Pre-College Program on the Campus of McGill

Have you ever thought about starting your own business? You will learn the fundamental tools and techniques necessary to launch your own company. After you review all the steps to create and maintain your own business venture, you have the opportunity to try your new skills and will develop and present a professional business plan.

Building effective communication skills are critical factors for future careers and everyday life. Learn essential skills including how to navigate difficult conversations, build trust, manage emotional reactions, negotiate solutions, and foster stronger relationships through clear, respectful dialogue. Through engaging activities, group discussions, and real-life scenarios, students gain the tools to tackle any conversation head-on and emerge with solutions that benefit everyone involved.

From learning basic knife skills to creating succulent dishes, if you are a foodie, this course is for you! Whether gourmet entrees or delicious desserts, expert chefs in a beautiful, professional kitchen will inspire and help you develop skills in a hands-on culinary experience. You even get a book full of mouth watering recipes you have helped prepare!

* A supplementary fee of $220 applies.

There are few better places to master the art of photography than in the vibrant city of Montreal. With your smartphone, DSLR, mirrorless, or digital camera in hand, this photography course will teach various digital photography techniques including imaging scanning, color digital printing, printing digital negatives, basic darkroom techniques and Adobe Photoshop. Creativity mixes with practical skills and culminates in an individual final photography project completed by the end of the course.

*A DSLR, mirrorless, bridge camera, or a recent-model smartphone is required

This program is designed to increase your overall fluency through real experiences with American culture. Improve your vocabulary and pronunciation, review proper grammatical structures, and practice your writing skills. Beyond the classroom, guided field trips provide you many opportunities to practice your English in the real world. If attending a university in the USA is one of your future goals, then this is the program for you!

* A supplementary fee of $220 applies.

Did you know Montreal is the second largest primarily French-speaking city in the world after Paris? Separate course levels from beginner to advanced are offered. Attention is given to grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing with the primary goal of enhancing your verbal skills. You will have many opportunities to practice French in this incredible city.

* A supplementary fee of $220 applies.

This hands-on, workshop-based course helps students become comfortable, confident, and persuasive communicators. Blending the core principles of public speaking with the art of debate, students will develop essential skills for success in both professional and everyday settings. Students will learn how to structure and deliver compelling presentations, build strong arguments, think critically under pressure, and engage in respectful, evidence-based discussion. Through brief speeches, debates, and constructive feedback, students will overcome communication barriers and gain the tools to speak with clarity, confidence, and conviction.

This course introduces basic concepts in psychology including behavioral, cognitive and clinical psychology. Through the use of discussion, film and in-class activities, explore topics such as how to improve emotional intelligence, limitations in perception, cognitive distortions and how to improve memory. Other topics included are mental illness, stereotyping and prejudice.

Climate change, bans on religious freedoms, racial injustice, gender-based violence… the list of human rights violations, and social and ecological injustices are seemingly endless in the world around us.  Join this forum on social justice and human rights where we will explore a number of topics through a systems-thinking lens to examine why and how unequal distributions of rights and freedoms manifest.  We will also consider our personal identities, positions and power within these systems challenging our ideas of how to make positive social change in the world in which we live. This forum will involve participant discussion.

Before you invest in the stock market, it’s important you understand the basics of finance, the components of an investment portfolio and the underlying mechanics of the markets. This course gives you a detailed overview of investing in the stock market and offers you many tools and techniques needed to invest. Practice by investing in a simulated stock market competition.

You can make a real difference to local communities in Montreal. Projects may include working with youth and families, sorting through donations for families in need, as well as serving meals to the homeless. A letter of completion recognizing the hours of service and detailing the projects accomplished will be issued after the summer.

Plan your workout regimen including weight training and cardio to help meet your fitness goals.

Discover how to leverage social media marketing effectively in today's AI-enhanced digital landscape. Working with McGill's School of Continuing Studies experts, you will explore strategic marketing across evolving social media platforms while learning to integrate AI tools for content creation, analytics, and campaign optimization. This hands-on course covers platform selection, content strategy, consumer journey mapping, advertising, influencer marketing, and the ethical considerations of AI in social media. Perfect for those looking to develop practical, modern social media marketing skills that combine human creativity with AI-powered efficiency.

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

• Explain social media’s role, benefits, goals, and how AI shapes feeds.
• Connect social media with SEO, websites, and other channels using AI tools.
• Build a social media plan aligned with personas and journeys, with AI personalization.
• Understand how to choose the best channels for your business/projects/products
• Create content using both human creativity and AI generators.
• Create social media content
• Explain social media policies, privacy, and ethical considerations

Students learn to understand differing worldviews that stem from varied cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. You will appreciate the shifting international balance of power; which regions assert hegemony in our time and in the future. Develop your understanding of how conflicts arise and modern issues of global concern.

From learning basic knife skills to creating succulent dishes, if you are a foodie, this course is for you! Whether gourmet entrees or delicious desserts, expert chefs in a beautiful, professional kitchen will inspire and help you develop skills in a hands-on culinary experience. You even get a book full of mouth watering recipes you have helped prepare!

* A supplementary fee of $220 applies.

Experience the world of forensic science through hands-on training exercises and theoretical lessons. Examine CSI procedures along with forensic anthropology, biology and bloodstain pattern analysis. A scenario is staged and you work in investigative teams to identify, collect and interpret the evidence before you act as a forensic expert witness and testify in a mock-court setting.

In a shifting landscape of journalism, find out how to adapt and prepare news to be broadcast in print and through digital outlets. Journalism abides by professional standards for gathering, processing, and disseminating information. Learn about these standards as you analyze selected pieces of news and apply strategies to write powerful stories that capture an audience. Hone your online and interviewing skills, sharpen your ability to write effectively, and deliver messages in your stories that will resonate with your readers.

Tom Peters, leadership author of ‘’In Search of Excellence’’ and nicknamed the ‘’Red Bull’’ of management thinking, wrote ‘’Success in business today is 15% technology and 85% Emotional Intelligence.” If this is true, what better way is there to prepare you for college and a future career than to improve your Emotional Intelligence skills? This course has been designed to increase your understanding of emotional intelligence and will empower you to use E.I. to increase your self-confidence, and guide your thinking and behavior. Using experiential exercises, discussions and group collaboration you will learn how to define personal goals and how to leverage your skills, knowledge and experience to create success in new situations both personally and professionally.

Explore the vibrant city of Montreal through its art scene! Modern artists studied are known for a spirit of political revolt and artistic experimentation and include van Gogh, Picasso, Dalí and Warhol. Students visit the Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Contemporary Art and a number of modern galleries.

A “field trip” around Montreal to learn about the French-Canadian culture that makes this city so unique. Explore the “Place des Festivals”, the historic Old Montreal with its 17th century cobblestone streets, and the city’s Mount Royal Park which was designed by the same designer as New York’s Central Park. Uncover multiple museums and artistic venues. Discover Montreal’s unique culinary experience and indulge in their famous poutine and smoked meat.

This course provides students with an overview of business for professional sports including finance, marketing and technology. Learn about professional sports entities that make billions of dollars entertaining people around the world. Through lectures, case studies and guest speakers, explore topics such as producing live events, broadcasting rights, athlete marketing, sponsorship, the fan experience, and sports law.

Plan your workout regimen including weight training and cardio to help meet your fitness goals.

Combine a morning business course with an afternoon business course for an intensive full-day track.