Service overview

McGill alumni (graduates of McGill University) keep their McGill Email Address (firstname.lastname@mail.mcgill.ca) for life. McGill Email Addresses are for personal (non-commercial) use.

Email sent to your McGill Email Address is delivered to and stored on Microsoft Exchange Online (Microsoft 365). If you have another email service you use more often, you may forward your McGill mail to that service. Please see Options for dealing with multiple email services.

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 it

Graduates of McGill University.

How to request, access the service

New alumni: Continue using your McGill email as you did as a student: via a McGill mailbox on Microsoft Office 365 or one of the recommended options for dealing with multiple email services; no request needs to be made.

Past alumni: You can request Email for Life by signing up through the McGill Alumni Website.

Use your McGill Username and McGill Password to access your email via any of the following:

• Outlook on the Web (OWA)
• Configure an email application
• McGill Alumni Website (if you are a member)

Cost

There is no cost associated with this service.

Availability

Requests to create or reinstate an Email for Life mailbox are processed during regular office hours (Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.).

Access to McGill email is available 24 X 7, except during maintenance. Check the home page of the IT Support site for announcements regarding service interruptions.

Frequently asked questions

• How much space do I have in the mailbox?
  You have 20 GB of mail storage space on the Microsoft Office 365 cloud. No single message can exceed 30 MB (including headers and routing information). To check your remaining mailbox space, see How do I check my mailbox usage and available storage?
  
  
• What happens if I don't access my mailbox for an extended period?
  Your McGill Email for Life mailbox will remain active if you have forwarding setup or access the mailbox at least once every 24 months. For instructions on setting up forwarding, see Forward McGill email from Microsoft Office 365 to another email address. 

• How can I change my McGill Password?
  You can change your McGill Password using one of the following methods:
  • You can fill out the form on the McGill Alumni Website
  • If your account is protected with two-factor authentication (2FA), you may go to Reset my McGill password with Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR)
  • If you can sign into Minerva using your known password or McGill ID and PIN, you may go to the Personal Menu to choose a new password.
    
    
• Can I change the name that appears on my email address?
• How do I forward my McGill Email Address to deliver mail to another mailbox?
• What other IT services are available after I graduate?
• More FAQs on Email on Office 365

Best practices & policies

• Alumni can only use their McGill email account for personal, non-commercial purposes.
• To limit the damage done to the reputation of the mailbox owner and McGill by accounts that have been compromised, IT Services applies a quota on the number of email items sent within 24 hours.
• Visit the McGill Alumni website for more information about your benefits and joining the McGill alumni network.
• View more Email Best Practices

Training & documentation

Self-serve resources:

• Find articles on Outlook via the Microsoft Support website
• FAQs for Email on Microsoft Office 365

Support

Submit a request for Email support.