Petitions are available to students for various reasons, the most common in the BioPharm program being to request a course not on the course list count towards it. If there is a course not found on the course list and you wish it to count towards your major, fill out the form below and send to the BioPharm Program Office. The Petition Form must include why you wish to take the course and how it will benefit your academic career.

Deadline: All course list requests must be submitted to the Program Office at least ONE WEEK prior to the start of the term. Late requests may be delayed or denied.  

If there is a course you wish to take but it doesn’t fit in your schedule, or it isn’t available during a study term, consider taking it on letter of permission. A letter of permission allows a student to complete a course at another university for transfer credit towards their McMaster degree (must be in good academic standing). Grades obtained in a course at another university will not be included in the calculation of McMaster averages. For more information about LOP’s, review the undergraduate calendar.

BioPharm students are not encouraged to overload their schedule. The program is designed to be engaging and challenging and taking more than 5 courses often lowers an overall GPA. Students are not encouraged to take a course during a coop placement or their thesis project, unless it specifically benefits either the placement or project. Approval from the coop employer or thesis supervisor would be needed before a course overload could be considered. If you feel you have a unique situation not outlined above, please contact the BioPharm Program Office to discuss a course overload. A course overload request form can be found here.

Minors at McMaster typically require a minimum of 8 courses (24 credits) completed by the time of graduation. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that all coursework for the minor program/dept is complete. More information on minors can be found in the undergraduate calendar.

In recent years, BioPharm students have completed minors in Psychology, Math, Biochem and Business. This is not an inclusive list; any minor is possible if it fits in your timetable. Be sure to plan and see if you will be able to take all the required courses before you decide to do a minor.

The semester before graduation (Winter term), the minor tile will appear in Mosaic for graduates. Those who have completed all requirements are to fill out the paperwork and notify the BioPharm program office.

1. This is a five-level (year) co-op program, three terms of which must be spent in work related to biology or pharmacology placements under the auspices of the Science Career & Cooperative Education office in the Faculty of Science.
2. A senior thesis, PHARMAC 4T15, will be completed in the Summer or Fall term of Level V. Work terms must be completed in the Spring/Summer term of Level III, Fall term of Level IV and Spring/Summer term of Level V. See Co-op program chart below.
3. PHARMAC 3A06 A/B, 3B06 A/B, 4A03, 4AA3, 4C03, 4D03 and 4E03 will use a self-directed problem-based learning approach.
4. Students must be registered full-time and take a full academic workload as prescribed by Level and Term.
5. Students are required to complete SCIENCE 2C00 and SCIENCE 3C00 before the ?rst work placement and are strongly recommended to complete SCIENCE 2C00 in Level II.
6. Students should seek academic advising for this program from the Director of the Honours Biology and Pharmacology Co-op Program.
7. If BIOCHEM 2B03 and 2BB3 have not been completed at the time of admission, BIOCHEM 3G03 must be completed in Level III. Students with credit in BIOCHEM 2B03 and 2BB3 are not required to complete further Biochemistry courses.
8. For BHSc students who are interested in taking 4th or 5th year BIOPHARM course for which BIOPHARM 3A06 is a requirement, an alternative to BIOPHARM 3A06 is BIOLOGY 3AA3.