected your marks.
Taking a year before you start.
McMaster's GPA scale — the 12-point scale you are graded on once you arrive, from the registrar
McMaster acceptance rate — why there isn’t one, and the published bars that decide instead
McMaster entrance scholarships — all 14, and what your average is worth
What you apply to, by subject
McMaster admits into 14 entry points across these 35 subjects. Some are direct entry; for the rest you apply to something broader and choose later.
- accounting
- architecture
- biochemistry
- biology
- chemistry
- commerce/business
- communications
- computer science
- criminology
- earth science
- economics
- education
- engineering
- english
- environmental science
- finance
- geography
- health sciences
- history
- kinesiology
- languages
- life sciences
- marketing
- mathematics
- medical sciences
- microbiology
- neuroscience
- nursing
- philosophy
- physics
- political science
- psychology
- sociology
- software engineering
- statistics
How McMaster is set up
Not a ranking — the structural facts that shape what a year here feels like, computed from McMaster’s own listings. Universities list at different grain (McMaster lists 47), so read the counts rather than comparing percentages between campuses.
77%
of programs offer co-op
36 of 47 listings. At that share, alternating work terms are the norm — expect your year group to rotate in and out of the city.
7/33
subjects you apply straight into
Most subjects here start with a broader first year — you apply to the faculty and choose the subject later, so 26 of the 33 common majors are declared after you arrive.
Living there
Conditional
first-year residence
Last year’s terms (Fall 2026). The Fall 2027 dates weren’t posted when this was checked.
For Ontario students coming straight from high school who meet McMaster’s residence admission average, which can change each year, and send the residence application and $600 payment by June 1 at 4 p.m. ET. International and out-of-province students from high school qualify based on their admission status.
Source: housing.mcmaster.ca · checked September 11, 2026
31,886
full-time undergraduates
Fall 2025 count.
Source: Council of Ontario Universities (Ministry data, which counts diploma and certificate students too) · checked September 11, 2026
Compare first-year residence at every Ontario campus
McMaster open house 2026
- Fall PreviewSaturday, October 24, 2026 · 10:00AM to 4:00PM · In person
- Fall PreviewSaturday, November 14, 2026 · 10:00AM to 4:00PM · In person
Every Ontario university open house this fall
Ontario Universities’ Fair, September 26–27. The McMaster University talk is in room 718A, hourly from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., both days. Plan your day
Where it is
Open in Google Maps · Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
All 47 programs
show
- 93–97%Honours Medical Radiation SciencesOUAC MRS
- 93–97%Life Sciences GatewayOUAC MLS· co-op
- 90%Computer Science Co-op IOUAC MCC· co-op· supp. app
- 90%Computer Science IOUAC MC· co-op· supp. app
- 90%Honours Health SciencesOUAC MNS· supp. app
- 90–93%Honours KinesiologyOUAC MV· co-op
- 90%Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences I- Chemical & Biomedical EngineeringOUAC MIK· co-op· supp. app
- 90%Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences I- Civil & Biomedical EngineeringOUAC MIV· co-op· supp. app
- 90%Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences I- Discovery TrackOUAC MID· co-op· supp. app
- 90%Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences I- Electrical & Biomedical EngineeringOUAC MIL· co-op· supp. app
- 90%Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences I- Engineering Physics & Biomedical EngineeringOUAC MIP· co-op· supp. app
- 90%Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences I- Health Engineering Science & EntrepreneurshipOUAC MIH· co-op· supp. app
- 90%Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences I- Materials Science & Biomedical EngineeringOUAC MIM· co-op· supp. app
- 90%Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences I- Mechanical & Biomedical EngineeringOUAC MIQ· co-op· supp. app
- 90%Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences I- Mechatronics & Biomedical EngineeringOUAC MIR· co-op· supp. app
- 90%Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences I- Software & Biomedical EngineeringOUAC MIB· co-op· supp. app
- 88%Arts and Science IOUAC MX· supp. app
- 88%Integrated Business & Humanities IOUAC MBH· co-op· supp. app
- 87%Engineering I - Chemical Engineering & BioengineeringOUAC MEB· co-op· supp. app
- 87%Engineering I - Chemical Engineering IOUAC MEK· co-op· supp. app
- 87%Engineering I - Civil EngineeringOUAC MEV· co-op· supp. app
- 87%Engineering I - Computer EngineeringOUAC MEO· co-op· supp. app
- 87%Engineering I - Discovery TrackOUAC MED· co-op· supp. app
- 87%Engineering I - Electrical EngineeringOUAC MEL· co-op· supp. app
- 87%Engineering I - Engineering PhysicsOUAC MEP· co-op· supp. app
- 87%Engineering I - Materials EngineeringOUAC MEM· co-op· supp. app
- 87%Engineering I - Mechatronics EngineeringOUAC MER· co-op· supp. app
- 87%Engineering I - Nuclear EngineeringOUAC MEN· co-op· supp. app
- 87%Engineering I - Software EngineeringOUAC MES· co-op· supp. app
- 87%Engineering I- Mechanical EngineeringOUAC MEQ· co-op· supp. app
- 87–90%Honours Integrated ScienceOUAC MIS· supp. app
- 85%Midwifery IOUAC MY· supp. app
- 85%Nursing I (McMaster University Site)OUAC MN· supp. app
- 85%Nursing I (Mohawk College Site)OUAC MNM· supp. app
- 83–90%Business IOUAC MB· co-op· supp. app
- 83–87%Chemical & Physical Sciences GatewayOUAC MPS· co-op
- 83–87%Environmental and Earth Sciences GatewayOUAC MEE· co-op
- 83–87%Mathematics and Statistics GatewayOUAC MZ· co-op
- 83–87%Wilson College Leadership and Civic Studies IOUAC MWC· supp. app
- 82%Automation Systems Engineering Technology (Bachelor of Technology)OUAC MPT· co-op· supp. app
- 82%Automotive & Vehicle Engineering Technology I (Bachelor of Technology)OUAC MAT· co-op· supp. app
- 82%Biotechnology I (Bachelor of Technology)OUAC MTT· co-op· supp. app
- 80–87%Honours Economics IOUAC MLE· co-op
- 80–87%Honours Health & Society IOUAC MLH
- 80–83%Humanities IOUAC MH
- 80–83%iArts (Integrated Arts)OUAC MHI
- 80–87%Social Sciences IOUAC ML· co-op