On this page:
Passing grades
۲ݮƵ grading & GPA policy
Grades and academic standing
Extra courses
Access to student records
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
First-year mid-term grades
Letter about grades & the program
Dean's Honours List
Table of Cumulative Averages
Passing grades
In order to obtain credit for their courses, candidates in the BCL/JD Program must obtain a passing grade. The following grades are awarded by the Faculty of Law:
BCL/JD Program
A |
Real Excellence |
A- |
Excellence |
B+ |
Very Good |
B |
Good |
B- |
Reasonably good |
C+ |
Competence plus |
C |
Competence |
D |
Marginal Pass (complementary and elective courses) / Failure (compulsory courses). |
F |
Failure |
Compulsory Courses
Passing grades: A; A-; B+; B; B-; C+; C
Failing grades: D; F
Complementary and Elective Courses
Passing grades: A; A-; B+; B; B-; C+; C; D
Failing grade: U; F
Grade points are assigned to letter grades as follows:
Grade |
Grade Points |
A |
4.0 |
A- |
3.7 |
B+ |
3.3 |
B |
3.0 |
B- |
2.7 |
C+ |
2.3 |
C |
2.0 |
D |
1.0 |
F | 0 |
۲ݮƵ grading and grade point average (GPA) policy
See the University Calendar's page on Grading and Grade Point Averages (GPA).
If you repeat courses, all results are included in the GPA calculation. Therefore, grades of D or F continue to be used in the CGPA calculation even after you repeat the course or if you take a supplemental examination. Note that credits are only granted once for a repeated course regardless of the passing grade.
Grades and academic standing
BCL/JD students
Candidates who do not achieve a sessional Grade Point Average of 1.50 will be required to withdraw from the Faculty.
Candidates who achieve a sessional Grade Point Average of between 1.50 and 1.99 will be permitted to continue their studies, but must achieve at the end of the subsequent session either a sessional Grade Point Average of 2.50 or a cumulative Grade Point Average of 2.00.
Candidates must have a cumulative Grade Point Average of 2.00 to be entitled to graduate.
Candidates who are required to withdraw from the Faculty may be authorized by the Faculty Admissions Committee to continue their studies if exceptional reasons for the required withdrawal exist.
LLM, DCL, and GC Students
Students who have failed one course required by their department while registered as a graduate student may automatically write one supplemental examination, if the departmental policy permits, or retake that course or substitute an equivalent course.
For the purposes of this policy, "required course" includes either a course required by the student's program of study, or a course that has been designated by the department for an individual student's program of study.
Students with any further failures in that course, including the supplemental, or a failure in any other course, will be required to withdraw from their program of study. When a student retakes a course, he/she is required to pay the fee charged for the course in question.
Doctoral students and Master's students in thesis programs can also be required to withdraw from their program of study for documented lack of performance in research.
The failure policy does not pertain to the failure of comprehensive examinations, doctoral oral defenses, or thesis failures. In the case of a failed thesis or defense, the Thesis Failure Policy, detailed in ۲ݮƵ's Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office's Thesis guidelines section, applies. In the case of a failed comprehensive examination, ۲ݮƵ's Ph.D. Comprehensives Policy applies.
Students taking courses extra to their program
Students who wish to take a limited number of courses that are considered to be extra to their primary program, must request permission to do so prior to registration, in writing, to the SAO. If approved, the courses will be flagged as extra to their program, and will not be calculated in GPA or total credits earned.
Access to student records
Quebec legislation respecting Privacy and Access to Information has formalized dealings with student files. Consequently, personal information, including transcripts of academic records, may only be released with the authorisation of the student.
In particular, information relating to the overall standing of an individual student is confidential and cannot be furnished to prospective employers without the consent of that student.
The Faculty does not rank undergraduate students, but we do publish a table of cumulative averages (see below). Students requiring a letter explaining the grading policy or rankings can request one by emailing the SAO.
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) option
The S/U Option is applicable to Law and non-law Electives and Law Complementary courses within the BCL/JD Program.
The S/U Option is limited to one course in the program for a max of 4 credits.
Students are NOT permitted to choose the S/U Option for Required Courses.
Students who decide to have a course graded as Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) must do so before the Course Change deadline on Minerva (www.mcgill.ca/minerva) as part of the Student Menu > Registration Menu > Quick Add or Drop Course Sections Menu. Students cannot make any changes after the Course Change deadline even if the option was selected by mistake.
The instructor will report grades in the normal fashion. Grades of A through C are converted to “Satisfactory” (S), and grades of D, F, and J are converted to “Unsatisfactory” (U). The courses taken under the S/U option will be excluded from the grade point average (GPA) calculations, but they will be included in the attempted credits total. Credits for courses with a final grade of S will also be included in the number of credits earned.
The Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option is not open to graduate students.
For more information, please refer to the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Option on the main ۲ݮƵ Programs, Courses and University Regulations site, under Registration. Be aware that a D is a fail and translates to “Unsatisfactory” under this option.
First-year mid-term grades
Students have access to view their mid-term grades on myCourses for a 2-week period at the end of the Fall term (January).
The Faculty does NOT release December mid-term grades for first-year full-year courses.
These grades are NOT final grades, and are intended to provide pedagogical feedback to students and instructors. The final grade for first year courses will be visible on the student's official transcript at the end of the winter term (May).
The following is a letter from the Manager, Student Affairs Office, explaining this process: Letter for First Year Students MidTerm Grades ENG Letter for First Year Students MidTerm Grades FR
*Advanced standing students who require a more detailed letter can contact thesao.law [at] mcgill.ca (SAO).
Letter about grades and the BCL/JD (formerly the BCL/LLB) Program
The following letter, prepared by our Associate Dean (Academic), explains our program and our exceptionally rigorous academic standards. ۲ݮƵ Grading Standards 2023 (EN) ۲ݮƵ Grading Standards 2023 (FR)
The followingletter,prepared by Associate DeanGraduate Studies, explains the GraduateProgram and our exceptionally rigorous academic standards. ۲ݮƵ Law Grading Standards for Graduate Students.
Dean's Honours List
The Dean's Honour List information has moved! See theFaculty Prizes, Awards, and Scholarships for Law studentswebpage for Dean's Honour List information.
Table of cumulative averages for BCL/JD students
These tables below show the percentage of BCL/JD students whose Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) falls within each grade range. It is based on information available at the end of each academic year. It is normally updated each June. The Faculty does not compile individual student rankings, nor provide ranking letters of any kind.
Undergraduate Table of Cumulative Averages (2018-2019)*
*Due to COVID-19 adjustments and the expanded S/U Option offered during the Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 terms, the Undergraduate Table of Cumulative Averages has not been prepared since the 2018-2019 academic year.The methods for gathering information related to the Undergraduate Table of Cumulative Averages are currently being reviewed for the purposes of updating them for the 2022 - 2023 academic year and future academic years.
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Percentages have been rounded, so the total may not equal 100.
** Given the large number of students with cumulative grade point averages between 3.00 and 3.29 (B range), this grade increment has been divided in two to provide additional information.
Due to COVID-19 adjustments and the expanded S/U Option offered during the winter 2020 term, the Undergraduate table of cumulative averages was not prepared for the 2019-2020 academic year.
Table of cumulative averages 2018-2019 [.pdf]
Table of cumulative averages 2017-2018 [.pdf]
Table of cumulative averages 2016-2017 [.pdf]
Table of cumulative averages 2015-2016 [.pdf]
Table of cumulative averages 2014-2015 [.pdf]
Table of cumulative averages 2013-2014 [.pdf]
Table of cumulative averages 2012-2013 [.pdf]
Table of cumulative averages 2011-2012 [.pdf]
Table of cumulative averages 2010-2011 [.pdf]
Table of cumulative averages 2009-2010 [.pdf]
Table of cumulative averages 2008-2009 [.pdf]
Table of cumulative averages 2007-2008 [.pdf]