Do you have to get special permission to overload? Who do you have to go to?

It depends on what faculty/program and year you are in. To my knowledge, First year students are not allowed to overload on their course limit. At least when I talked to the academic advisor they told me they were not allowed to.
That being said, if you are interested in overloading you should try talking to an academic advisor.

To overload in first semester I had to contact the associate chair of my faculty stream to get permission. He gave permission to the registrar to add more units to solar for me.

I imagine you would have to do something similar to that.

I believe you also need a 7.0 or above average in the session prior to overloading.

Originally Posted by feonateresa

I believe you also need a 7.0 or above average in the session prior to overloading.

http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /CALEN...ent/pg121.html

Overload Work: If you wish to take more than the normal number of units prescribed for a Level, you may do so only with the permission of the Office of the Associate Dean of your Faculty. Normally, a Sessional Average of at least 7.0 in the immediately preceding review period will be required if an overload is to be permitted. Additional academic fees will be assessed for overload work. (For further information please visithttp://www.mcmaster.ca/bms/student/index.htm.)