Transfer Credits, Exemptions & Pre-requisite Waivers

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Page directory:

Transfer credits for Graduate students |  Exemptions for Graduate students | Pre-requisite waivers for Graduate students | Exemptions for Undergraduate students

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Transfer Credits for Graduate students

Deadline: Requests for transfer credits and exemptions must be received within 10 business days of the first day of classes of the graduate term (Fall or Winter).

Students may request for one full course (1.0 credit) or 25% of the program course requirements, whichever is greater. Transfer credit may be granted for graduate work completed in another graduate degree program, provided that the course(s) has not been credited towards another degree. Approval of both the Faculty and the School of Graduate Studies are required.

Approved transfer credits mean that the student will have less credits to complete for their degree requirements as the transfer credits will work towards the total credits required for degree requirements.

Eligibility criteria for the course(s):

• Have been completed within a five-year period immediately prior to the first registration at the Faculty
• Have been completed with a minimum grade of B
• Have not been used for credit towards another degree qualification
• Be relevant to the student’s academic and career goals

Students who wish to request a transfer credit must submit their request during the first session of their registration in the program to the Student Services Office. The request must include:

• A completed Transfer Credit and/or Exemption Form
• A rationale for the transfer and how the course complements the current program of study
• A course syllabus for each course the student is requesting a transfer credit for, and
• Official transcript(s), please note that transcripts do not have to be submitted if the Student Services Office already has official copies on file

Transfer credit requests will not be considered after the student has completed the first session of Year 1 of their studies.

At times, with transfer credits, it might mean that a student end up taking a shorter period of time to complete their degree requirements (i.e. less than 2 years of full-time studies). Please note that you will still be paying the same tuition fees (i.e. as a student that took 2 years of full-time studies to complete degree requirements) as the MI/MMSt program follows a Minimum Degree Fee structure.

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Exemptions for Graduate students

In rare circumstances, an exemption from a specific course requirement may be given permitting the substitution of another course to meet degree requirements. The purpose of this exemption policy is to free students from having to retake essentially the same course from a prior graduate degree. For this reason, exemption requests should be submitted by September 30th of the first term of a student’s iSchool degree program. To be approved, the courses must be almost identical in learning outcomes and content.

1. If approved, an exemption does not reduce the overall course credit requirements for the degree. You must replace the exempted course with another.
2. An exemption will only be considered based on a graduate-level course taken in the past five years, and only for a specifically identified and documented course.
3. Research assistantships and professional experience are not eligible as a basis for exemptions.
4. The exemptions policy does not exist to let students mix and match program requirements based on their interests or scheduling needs. Requests made on those grounds will not be considered.

To request an exemption, submit to Student Services all the items below in a single package or PDF file:

• Completed Transfer Credit and/or Exemption Form
• Course syllabus
• Official transcript, please note this does not have to be submitted if the Student Services Office already has an official copy of the transcript on file, and
• A rationale indicating why an exemption is justified

NOTE: Exemption request packages must include all documentation listed above to be considered. Incomplete packages will not be accepted by Student Services. Exemptions are assessed by the Program Director in consultation with appropriate faculty, however, final approval rests with the School of Graduate Studies. Students will be notified in writing upon final decision. Please note: there is no appeal process for the granting of extensions.

For more information, see the Transfer Credit and Exemption details in the Registration & Enrolment section of the SGS website.

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Pre-requisite waivers for Graduate students

Students are responsible for ensuring that all course pre-requisites are fulfilled. Faculty of Information approval for waiving a pre-requisite must be obtained in writing, from the course instructor, before a course begins. Failure to do so will result in the student receiving no credit for the course.

Procedure:

1. Contact the course instructor via email. Students may wish to provide some background (e.g. previous course work) that may fulfill the pre-requisite requirements.
2. The instructor may provide the approval.
3. Forward the email correspondence thread to Student Services for record keeping.

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Information on Exemptions for our Bachelor’s students:

In rare circumstances, an exemption from a specific course requirement may be given permitting the substitution of another course to meet degree requirements. The purpose of this exemption policy is to free students from having to retake essentially the same course from a prior undergraduate degree. For this reason, exemption requests should be submitted by September 30th of the first term of a student’s degree program. To be approved, the courses must be almost identical in learning outcomes and content.

1. If approved, an exemption does not reduce the overall course credit requirements for the degree. You must replace the exempted course with another.
2. An exemption will only be considered based on another undergraduate degree level course taken in the past five years, and only for a specifically identified and documented course.
3. Research assistantships and professional experience are not eligible as a basis for exemptions.
4. The exemptions policy does not exist to let students mix and match program requirements based on their interests or scheduling needs. Requests made on those grounds will not be considered.

To request an exemption, submit to Student Services all the items below in a single package or PDF file:

• Completed the BI Request for Course Exemption Form
• Course syllabus
• Official transcript, please note this does not have to be submitted if the Student Services Office already has an official copy of the transcript on file, and
• A rationale indicating why an exemption is justified

NOTE: Exemption request packages must include all documentation listed above to be considered. Incomplete packages will not be accepted by Student Services. Exemptions are assessed by the Program Coordinator. Students will be notified in writing upon final decision. Please note: there is no appeal process for the granting of extensions.

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