Guide for McMaster international students · Updated August 2026
McMaster’s absence policy lets you self-report a short illness without any medical documentation. Knowing when that applies — and when it doesn’t — saves most students money before insurance enters the picture.
The short version. International students at McMaster University are automatically enrolled in the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP), which costs $948 CAD for the 2026–27 policy year. You also pay into the MSU Health & Dental Plan, administered by GreenShield from 1 September 2026, and you cannot opt out of it using UHIP — McMaster states explicitly that “OHIP, OHIP+, and UHIP is not considered to be extended coverage.” Before you pay anyone for a doctor’s note, check the MSAF policy below: for a short absence affecting coursework worth under 25% of your grade, McMaster asks you not to submit documentation at all.
Key facts at a glance
In this guide
McMaster is unusual among Ontario universities in how far it has gone to remove medical documentation from short absences. The McMaster Student Absence Form (MSAF) policy, approved by Senate in April 2024 and effective from 1 July 2024, splits absences into two routes.
| MSAF (Self-Report) | MSAF (Administrative Report) | |
|---|---|---|
| Length of absence | Up to 3 calendar days | More than 3 calendar days |
| How often | Once per term, not per course | Up to twice per term |
| Coursework value | Less than 25% of the final grade | 25% or more of the final grade |
| Medical documentation | Not required — students must not submit any | Only if the Faculty or Program Office requests it |
Source: McMaster University Secretariat, MSAF Policy, verified August 2026.
Read the left-hand column again, because it is the part students pay for unnecessarily. If you missed up to three days and the work is worth less than a quarter of your grade, McMaster does not want a doctor’s note and asks you not to send one. Submitting one anyway does not strengthen your case. Paying for one is money wasted.
Where documentation does come into it, the policy is careful: requests are limited to the nature of the limitation or restriction, and — in McMaster’s own words — documentation “does not require the disclosure of a medical diagnosis.” A physician confirms that you were unwell and unable to meet your obligations. What you had stays between you and the physician.
So when do you genuinely need a physician? When the absence runs past three days. When the assessment is worth 25% or more. When you have already used your Self-Report this term. When your Faculty Office asks for the Student Health Certificate. And, separately from academics, whenever you actually need care — a prescription, a referral, a diagnosis.
UHIP is mandatory university-wide health insurance for international students, insured by Manulife and administered by Cowan Insurance Group. It stands in for OHIP, which international students are not eligible for. The MSU Health & Dental Plan is a separate supplementary plan from the McMaster Students Union, administered by GreenShield from 1 September 2026, covering what UHIP will not. Full-time undergraduates enrolled in 18 or more units across the Fall and Winter terms are automatically enrolled.
Two plans, two insurers, two claim portals. Both run 1 September to 31 August.
| Service | UHIP | MSU Health & Dental Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Doctor and specialist visits | Covered at OHIP-equivalent rates | Not applicable |
| Hospital and emergency care | Covered, to $1,000,000 per policy year | Not applicable |
| Lab tests, X-rays, MRI, CT scans | Covered when ordered by a doctor | Not applicable |
| Prescription medication | Not covered | Covered — check current percentages and annual maximum |
| Dental care | Not covered | Covered by the dental component |
| Vision and eyewear | Not covered | Covered by the health component |
| Psychology and counselling | Limited — hospital or psychiatrist only | Covered by the health component |
| Virtual care | Reimbursed at OHIP-equivalent rates | Separate virtual health component |
| Doctor’s notes and medical forms | Not covered — uninsured service | Not covered |
Sources: UHIP coverage details (uhip.ca) and MSU Health & Dental Insurance (msumcmaster.ca), verified August 2026. Confirm current MSU percentages and maximums in the plan booklet, which changes with the move to GreenShield.
UHIP is $948 CAD per year, or $79 per month, tax included, for the 2026–27 policy year — up from $792 in 2025–26, an increase of about 20%. A student plus one dependant is $1,896; a student plus two or more is $2,844. Starting in January is prorated to roughly $632, and May to roughly $316.
The MSU Health & Dental Plan is billed separately with your student fees. For 2026–27 the components are:
That is roughly $295 on top of your UHIP premium, so an international undergraduate at McMaster pays about $1,243 a year in health coverage before a single prescription.
You cannot opt out with UHIP. The opt-out window is 1–30 September 2026, and McMaster states there are no exceptions to that deadline. Only students with extended external private coverage qualify, and you will need the policy or group number, provider and primary subscriber. McMaster is explicit that “OHIP, OHIP+, and UHIP is not considered to be extended coverage” — so being on UHIP does not let you opt out of the MSU plan.
McMaster Student Wellness Centre
September to April: Monday to Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed for lunch 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
May to August: Monday and Wednesday to Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Closed weekends year-round.
Appointments are booked by phone or in person only. The centre states plainly that it does not book appointments by email. Bring a valid MacCard and your UHIP coverage card.
Services include treatment of minor illness and injury, immunisations, wound care, mental health support, sexual health and STI screening, chronic disease management, gender-affirming care and contraception. Travel medicine is not offered. A TB skin test for volunteering or employment costs $30, which is a useful reminder that some services are uninsured even when you are covered.
Credit where it is due: McMaster’s weekday evening hours to 7:30 p.m. during term are considerably better than most Ontario universities manage. The gap here is not weeknights. It is weekends, the lunch closure, and the summer months, when the centre shuts at 4:30 p.m. four days out of five.
UHIP administration at McMaster is handled by the International and Exchange Student Experience office in MUSC B118, reachable on extension 27874.
When the Student Wellness Centre is closed, Hamilton has two urgent care centres, both open 365 days a year. Both are walk-in only — no appointment — and patients are triaged by severity of symptoms rather than arrival order. Both are staffed by doctors and nurses trained in emergency medicine, with blood tests and X-rays available on site.
| Centre | Address | Hours | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| HHS West End Urgent Care (Main Street West) | 690 Main St W, Hamilton, ON L8S 1A4 | 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m., 7 days a week | 905-521-2100 ext. 72000 |
| Urgent Care – King Campus (St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton) | 2757 King St E, Hamilton, ON L8G 5E4 | 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m., 7 days a week | 905-573-7777 |
Sources: Hamilton Health Sciences and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, verified August 2026. The West End centre sits on the same street as campus and is the nearer of the two to McMaster.
Urgent care, not emergency. St. Joseph’s lists what its urgent care centre handles: cuts and lacerations that may need stitches, sprains and strains, mild to moderate asthma attacks, ear infections, urinary tract infections, upper respiratory infections, coughs, sore throats, diarrhoea, insect bites and rashes. Go to an emergency department instead for severe bleeding, difficulty breathing, chest pain or pressure, broken bones, head injury, sudden dizziness or loss of vision, or severe abdominal pain. For chest pain, call 911.
Check live waits at hamiltonemergencywaittimes.ca before travelling. Bring your UHIP coverage card and a claim form — most Ontario hospitals bill UHIP directly, but carry the card either way.
For nurse advice before deciding whether to go anywhere, Health Connect Ontario is 1-866-797-0000, free and staffed around the clock. For a genuine emergency — chest pain, difficulty breathing, severe injury — call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department. Emergency departments triage by severity rather than arrival order, so a non-urgent problem can mean a very long wait.
When your Faculty or Program Office asks for documentation on an MSAF Administrative Report, the form is the McMaster University Student Health Certificate, completed by a licensed or registered health practitioner.
We do not host copies of McMaster forms — download the current version from your Faculty or Program Office, because forms are revised and a superseded version can be rejected. What we can tell you is what completing one requires.
Three recurring reasons: a certificate completed after the fact for dates the practitioner never assessed; a missing registration number or signature; and submission after the Faculty’s deadline. A physician can only attest to what they assessed, so book the consultation for the period you are actually unwell rather than a week later.
Where Doctor Fran fits. If your absence has passed three days, your Faculty has asked for the Student Health Certificate, or the Wellness Centre is closed and you need care now, a physician licensed in Ontario and registered with the CPSO calls you by phone — usually within about 10 minutes — for a flat $82, weekends and evenings included. Documentation is issued at the physician’s clinical discretion as part of the consultation, and you get an itemized receipt to submit to UHIP. Download the app.
If your situation fits the MSAF Self-Report, you do not need us. Use the form.
Not for a Self-Report. The MSAF Self-Report covers an absence of up to 3 calendar days, once per term, for coursework worth less than 25% of your final grade, and McMaster asks students not to submit accompanying documentation. Documentation is only involved in an Administrative Report, and only when the Faculty or Program Office requests it.
UHIP costs $948 CAD per year, or $79 per month, tax included, for the policy year from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027 — up from $792 in 2025–26. The MSU Health & Dental Plan is charged separately at roughly $295 in total for 2026–27.
No. McMaster states that OHIP, OHIP+ and UHIP are not considered extended coverage, so UHIP does not qualify a student to opt out. Only students with extended external private coverage can opt out, between 1 and 30 September 2026, and McMaster states there are no exceptions to that deadline.
No. UHIP does not cover prescription medication outside a hospital setting. Prescriptions fall to the MSU Health & Dental Plan, administered by GreenShield from 1 September 2026, and those claims go through GreenShield rather than Cowan.
From September to April the clinic is open Monday to Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed for lunch between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. From May to August it opens Monday and Wednesday to Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Tuesday 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. It is closed at weekends. Appointments are booked by phone on 905-525-9140 extension 27700, or in person — not by email.
The Student Wellness Centre is closed at weekends and from 4:30 p.m. on Fridays. Hamilton has two urgent care centres open 365 days a year: HHS West End Urgent Care at 690 Main Street West, open 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. seven days a week, and Urgent Care at King Campus, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, 2757 King Street East, open 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. seven days a week. Both are walk-in only and triage by severity. Health Connect Ontario on 1-866-797-0000 gives free nurse advice around the clock. A telemedicine consultation is generally the fastest route outside clinic hours.
No. The MSAF policy states that supporting documentation does not require the disclosure of a medical diagnosis, and that requests are limited where possible to the nature of the limitation or restriction. A practitioner confirms the impact on your academic obligations, not what you were treated for.
Related guides
All figures, policy thresholds and hours on this page were verified in August 2026 against the sources listed below. UHIP premiums reset each 1 September, MSU plan fees and the plan administrator change between years, and university policies are revised — verify before relying on any detail here. General information only, not insurance, academic or medical advice. In an emergency, call 911.
Flat $82 for every appointment (except insurance forms), a doctor could call in as little as 10 minutes, and you get a receipt for your UHIP claim.
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