Students enrolled in the MBA program wishing to alter their course load from the standard course load (6 in Year 1 and 5 in Year 2 for full-time or up to 2 for part-time students) per term should submit the “Petition for Special Consideration” form to the Student Experience – Academic office prior to the beginning of the academic term.
First year full-time and Co-op students must take all required courses as assigned in each of the first two academic terms. Students are not permitted to take additional courses in the first two academic terms (equivalent to their first year of studies). Requests to take up to six courses per term (‘overloading’) in their second academic year are reviewed on a case-by- case basis by the Academic Advisors and Manager, MBA (Academic).
Important Course Load Considerations
•it is recommended that full-time students who are participating in McMaster-based paid employment should work no more than an average of 20 hours a week to a maximum of 1005 hours in the academic year. Full-time graduate students are responsible to ensure that any employment obligations do not interfere with academic progress and should be aware that employment obligations are not an acceptable basis for unsatisfactory progress. Please see the
calendar for updated info.
•Co-op students are not permitted to enroll in courses during their work terms. Students may ask for special consideration to enroll in one course during their final work term. As a part of the request for special consideration, the student will need to submit a letter of support from their Co-op employer. These courses are considered to be off-sequence courses.
•Any course taken off sequence, including an independent research project course, is considered a part-time course and is subject to the applicable part-time tuition fees. Please keep in mind that three or more courses taken in a term is considered a full-time course load, and therefore full-time tuition and fees apply, regardless of whether or not they have paid for a course taken off sequence. For further information, please contact an MBA Academic Advisor.
Important Course Load Considerations
•In second year, students who wish to take additional courses beyond those necessary to complete degree credit requirements (e.g. to take additional electives) must consult with and obtain the permission of an MBA Academic Advisor. You cannot register for an extra course in Mosaic. Please contact an MBA Academic Advisor in the Student Experience – Academic office for details.
•These additional courses are designated as ‘extra.’ Please note this is not the same as ‘overloading’ (see above). Extra courses do not count toward your degree and are not to be included in the grade average but do appear on your transcript. The notation for the course on your transcript will be “EXTRA.”
