Login to Minerva to access the Student Census in the Student section.
Download and complete the request form.
View the biennial results of the Student Census.
McGill University is on land which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg nations. We acknowledge and thank the diverse Indigenous peoples whose presence marks this territory on which peoples of the world now gather.
For more information about traditional territory and tips on how to make a land acknowledgement, visit our Land Acknowledgement webpage.
For more information about the Student Census and its governance policies, or to request data, please contact EDI.ES [at] mcgill.ca
Equity, diversity, and inclusion are at the core of our mission.
The data from the Student Census allows us to better understand the composition of our student body, to inform data-driven operational decision making, to address identified areas of underrepresentation, as well as to assess and adapt our efforts to enroll and support students in line with the Final Report of the Provost’s Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education, McGill’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan 2020-2025, and McGill’s Action Plan to Address Anti Black Racism. We also recognize that we are best able to anticipate and meet the needs of our students when we understand who our students are.
McGill University is committed to protecting privacy and safeguarding personal information in accordance with Quebec privacy law.
Identifying data from the Student Census is kept strictly confidential, is used for operational purposes only, and is not used or shared outside of McGill. Data may not be used for any other purpose, including research or to affect any academic evaluation or disciplinary action. Individual-level identifiable data is never shared.
Data from the Student Census is encrypted and stored on McGill’s secure servers.
All requests for data from the Student Census are subject to review and require approval by the Registrar.
For further details, see the Student Census - Privacy Protection and User Rights Statements page.
For more information about the Student Census and its governance policies, or to request data, please contact: EDI.ES [at] mcgill.ca.
It is a data collection initiative to help better understand and serve the student population.
No, the Student Census is not mandatory and each question in the census includes a “prefer not to answer” option.
We encourage all students to complete the Student Census to facilitate our understanding of the composition of our student body and our ability to meet student needs accordingly.
It should take less than 10 minutes to complete the census.
All students are strongly encouraged to complete the census. This includes students in certificate, undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate programs, both domestic and international students, as well as those currently enrolled on either a part-time or full-time basis.
The Student Census population excludes students from: The McGill Community for Lifelong Learning. Also excluded are non-credit and collegial-level studies students, special and visiting students, inbound exchange students, and Quebec Inter-University Transfer students.
The census is available under the “Student” menu in Minerva.
McGill is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion. These principals are fundamental to our core values and are essential to our excellence as an institution.
Advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion is an ongoing and continuous effort which is essential across the University. Collecting student demographic information facilitates our planning for our communities; including data driven resource allocation, initiatives, and strategic planning.
The information from the Student Census helps identify representational and resource gaps, systemic barriers, as well as who is and who is not represented at McGill University (in general as well as within specific departments and programs).
This data allows us to measure our success in engaging and supporting our diverse student body and to better understand intersections, experiences, and needs.
Students can complete the census at any time and may go in and change their answers as well.
We will take a snapshot of the data annually in April, so we strongly encourage students who have not completed the Census by this date to please do so.
Yes, your responses can be changed at any time.
The Student Census is a fundamental component to McGill University’s mission and commitments made in the Final Report of the Provost’s Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education, McGill’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan 2020-2025, and McGill’s Action Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism.
The collection of data through the Student Census enables McGill to be aware of and plan for its communities.
The information from the Student Census allows for data driven resource allocation, initiatives, and strategic planning in areas such as:
The Student Census does not ask about certain demographic data such as age and citizenship as this information is already collected in the Student record.
We would like to assure you that this data is used in our operational planning and decision making so as not to neglect the needs of our diverse student body.
For some questions, the Student Census adopts categories from Statistics Canada's 2021 Census. The census collects data on demographics such as gender, sexual orientation, disability, Indigenous identity and status, race and ethnicity, and educational attainment of parents/guardians.
The data will be used in operational decision making such as organizing community outreach efforts and determining support needs.
To offer feedback, or for more information, and questions about the Student Census, please contact, EDI.ES [at] mcgill.ca.
This data will allow McGill to better understand and serve all students. We are best able to anticipate and meet the needs of all our students when we understand who our students are.
McGill University is committed to protecting privacy and safeguarding personal information in accordance with Quebec privacy law. Data from the Student Census is stored on our secure servers. Results are masked when cell sizes are less than 5 to prevent identification of individuals.
Identifying data from the Student Census is kept strictly confidential, is used for operational purposes only, and is not used or shared outside of McGill.
Access to detailed or identifying participant data is highly restricted to a small number of employees for the purposes of building aggregate reports and responding to data requests.
Your individual responses containing any personally identifiable information will never be shared with any internal or external bodies. Responses will never be considered in the context of any application to McGill, nor will any personal information about you ever be shared with your instructors, supervisors, or fellow students.
For further details, see the Student Census - Privacy Protection and User Rights Statements page.
No, data from the Student Census is used exclusively for internal operational purposes with EDI objectives and is not to be used or shared for any other purpose, including to affect any academic evaluation or disciplinary action.
Responses will never be used to affect any academic evaluation or disciplinary action, or in any future admissions decisions, nor will any information about you ever be shared with your instructors, supervisors, or fellow students.
No, data from the Student Census is used exclusively for internal operational purposes with EDI objectives and is not to be used or shared for any other purpose, including research or marketing.
Your individual responses containing any personally identifiable information will never be shared with any internal or external bodies.
Faculties, administrative units, and student leaders can request more granular data than what is publicly reported for operational purposes only and in pursuit of EDI objectives. All requests for data from the Student Census are subject to review and require approval by the Registrar. Access the 
Student Census data request form.