Université de Montréal

Overview

The Université de Montréal (UdeM) was founded in 1878 around three faculties: theology, law and medicine. In 1943 it moved from the Latin Quarter to its current main campus on the north slope of Mount Royal. Besides Montreal, it teaches at sites in Laval, Brossard, Saint-Hyacinthe (home of its veterinary school), the Mauricie, Lanaudière and Rimouski.

Two well-known schools are linked to UdeM: Polytechnique Montréal for engineering, affiliated since 1887, and HEC Montréal for business. Both run their own admissions, so if engineering or business is your goal, check their sites rather than UdeM's.

How to apply

Quebec has no common university application, so you apply through the Université de Montréal's own admission site; the application period for fall first-cycle admission opens on August 1 of the year before. UdeM's deadlines page sets general fall dates for bachelor's programs: February 1 if you have studied outside Quebec or at a university, March 1 if you have only Quebec CEGEP studies, and January 15 for all Faculty of Music applicants. International applicants are advised to apply by April 1 at the latest for the fall term. A program's own page can set a different date, and that date takes precedence.

Quebec CEGEP students are ranked mostly by their R score (cote de rendement au collégial), explained in our article on what the R score is. Students from Canada outside Quebec need a pre-university high school diploma and can choose between a preparatory year and a four-year bachelor's where offered. Students with an IB diploma or a completed year of university may be exempt from the preparatory year. Medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine and optometry are open only to Quebec candidates with a postsecondary diploma (a bachelor's or a CEGEP diploma), so the preparatory year does not lead into them. US students apply through the international route on the admission site.

French language requirements

All teaching and assessment is in French, so your French needs to be strong enough for lectures, readings and exams. For applicants from outside Quebec, UdeM states that knowledge of oral and written French is a prerequisite and that you must show the level your program requires. The program page tells you how to prove it, which may mean a recognized French test if your schooling was not in French.

Some programs add other steps, such as interviews. Our MMI interview preparation article covers that format.

Costs and funding

Quebec sets separate tuition rates for Quebec residents, Canadian students from other provinces and international students, and certain international students, including French citizens, have special rates under agreements between Quebec and their country. UdeM publishes current figures and a tuition calculator on its registrar's official cost of studies page, which also links to the exemption from supplementary fees available to some Canadian students from outside Quebec. Students from outside Canada need a Quebec acceptance certificate (CAQ) as well as a federal study permit; start at the Government of Canada page on studying in Canada and the Quebec government's immigration pages.

Getting ready with StudyBrix

• Build academic French with our French learning guide.
• Health sciences applicants can practise interview answers with the interview and MMI skills deck.
• Learn how Canadian grading compares across provinces in Canadian GPA scales explained.

Our guide to universities in Canada explains how Quebec admissions differ from the rest of the country.