Supplementary Application – Faculty of Engineering
Career and Academic Advising Reception

Supplementary application

Updated: October 16, 2024

About the supplementary application

The supplementary application is a mandatory part of the admissions process for all undergraduate programs within the Faculty of Engineering.

The application consists of written and recorded interview questions and will provide you with the opportunity to introduce yourself to the admissions team beyond your academic achievements. Below, you will find resources, deadlines, and other information related to the supplementary application.

Important dates

  • Level 1 applicants

    Your supplementary application deadline is Thursday, January 30, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. (ET).

  • Upper-level and second-degree applicants

    Your supplementary application deadline is Thursday, April 17, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. (ET).

  • Other dates and deadlines

    Visit the McMaster Future Students website for all other important dates, deadlines, and application instructions.

Students studying in WBooth Grad Space

Starting your application

You will receive an email invitation to your supplementary application up to 10 business days after you have received your confirmation email and completed your application on the Ontario Universities’ Applications Centre (OUAC). Please check your “spam” or “junk” folders to ensure you do not miss your email. If you still have not received your email invitation after this time, please notify us via this form.

 

Preparing for the application

During your supplementary application, you will be asked questions related to various skills and scenarios, including communication, problem-solving, and more. Below are some example question of what you can expect:

  • What does being resourceful mean to you, and why is it important?
  • Tell us about a time management strategy you use. Why does it work?
  • How do you create a balance for yourself when working in a stressful environment­?
  • Give us an example of a time you acted with integrity.

We’re looking forward to learning more about you!

  • System requirements

    You will require a computer with an internet connection, webcam, and microphone in order to complete the supplementary application.

  • Application format

    The supplementary application consists of four questions total, including three video responses and one written response. It will take approximately 20 minutes to complete.

  • Submitting your answers

    You will have one minute to prepare for your video questions, and two minutes to present your response. You will have ten minutes to complete your written response.

Information sessions

During our information sessions, we will provide you with resources and information in order to prepare for your supplementary application, including an opportunity to ask any questions you may have about the process.

Learn more by registering for the dates listed below.

Advice from current students

“I think it’s best to relax and focus on being your most genuine self. That’s it! If you can do these two things, you’ll succeed at showcasing your unique traits and achievements. The supplementary application is not meant to be intimidating. Rather, it’s a chance to introduce yourself in a way not possible using only a transcript.”

– Mathieu, Engineering Physics & Biomedical Engineering

“Practice, practice, practice! Being comfortable with the presentation format will go a long way! Also, do a variety of questions (ex. what are your strengths, who do you admire…etc.). Exposing yourself to different questions will help you prep better for any questions you might come across!”

– Krish, Software & Biomedical Engineering

“Dress to impress! Dressing up in a professional manner will put you in the right state of mind to take the application seriously; it will change everything from your posture to your fast reflexes and thinking on the spot!”

– Lauren, Civil Engineering

“Take a deep breath! It isn’t something you need to exhaustively prepare for, do your best responding to the questions and you’ll do great! Try and answers the questions with evidence from your life  experiences- extracurriculars, in school, and even day-to-day activities.”

– Sheel, Chemical & Bioengineering

Frequently asked questions

You will receive an email invitation to your supplementary application up to 10 business days after you have received your confirmation email and completed your application on the Ontario Universities’ Applications Centre (OUAC). Please check your “spam” or “junk” folders to ensure you do not miss your email. If you still have not received your email invitation after this time, please notify us via this form and let us know it’s related to the status of your supplementary application.

For the most current list of supported browsers and devices, please visit the Kira Talent Supported Browsers and Devices page.


Please contact Kira Talent directly by clicking the ‘Need help?’ button and choosing ‘Live Chat’ at the top right at any point in the process or you can email the Kira Talent Support Team directly at support@kiratalent.com.

Correct! If you have applied to more than one of our MacEng programs, you are only required to complete one application. The score you will receive will be used for admission purposes to any of the Faculty of Engineering programs you applied to.

For Ontario High School Applicants: Your supplementary application status on your MOSAIC account/Student Centre will take a while after the official deadline to be updated so the status of “notified” is normal! Once you complete your application, you should receive a confirmation email from Kira Talent stating that you have completed your assessment.

For High School Applicants from Outside of Ontario or Upper Level Transfer/2nd Degree Applicants: Your supplementary application status on your Applicant Portal will take a while after the official deadline to be marked as completed. Once you complete your application, you should receive a confirmation email from Kira Talent stating that you have completed your assessment.

As long as you have received a confirmation email from Kira Talent or you click on your initial invitation link and see 100% completed, you have nothing to worry about. Each supplementary application gets reviewed by at least two reviewers before being sent to McMaster.

The supplementary application is a mandatory part of the admissions process for any of our Faculty of Engineering programs which includes Bachelor of Technology, Computer Science, Engineering 1 and/or Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences (iBioMed), as well as all 2nd-degree applicants. Only one application is required if you are applying to more than one of these programs.

The supplementary application will consist of 4 questions (3 video responses and 1 written response) and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete.

There is a part of the application that says “practice questions”, but please be aware this is used for calibration purposes to get you familiar with the platform and the questions you will find here are NOT like the real assessment questions.

Once you begin your assessment, you will only get one opportunity to answer each question.

For each video response: you will receive 1 minute to prepare your answer and 2 minutes to verbally respond to your question.


Written Response: you will have 10 minutes to complete your answer from when you receive the question.

There is a $50 fee for the supplementary application that you will pay for when applying through the Ontario University Application Centre (OUAC). Please note this fee will be called a “McMaster program fee.”

For each video response: you will receive 1 minute to prepare your answer and 2 minutes to verbally respond to your question.

For the written response: you will have 10 minutes to complete your answer from when you receive the question.

There is a part of the application that says “practice questions”, but please be aware this is used for calibration purposes to get you familiar with the platform and the questions you will find here are not like the real assessment questions.

We recommend that you take the time to review and take notes of your experiences to reference for the 4 official assessment questions. You may find it helpful to google interview questions to practice with outside of the platform.

  • What does being resourceful mean to you, and why is it important?
  • Tell us about a time management strategy you used. Why does it work?
  • How do you create a balance for yourself when working in a stressful environment­?
  • Give us an example of a time you acted with integrity.

If you have applied to the Bachelor of Technology Degree Completion Program – you are not required to complete a supplementary application form.

Learn more about the Degree Completion Program

We are committed to creating a fair, inclusive, and accessible admissions process for all applicants. If you have an accessibility concern or believe you may need accommodations to complete the Kira supplementary application, please complete our Request for Accommodations form. Once submitted, our team will follow up to ensure that your needs are addressed.

Please note: You must have submitted your application through the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) to access this form

If you have any questions or need further clarification regarding accessibility accommodations, please reach out to our recruitment team through the Request for Accommodations form, or contact McMaster Engineering’s Recruitment office for direct assistance at thinkeng@mcmaster.ca. 

We are dedicated to ensuring that all applicants can participate fully in the admissions process, regardless of any accessibility challenges they may face.

Please note: You must have submitted your application through the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) to access this form.

We reached out to our incredible team of Student Ambassadors to pass along their advice on completing the supplementary application:

  • Make a plan or a basic skeleton of how you’ll answer questions. It’s good to include:
    • What your topic is about
    • How it affected you
    • How you used your knowledge and experience to overcome the task/topic and what you learned from the overall experience
  • Make sure you’re in a well-lit area where you won’t be disturbed
  • Try not to stress and be yourself, the recruitment team just wants to get to know the person behind the application!
    • Don’t worry about what you think the team wants to hear. Answer truthfully and your personality will shine through
  • Start your application early. This is a good way to avoid deadline stress and provides you with extra time to prepare and review your application if needed