Access Program Events – Student Success Centre https://studentsuccess.mcmaster.ca STUDENT AFFAIRS Tue, 18 Aug 2026 18:36:27 +0000 en-CA hourly 1 Mac4U: Summer Transition Program for Access Students https://studentsuccess.mcmaster.ca/mac4u-transition-program/ Wed, 18 Jun 2025 14:57:52 +0000 https://studentsuccess.mcmaster.ca/?p=33971 Welcome to Mac4U! Your university journey starts now

The Mac4U Summer Transition Program returns this August for incoming students in the Access Program. This immersive experience is designed to ease your transition into university life by building skills, community, and confidence before classes begin. Join fellow students for three days and two nights of: 

  • University prep to help you feel confident and ready
  • Community building with peers and mentors who truly understand your journey
  • Guided support through the many processes and systems at McMaster, from course selection to campus life and more
  • Fun and opportunities to make friends in a welcoming, supportive space
  • Overnight stay in McMaster residence (shared rooms, no cost to you!)
Apply now

Application deadline: July 1, 2026

Who can participate?

Mac4U is open to incoming first-year students in the Access Program. This includes students from equity-deserving or historically underrepresented backgrounds.

  • Students who wouldn’t attend post-secondary without additional programs or supports
  • Students with parents who did not attend, or complete, post-secondary studies (first-generation university students)
  • Indigenous students
  • Students with disabilities
  • Certain racialized minority students (especially youth with Afro-Canadian and Latin American backgrounds)
  • Students from low-income families and neighbourhoods
  • Adult learners who are new to post-secondary education
  • Students from rural communities
  • Women (in some disciplines)

Have questions?

Email access1@mcmaster.ca.

We have some exciting activities planned for you and your peers! Check it out

We can’t wait to connect with you! More details will be shared with all participants closer to the program start date.

Day One

Thursday, August 6, 2026

Afternoon

  • Arrival
  • Welcome Session

Evening

  • Dinner
  • Board games, trivia and karaoke

Day Two

Friday, August 7, 2026

Morning

  • Breakfast
  • Session: Morning Lecture

Afternoon

  • Lunch: Cooking Class/Competition with Hospitality Services
  • Shadow Day: Afternoon Experiential Class
  • Shadow Day: Well-being and Identity/Intersectionality

Evening

  • Social: Off-Campus Dinner and Fun Activity

Day Three

Saturday, August 8, 2026

Morning

  • Breakfast & check out
  • Session: Reflection and wrap-up
  • Upper-Year Panel: Tips for University
  • Lunch: Friends and Family BBQ
Peter George Centre for Living and Learning (PGCLL)

Primary Location: Peter George Centre for Living and Learning (PGCLL)

We’ll meet you at PGCLL at the beginning of each day. This is also where you’ll be staying during Mac4U.

This new 340,000-square-foot multi-functional building opened in fall 2019 and is the largest building on campus. It features a 500-bed residence, two new 600-seat student lecture halls, a state-of-the-art active learning classroom and more.

Primary Location: Peter George Centre for Living and Learning (PGCLL)Campus map

Have questions?

Email access1@mcmaster.ca.

Five diverse young adults pose indoors at a lively event, smiling and giving thumbs-up while wearing badges and carrying a tote bag. Four women sit around a table in a bright community center, smiling at the camera, with a Peter George Centre for Living and Learning sign behind them. Six diverse women smile together while seated on a wooden bench in a bright office, conveying friendship, confidence, and camaraderie. Two smiling women hold cameras in a bright event space, with a red wall displaying “Peter George Centre” behind them. A diverse group of students gathers around a colorful board game, smiling and chatting in a cozy lounge with red cushioned walls. Three friends play Jenga at a table, laughing and focused as one carefully removes a block; Monopoly and colorful pens sit nearby. Cooking class with a diverse group preparing ingredients at a kitchen counter; a chef in white observes as participants work together. Smiling woman holds a red plate at a cooking event, surrounded by chefs and colorful ingredients in a bright kitchen; warm, social atmosphere. In a modern teaching kitchen, a young man stirs a pan while classmates watch and prepare food; a red culinary school sign fills the background. Dance instructor leads a diverse group in an energetic fitness class inside a mirrored studio with polished floors and city views. Diverse dancers follow a choreographed routine in a bright mirrored studio, moving energetically across the polished wood floor. Smiling woman climbs an indoor rock wall, gripping colorful holds, while climbing gear and walking poles hang on the gray wall behind her. Indoor rock climber in a harness grips colorful holds on a tall gray climbing wall, reaching upward with focused determination. Focused climber in a white sweater and jeans grips pink holds on an indoor bouldering wall, surrounded by colorful routes and wooden volumes. A person photographs climbers scaling a colorful indoor rock wall, capturing the energetic scene on a smartphone. People in hijabs and casual clothing prepare food together at a kitchen counter, creating a warm, collaborative community atmosphere. Two adults walk toward a bowling alley entrance beneath a bright red “BOWLING Snack Bar” sign, creating a casual, inviting atmosphere. Two bowlers at a bowling alley, one bending to pick up a ball while the other prepares to roll, creating a relaxed, focused atmosphere. Young woman carrying a bowling ball walks past lanes as friends watch in a bright bowling alley, creating a relaxed, social atmosphere. Two Black women laugh and whisper at a bowling alley; one wears a mint shirt, while a bowler and blue ball appear behind them. Bowler in a light blue shirt releases a blue ball down a brightly lit bowling lane, balancing on one leg as pins await. Lecturer gestures during a classroom presentation as students watch a projected image of historic castle ruins and gardens, creating an engaging academic atmosphere. Lively café with diverse young adults dining and chatting at tables, sunlight streaming through large windows, creating a warm, social atmosphere. Large, diverse group of students and adults pose cheerfully on a sweeping indoor staircase in a bright, modern atrium.

 

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