Service overview
McGill provides email services through Exchange Online, a cloud-based service that is part of McGill's Office 365 package from Microsoft. Students, faculty and staff members, as well as affiliates, have slightly different account settings and access privileges to their email. See table below.
Important: McGill Outlook email storage capacity reduction starting May 31st 2024
On May 31st, 2024, McGill’s Outlook email storage for all students will be reduced to 20GB to comply with Microsoft’s new Storage quota for its educational sector clients. The Outlook email storage provided to staff or faculty members will not be affected.
If you are a McGill student, please verify your current storage using the instructions in this article: How to check file storage usage in outlook.
If your current storage exceeds 20GB, start by emptying your mailbox’s deleted items. As a secondary step, go through your inbox and all its online storage folders and download any "big" attachments such as videos, PowerPoint presentations or images by saving them to another location using the Save as... option in the attachment drop-down menu and then by Removing them.
Please note: these options are only available on Outlook for PC, not on the online or Mac versions. If you only use these platforms, download the attachments then save/delete the email. (Don't forget to empty the deleted items folder after.)
If you plan on storing those files on OneDrive, be aware that OneDrive's storage will also be adjusted to 20GB starting May 31st. For more information: consult the IT Services announcement on the subject.
Important: Change to the recipient limits for your Non-2FA enabled McGill email
In an effort to limit the impacts of unsolicited and fraudulent emails being sent in large numbers to the McGill community, McGill’s IT Infrastructure & Information Security has decided to limit the number of emails that can be sent from non-2FA (two-factor authentication) enabled email accounts.
This limit will be imposed on all such accounts as of October 3rd, 2023. From that date on, accounts that are NOT two-Factor Authentication (2FA) enabled (at this moment, mostly Alumni and Retirees’ accounts) will be restricted to sending messages to a maximum of 100 recipients per 24 hours. This limit is imposed on the number of recipients, regardless of the number of emails sent.
Important: McGill Active Directory managed distribution lists are not affected by this change. Such distribution lists are treated as 1 recipient.For more information, please read the FAQs about the change to the recipient limits for your Non-2FA enabled accounts.
Who can use this service
Users |
Description |
Email address format |
Mailbox size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students | Registered, “active” students | first.last@mail.mcgill.ca | 20 GB |
| Faculty & Staff | Academic Administrative Casual (except those who have an active student account) and Post-doctoral fellows | first.last@mcgill.ca | 100 GB |
| Affiliates | Non-McGill staff working in association with McGill, such as contractors, lecturers and service providers. For more information see Affiliate accounts. | first.last@mail.mcgill.ca (older accounts) first.last@affiliate.mcgill.ca (newer accounts) | 20 GB |
| Alumni | For more information see Email for Alumni | first.last@mail.mcgill.ca | 20 GB |
Students who graduate, and employees who retire from McGill can keep their McGill email address and mailbox.
Students who leave McGill without graduating and employees who leave without retiring will lose their McGill email when their status changes. You will be notified approximately one month before your email account is deactivated.
How to request & access the service
Students
Newly admitted students: You are given a McGill Email Address and mailbox automatically when you confirm your acceptance to McGill. Notification about your McGill Email Address is sent to the non-McGill email address you entered on your application form.
Re-admitted students: Your mailbox will be re-instated once you register for classes.
School of Continuing Studies students: Your mailbox will be created when you register for classes.
Faculty & staff
Upon employment at McGill, an email box is created automatically. Once your email box has been created, your McGill email address will be listed on Minerva via Personal Menu > Email Addresses. If there is no McGill email address listed, contact the IT Service Desk.
Affiliates
Request account creation: Your sponsor (Manager, Dean, Director, who must be either a McGill faculty or staff member) must submit the request form: Affiliate account creation(s)
When the request is processed, the following will be created:
- A McGill Username and McGill Password (to access email)
- A McGill email address in the form of firstname.lastname@affiliate.mcgill.ca
- An Inbox on Office 365
Request account renewal: Affiliate accounts are usually set to expire each year, and must be renewed by submitting the request form: Affiliate account renewal(s)
For more information, see the article Affiliate accounts.
Accessing McGill email (all users):
Your McGill email address is generally the same as your McGill username. Find it in Minerva:
- Log in to Minerva, using the onscreen instructions.
- Select Personal Menu > Email Addresses to display your McGill email address(es).
You can access your McGill email any of the following ways:
- Sign into the Office 365 portal at: https://office.com and click the Mail icon
- Go directly to Outlook on the web (https://outlook.com/mcgill.ca/)
- A mail app, such as Outlook, installed on your device/computer. See the Index of setup instructions for supported email applications and devices.
- Check your email from one of the public computers on campus
Cost
There is no cost associated with this service. For students, the cost is covered by the IT services portion of your student fees.
Availability
This service is available 24 X 7, except during scheduled and unscheduled maintenance. Check the home page of the IT Support site for announcements regarding service interruptions.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I set up the mail app on my device to receive email?
- Can I have my McGill email delivered to another email address?
- Can I change the name associated with my McGill email?
- How can I tell how much of my mailbox I have used?
- What happens to my McGill email when I leave the university?
View more FAQs on Exchange Online (Email on Office 365)
Best practices & policies
Your McGill Email Address is one of the official means of communication between the University and you; please ensure you check your McGill email regularly. Students, please see the University's policy on E-Mail Communication with Students.
TIP: Using email for mass communications
In Exchange Online (Office 365), for each message, you can send a single message to a maximum of 500 recipients, and you can send to a maximum of 10,000 recipients within a 24-hour period.
Each recipient listed in the To, Cc or Bcc fields is counted as a separate item, whereas an email sent to a group or LISTSERV is only counted as one item. If you need to send emails to large audiences, you may want to manage distribution lists via LISTSERV or email-enabled Active Directory groups in Exchange. See Email distribution lists.
Training & documentation
Self-serve resources:
- Instructions for setting up McGill email on various mail apps
- FAQs for Email on Office 365
- Find additional articles on email in Office 365 via the Microsoft Support website
Support
- Submit a request for Email support - if you need help or have problems with your email
- Report suspicious emails to the IT Service Desk - if you receive an email message that appears to be fraudulent.