What Students Say
Likes
- Huge campus and access extra curricular activities like gym, wellness centre, sports centre, stadium, diverse community clubs etc.
- Highly educated professors providing students great support with research opportunities as well alongside core technical knowledge.
- Amazing career support to help students get co-op opportunities and network with various industry processionals.
Dislikes
- Limited support for off campus residential search, no in campus housing for masters students.
- Not enough time to utilize all different resources for masters students.
- A small monthly fee to access campus gym and pool.
Course Curriculum
10
- At McMaster, the academics are a good mix of theory and practical work.
- The course is challenging but doable if you stay on top of things.
- Professors are approachable, and group projects make learning fun, though workload can get heavy at times.
- Usually, there are 3 - 4 classes a day between 9 AM - 5 PM, with around 40–60 students per class. The batch is diverse, and Indian students make up about 60 - 65%, so it feels international but still friendly.
Admission Experience
- I applied for the September 2022 intake in December 2021.
- After completing the application process, I received my admission offer letter in March 2022.Once the offer was received, I proceeded to pay the tuition fees for the first semester in April 2022. Following the payment, I was issued my final acceptance letter within the same month, confirming my admission and enrollment in the program.
- McMaster University is one of top 5 universities in Canada. It is located in Hamilton, Ontario which has significant Indian communities and amazing social life.
- I chose McMaster because it has a strong academic reputation and a supportive learning environment that really exceeded my expectations.
- The program is well-structured, practical, and recognized, which makes it valuable for future career opportunities. McMaster also has great research facilities, experienced professors, and a collaborative campus culture that feels welcoming rather than overly competitive.
- McMaster alumni go on to work at top companies around the world, which really speaking to the quality of education and career opportunities it offers. I applied to a bunch of universities and colleges and got a mix of acceptances and rejections. I was accepted by McMaster University, University of Ottawa, Northeastern University, Concordia University, and Conestoga College, which was really exciting.
- I didn’t get into the University of Waterloo or the University of Toronto, mostly because their programs are extremely competitive. McGill University put me on the waitlist. A big reason for the rejections was how competitive the programs were, along with the fact that I applied a bit late in the cycle.
Faculty
8
- The faculty-to-student ratio in my course was pretty good, around 1:30, which makes it easy to get attention and interact with professors whenever needed.
- Teaching was a mix of lectures, case studies, and projects, which really helps in understanding concepts and applying them in real-world scenarios.
- Many professors are approachable and even guide students toward part-time and full-time jobs through their networks.
- I really admired professors who are not just knowledgeable but also super supportive and encouraging they make learning engaging and practical.
Campus Life
10
- McMaster’s main campus is in Hamilton, with med campuses in Waterloo and St. Catharines and MBA campus in Burlington.
- It has libraries for different subjects, the David Braley Athletic Centre, sports fields, and a wellness center.
- Students enjoy clubs, cultural events, MacFest, ClubsFest, varsity teams, intramurals, arts groups, and tons of fun student-run activities. I personally really enjoyed end of the year carnival festival at campus which celebrated end of exams and start of a summer break.
Part Time Jobs
- Part-time jobs in Ontario pay a minimum of $17.55 per hour. Currently, it’s quite challenging to get a part-time job due to the large number of international workers competing for a limited number of positions, but when we arrived in Canada in August 2022, it was much easier.
- Most students search and apply for jobs online, with LinkedIn being the most popular platform for submitting applications directly to employers. At McMaster, students can get both on-campus and off-campus part-time jobs.
- On campus, common roles are teaching assistant (TA), research assistant (RA). Many students, especially in upper years, get these if they have good grades or research experience. Pay is usually around $18- 30/hour.
- Other campus jobs include library staff, fitness centre attendants, food services, and clerical work, typically $17- $20/hour.
- Students can work up to 20 hours per week during classes and full-time in breaks.
- Some on-campus jobs are competitive, especially TA/RA roles, but applying early helps. Off-campus jobs include retail, hospitality, and internships, usually found through LinkedIn, Indeed, or networking.
Placement
8
- Most McMaster grads land a job pretty fas around 80% find work within six months.
- Salaries vary by program, but generally grads make around $60k - $75k early on, with business or MBA grads earning much more.
- Students get jobs through internships, co-ops, career fairs, networking, or online portals like OSCARplus. Many join companies like TD, RBC, Deloitte, Microsoft, IBM, Amazon, or local hospitals and startups, working in roles from finance and consulting, software, research, and healthcare.
Accommodation
Off Campus
6
- I opted for off campus accommodation. I had a family friend who helped me find the place.
- My tent initially was $600 and I was sharing a large room with another girl. The rent included all the utilities.
- Finding the place was easy because it was owned by a family friend. But applying to rental buildings was very difficult since you are a new student with no credit history in canada so landlords have a hard time trusting you.
- My accommodation was 40 minutes bus ride from campus.
- Based on my experience, I would suggest future students that look for accommodation on facebook marketplace near campus area. It should be easy to find one there around peak intake timings for rent ranging from $760 - $900 inclusive of utilities. Most of the Indian students like to live near the campus.
Exams
- For the application, IELTS was required to show English proficiency, while the GRE was optional and not mandatory.
- Along with that, I had to submit a few documents like my resume, my four-year bachelor’s degree certificate, academic transcripts, three letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose, and any relevant professional certifications. All of this was needed to give a complete picture of my academic and professional background.
Fees
- Fees were charged per semester. I had to complete 30 credits to complete my course.
- Each primary subject was consisted of 3 credits, secondary subjects consisting of 1.5 credits each. You can take up to 5 subjects maximum per semester.
- A 3 credits subject would cost about $5000.
- Other charges like university health insurance($900), transportation pass($300) and some additional fees were paid yearly. Mine was a 2 year program.
- My rent was around $600-$800 per month. Grocery expense was around $150 - $200 per month and other miscellaneous expenses would sum up to around $100 - $150 per month.
Scholarship
- There was no full scholarship available for my specific course at the time of application.
- While partial funding and limited financial aid options were offered, they did not cover the entire cost of tuition and living expenses.
- I explored all available scholarship opportunities, but due to program-specific limitations and high demand, a fully funded scholarship was not an option for this program.
