McGill University is allocated a number of Differential Fee Waivers (DFWs) that it allocates through the departments. DFWs are allocated by nomination to Ph.D. students and Research Master's degree students. Eligible students should enquire with their department for information regarding how to apply for these waivers.
Differential Fee Waivers are also available from a number of external sources, including the
Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport du Québec. Please note that the Quebec government grants Differential Fee Waivers to staff and dependants of consulates, foreign government offices, international governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, refugees, immigrants with a work permit containing the case type 07, 08, 20, 22, 23 or 26 with the name of an employer and location that is necessarily situated in Quebec, and to those students in MELS-approved inter-university exchanges. For more information on how to qualify for Differential Fee Waivers under these provisions, please see this document:
Politique relative aux droits de scolarité exigés des étudiantes et étudiants étrangers par les universités du Québec, available at the MELS website:
www.mels.gouv.qc.ca/sections/publications/publications/BSM/Aff_internationales_canadiennes/Politique_etudiant_etranger-2008.pdf.
International degree students in a program where fees are assessed per credit and who register in eligible French language and literature courses are exempt from the international supplement for those courses. Please note that the exemption of differential fees for students registered in French language and literature programs has been abolished.
A certain number of citizens from countries whose governments have entered into agreements on tuition fees with Quebec may be exempted from the supplemental tuition fees normally required of international students.
The exemption is granted in accordance with the applicable agreement on tuition fees and subject to its terms and conditions, which vary depending on each agreement. The exemption is valid for the normal length of the program of studies concerned (for instance, a Master's degree in Environmental Studies) at a post-secondary institution in Quebec, and is granted one semester at a time. From the first semester for which an exemption is granted at a designated institution until the program is completed, the exemption is renewable on a trimester-by-trimester basis as long as a student earns no fewer than 30 credits per year, complies with the applicable regulations, registers on a full time basis at least for the Fall and Winter trimesters and pays the tuition fees on the prescribed registration dates.
To apply for an exemption of this type, a student must meet the following conditions: be a citizen of one of the aforementioned countries or governments; be admitted to a program of studies at a post-secondary institution in Quebec; be registered on a full-time basis according to the applicable rules at that institution; like any international student, be the holder of a valid passport and residence permit as prescribed by the applicable immigration rules; and, except for French citizens, be recommended for an exemption by the relevant authorities in his or her country – usually the department of education – according to the official procedure described in the next paragraph.
Foreign governments or the bodies that represent them must send, usually through their consulate in Quebec or their embassy in Ottawa, to the
Direction des affaires étudiantes et de la coopération of the
Ministère de l'Éducation du Québec, before June 15 of each year for the next autumn registrations and before November 15 for the next winter registrations, a list of the candidates that they recommend be exempted from the requirement to pay supplemental tuition fees, along with the proof of admission or registration for each new exemption proposed. The
Ministère de l'Éducation then establishes, according to the provisions of the agreement, the final list of the persons to benefit from the exemption during the future trimester concerned. At least 80 per cent of the exemptions that are awarded must be for registrations in French-speaking institutions.
