Admission Requirements
For admission to the Doctor of Medicine (MD) Program, applicants must meet all of the following Academic and Non-Academic admission requirements:
Undergraduate Degree
Grade Point Average (GPA)
Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)
Abbreviated Autobiographical Sketch
Confidential Assessment Form
Invitation for Interview
Interview
Citizenship
English Proficiency
Essential Skills and Abilities Required for the Study of Medicine
Statement of Potential Health Risks and Immunization Requirements
Police Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Screening
Falsification or misrepresentation of information from any portion of the application process, including interviews, will result in removal of the application from consideration, and may be considered in any future applications to the University.
Admission policies are reviewed annually and admission requirements from previous years may not apply. We encourage applicants to visit our website regularly, as the University reserves the right to review and change admissions policies and requirements at any time, without notice.
ACADEMIC ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Undergraduate Degree
Applicants must have completed, or be in the final year of, a program leading to a four-year undergraduate degree at a recognized university.
All undergraduate degree requirements must be completed and the degree conferred by June 30 of the year in which application is being made.
Schulich Medicine encourages diversity within its admitted students. Therefore, there are no prerequisite courses or preferred degree programs. Applicants are advised to engage in a broad background of education in the arts, humanities, and sciences, in keeping with their own interests and that of the art and science of medicine. In past, students who have studied psychology, philosophy, economics, engineering, nursing, music, physiotherapy, etc. have entered the program.
Degree Considerations
Part-time Undergraduate Degree
It is acceptable to attend university on a part-time basis and still be considered for admission to the MD Program. However, given the rigorous nature of medical education, we require that two years be spent in full-time study in which each September to April academic year contains the minimum of five full or equivalent courses (30 credit hours), with at least three full course equivalents (18 credit hours) whose published academic level is at or above the year of study:
- Year 1: three of five full course equivalents at or above the first-year level
- Year 2: three of five full course equivalents at or above the second-year level
- Year 3, 4 and additional undergraduate years: three of five full course equivalents at or above the third-year level.
Online Undergraduate Degree
Applicants who have completed an undergraduate degree online may apply, if the degree is equivalent to a 4-year undergraduate degree from an accredited university.
If any of the courses are completed at an accredited university other than the degree granting institution, those courses will only be eligible for consideration if they appear on the transcript of the degree granting institution, and if they count toward the undergraduate degree.
We require that two years be spent in full-time study in which each September to April academic year contains a minimum of five full or equivalent courses (30 credit hours), with at least three full or equivalent courses (18 credit hours) whose published academic level is at or above the year of study:
- Year 1: three of five full course equivalents at or above the first-year level
- Year 2: three of five full course equivalents at or above the second-year level
- Year 3, 4 and additional undergraduate years: three of five full course equivalents at or above the third-year level.
Co-Op Degree
For applicants enrolled in a co-op program, each of the two best academic years must consist of the two terms which combine to complete one of the mandatory program years (e.g. Terms 2A/2B, 3A/3B, 4A,4B). Terms belonging to different academic years will not be considered (e.g. 3B/4A).
A co-op year will only be considered if it contains five full or equivalent courses (30 credit hours), with at least three full course equivalents (18 credit hours) whose published academic level is at or above the year of study:
- Year 1: three of five full course equivalents at or above the first-year level
- Year 2: three of five full course equivalents at or above the second-year level
- Year 3, 4 and additional undergraduate years: three of five full course equivalents at or above the third-year level.
Additional Undergraduate Year, before graduating
If an applicant takes more than four years to complete a four-year undergraduate degree, any additional year may be eligible for GPA consideration if the year meets all of the following conditions:
- Applicants must already have one undergraduate year that meets the GPA minimum requirements.
- The additional year must contain five full or equivalent courses (30 credit hours) completed during the September to April academic year, with at least three full course equivalents (18 credit hours) whose published academic level is at or above the third-year.
- During the additional year only one full or equivalent pass/fail course (6 credit hours) will be permitted:
- The course must be passed in order to count toward the course load.
- Discovery Credits (Western students) will be considered within, not in addition to, the one full course pass/fail allowance.
Special Year, after graduating
After graduating with a four-year undergraduate degree, an applicant may elect to take an additional year of full-time undergraduate studies - a so-called Special Year. To be considered for calculation of the GPA, all of the following conditions must be met:
- Prior to the Special Year, an applicant must already have one undergraduate academic year (September to April) that meets our minimum GPA, course load and course level requirements, as outlined below, in their most recent 4-year undergraduate degree.
- Only the first Special Year will be considered for GPA.
- The Special Year may be completed during the year of application.
- The Special Year must contain five full or equivalent courses (30 credit hours) completed during the September to April academic year.
- First-year courses, repeat/antirequisite courses, pass/fail courses, and second-year courses that do not require a first-year prerequisite are not acceptable in the Special Year.
Second Undergraduate Degree
Applicants who have completed or are enrolled in the final year of a second, or most recent, undergraduate degree program are eligible to apply. To be considered for calculation of the GPA, all of the following conditions must be met:
- The second, or most recent, undergraduate degree must be equivalent to a four-year degree, even though it may not take four years to complete.
- GPA consideration will be based on the two best years of the second or most recent degree, as long as it is equivalent to a four-year undergraduate degree.
- Course load and course level requirements for a second or most recent undergraduate degree are analogous to the requirements of the first undergraduate degree. For example, if the second degree is completed in two years, then both of those years would be used for GPA calculation and considered as Years 3 and 4.
Academic transcripts must clearly show that applicants have met both the course load and course level requirements.
Applicants who are given a conditional offer must complete all program requirements, including conferral of the degree, by June 30 of the year in which application is being made.
Professional Degree
Applicants who have completed or are enrolled in the final year of a professional program that is equivalent to a four-year undergraduate degree, may be eligible to apply. Applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
However, Schulich Medicine will not consider applications from individuals who are enrolled in a Doctor of Medicine Program or equivalent elsewhere, at the time of application.
Graduate Degree
Schulich Medicine considers only undergraduate coursework for calculation of GPA for admission purposes. We do not consider the GPA from graduate degrees.
Applicants enrolled in a graduate degree program at the time of application should note the following:
- Applicants must be in the final year of the graduate program to be eligible to apply.
- Deferrals and deadline extensions are NOT granted for completion of a graduate program.
- Withdrawal from a graduate program during the application year in order to enroll in Schulich Medicine will NOT be acceptable.
- Applicants who are given a conditional offer must complete all program requirements for the graduate degree as per the following deadlines:
Thesis-based Graduate Degree
Applicants enrolled in a thesis-based graduate degree program at the time of application must complete all program requirements, including successful defense and final assessment of the thesis, by June 30. OMSAS must receive a final transcript indicating that all requirements for the graduate degree were completed, or a Letter of Confirmation attesting to the same, by June 30.
Course-based Graduate Degree
Applicants enrolled in a course-based graduate degree program at the time of application must complete all program requirements by August 15. A Letter of Confirmation indicating there are no concerns with meeting all requirements of the course-based graduate degree must be received by OMSAS no later than June 30.
International Undergraduate Degree
Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada who completed their undergraduate university degree outside of Canada or the United States may apply to the Doctor of Medicine (MD) Program.
Academic transcripts from universities outside of Canada or the United States must be submitted to World Education Services (WES) to be assessed on a course-by-course basis.
Grade Point Average (GPA)
Minimum GPA, as established by the Medicine Admissions Committee, must be met in each of the two best undergraduate years. GPA is calculated using the OMSAS Conversion Scale.
Each of the two undergraduate years used for GPA consideration must contain all of the following:
- At least five full or equivalent courses (30 credit hours) completed during the September to April academic year. Summer courses are not eligible for GPA consideration.
- At least three full or equivalent courses (18 credit hours) whose published academic level is at or above the year of study:
- Year 1: three of five full course equivalents at or above the first-year level
- Year 2: three of five full course equivalents at or above the second-year level
- Year 3, 4 and additional undergraduate years: three of five full course equivalents at or above the third-year level
- A maximum of one full or equivalent pass/fail course (6 credit hours) per year.
- The course must be passed in order to count toward the course load.
- Discovery Credits (Western students) will be considered within, not in addition to, the one full course pass/fail allowance.
Schulich Medicine will consider the GPA of an academic year taken during the year of application.
Part-time years cannot be considered for GPA, regardless of the requirements of degree programs.
Applicants who complete a degree with a year amounting to less than a full course load cannot have that year considered for GPA.
Academic transcripts must clearly show that applicants have met both the course load and course level requirements, as outlined above. If more than a full course load (30 credit hours) is completed during the September to April academic year, the best five full or equivalent courses will be used, provided the remaining courses satisfy course level requirements.
Consideration of the 2019-2020 Academic Year Affected by COVID-19
Assessment of the 2019-2020 Academic Year
Each medical school establishes criteria for GPA calculation differently. Schulich Medicine uses the GPA of only the 2 best undergraduate years with full-time studies and at an appropriate course level. We do not use a cumulative or weighted GPA calculation across years for consideration. Our GPA thresholds are reset annually based on the competitiveness of the applicant pool.
With over 70 universities in Canada alone, determining a solution for how to assess grades was not considered lightly, particularly since applicants come from a variety of institutions and countries, and the impact of COVID-19 affects applicants both within and outside of Canada. Allowing variable academic standards suited to an individual applicant’s situation within their university and country would be difficult. Consequently, our Medicine Admissions Committee deliberated to ensure that an equitable academic standard could be set for everyone.
The Committee decided that with the variability in grade reporting, the inequities to those students who are marginalized, and the impact of COVID-19 being variable across universities and countries, in fairness to all applicants the Winter 2020 term will not be used for GPA calculation. Instead of discounting the entire 2019-2020 academic year from eligibility or using varying criteria for individual applicants, the Committee decided that the most reasonable academic standard would be to allow the grades from the Fall 2019 semester to be eligible for GPA calculation. We recognize that this decision may be disappointing to applicants who received alpha or numeric grades in Winter 2020, but we encourage applicants to consider their individual academic situation within the context of Schulich Medicine’s method of GPA calculation which is based on achieving a threshold GPA within each of your two best undergraduate years, as described below on this webpage.
If you are presenting two undergraduate years for GPA consideration that do NOT include the 2019-2020 academic year affected by COVID-19, all of the following must be met:
- You must meet or exceed the minimum GPA in each of your two best undergraduate years of full-time study (one of which may be the current year). Full-time study is defined as five full or equivalent courses (30 credit hours), completed during the September to April academic year.
- Each of the two years must contain at least three full-course equivalents (18 credit hours) whose published academic level is at, or above, the year of study.
- Only one full or equivalent pass/fail course (6 credit hours) will be permissible in each of the two years being considered for the GPA.
If you are presenting the 2019-2020 academic year affected by COVID-19 as one of your academic years for GPA consideration, all of the following must be met:
- You must have completed five full or equivalent courses (minimum 30 credit hours) during the September to April academic year, of which three full or equivalent courses (18 credit hours) must have a published academic level at, or above, the year of study.
- GPA will be calculated on alpha numeric grades from the Fall 2019 term only*. Due to the transition of many universities to pass/fail or credit/no credit, grades from the winter 2020 semester will not be used in the calculation of GPA in order to ensure a fair assessment for all candidates.
- Only 1.0 pass/fail course (6 credit hours) will be permissible in the Fall 2019 term (September to December).
- The pass/fail course must be passed.
- Discovery Credits (Western students) will be considered within, not in addition to, the 1.0 course pass/fail allowance.
Course Considerations
Online Courses
Online courses which are taken as part of an undergraduate degree may be considered as part of a full course load used for the GPA, course load and course level requirements, as long as they:
- are completed during the September to April academic year. If it is not clear from the official transcript, an applicant may need to provide additional documentation confirming that online courses were completed during the September to April academic year, and
- are indicated on the transcript of the university granting the undergraduate degree as being part of the undergraduate degree.
Repeat Courses
Repeat courses are not factored into GPA calculation. An academic year comprised of five full or equivalent courses completed during the September to April academic year, in which one is a repeat course, will be assessed as having less than a full course load and will not be eligible for GPA consideration.
Pass/Fail Courses
- A course must be passed in order to count toward the course load.
- Discovery Credits (Western students) will be considered within, not in addition to, the one full course pass/fail allowance.
Spring/Summer Courses
Courses taken during Spring/Summer sessions will not be counted as part of the full course load. Courses taken outside of the September to April academic year are not included in the GPA calculation.
Exchange Courses
For applicants who have attended other universities on an exchange, GPA calculation may be based on the marks achieved at the exchange institution. Official transcripts from the exchange institution must be provided to OMSAS at the time of application. If the exchange is taken outside of Canada or the United States, a course-by-course WES evaluation is required for the exchange period.
Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)
The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is developed and administered by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) which offers multiple sittings per year at hundreds of test sites throughout Canada and the United States.
The MCAT Essentials PDF describes the test in detail and can be downloaded from the AAMC website. Test sites and dates are also listed on the AAMC website.
For information on MCAT registration, please contact the AAMC directly:
e: mcat@aamc.org
t: 202.828.0690
MCAT results will be accepted provided the test was written no more than five years prior to the current OMSAS application deadline. Please also note:
- Schulich Medicine requires the MCAT be written prior to the application deadline.
- All sections of the MCAT may be considered.
- If written more than once, scores from the most recent writing of the MCAT are used.
Canadian Student Fee Assistance
The AAMC is committed to providing support to Canadian students who would be unable to take the MCAT without financial assistance. To do this, the AAMC and the AFMC have a fee assistance program for Canadian examinees. Canadian applicants who qualify for fee assistance will receive reduced scheduling, rescheduling, and cancellation rates. For details, visit the AFMC website.
MCAT Exam Preparation Materials
Free sample content from all sections of the MCAT has been created by the Khan Academy with support and funding by the AAMC and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Khan Academy MCAT Collection includes over 1,000 videos and 3,000 review questions. For details, visit the Khan Academy website.
NON-ACADEMIC ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Abbreviated Autobiographical Sketch
Schulich Medicine takes a holistic approach towards applications to our MD Program, with emphasis not only on academics but also on non-academic traits and life experiences, ensuring our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are committed to enrolling self-directed, motivated, resilient students who reflect the diversity of the patients they serve, and who demonstrate compassion and advocacy for others.
Our holistic approach involves first an academic assessment, ensuring applicants meet minimum GPA and MCAT values established each year based on the competitiveness of the applicant pool. Applicants who meet the GPA and MCAT minimums will proceed to a non-academic assessment consisting of review of information attainable through the Abbreviated Autobiographical Sketch and Confidential Assessment Forms.
The Abbreviated Autobiographical Sketch invites applicants to tell their story and share what makes them unique, by linking a few of the activities from the OMSAS Autobiographical Sketch. Schulich Medicine is interested in how an applicant's life experiences such as employment, volunteering, research, extracurricular activities, or general experiences, connect with the School’s core values of:
- Teamwork and Leadership
- Respect for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
- Social Accountability and Social Responsibility
- Self-directed Learning, Problem-solving and Critical Inquiry
Completing the Abbreviated Autobiographical Sketch
As part of the application via OMSAS, applicants must highlight their top life experiences that relate to each of Schulich Medicine's four core values. In each case, applicants are asked to share what they have learned and how it will be useful in a future career as a physician.
Verifiers:
For each experience, applicants must provide a verifier.
- A minimum of four different objective verifiers must be provided (e.g. professor, teacher, supervisor, coach).
- Schulich Medicine reserves the right to contact verifiers to corroborate the information listed.
- Ensure that contact information for each verifier is complete, current and correct, and that verifiers are willing to be contacted.
Activities/Experiences:
Choose activities/experiences that provide insight into who you are and what you value. All experiences will be evaluated in a holistic manner.
- A maximum of eight life experiences will be considered. Providing only four experiences (one experience per core value) will not make your application competitive.
- Activities or life experiences may be reused for different core values as long as there is a clear connection between the experience and the core value.
- If you are reapplying, you may re-use content from a previous Abbreviated Autobiographical Sketch that you submitted, as long as the content was authored by you.
- Experiences should be derived from your OMSAS Autobiographical Sketch, although you may choose a maximum of two that are outside of this.
- Activities should be ongoing, or completed within the past 6 years.
- Activities starting after the application deadline of October 1 will not be considered.
Schulich Medicine understands and recognizes that not all individuals have had equal opportunities for volunteering, research or extracurricular activities due to life circumstances. Applicants who have had unusual life circumstances will have the opportunity to explain those circumstances so that we better understand who they are. Their Autobiographical Sketch will be reviewed with attention to these limitations.
Confidential Assessment Form
In order to obtain the uniform and specific information that admissions committees are looking for from the reference process, referees are required to complete an online Confidential Assessment Form (CAF).
Referees must be objective and should be individuals who know you well but are not family members, friends, neighbours or peers:
- One referee should be academic or employment related
- One referee should be non-academic or personal
- One referee can be of your choosing
Invitation for Interview
In order to have a fair selection process balancing both academic and non-academic attributes, applicants are evaluated based on a composite of information including achievement of GPA and MCAT minimum thresholds and a description of unique life experiences that demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to the School’s core values of diversity, teamwork/leadership, social accountability/responsibility, and self-directed learning/critical inquiry.
To be eligible for an interview, applicants are evaluated according to the following criteria:
Academic Assessment
GPA and MCAT minimums are based on the competitiveness of the applicant pool and, in an effort to maintain equity of evaluation, vary from year to year.
For the 2022/2023 admission cycle, the GPA and MCAT minimums are as follows:
Applicants accepted through the Southwestern Ontario , Access or Military Medical Training Program (MMTP) Pathway must meet the following academic minimums:
Each of the two years must also meet appropriate course-level and load requirements,
BBFLS 125
CPBS 125
CARS 125
Applicants not meeting criteria as Pathway Admission Applicants, as above, will be considered as General Admission Applicants and must meet the following academic minimums:
Each of the two years must also meet appropriate course-level and load requirements,
BBFLS 126
CPBS 127
CARS 127
Non-Academic Assessment
Only academically competitive applications proceed to non-academic assessment, consisting of review of the Western Abbreviated Autobiographical Sketch and Confidential Assessment Forms.
If your GPA and MCAT met our minimum requirements but you did not receive an invitation for an interview, your non-academic assessment may not have garnered a rank high enough for an interview. This does not necessarily mean your Abbreviated Autobiographical Sketch was lacking in any way, but that the applicant pool was competitive.
We are not looking for any specific extracurricular activities or experiences in our Abbreviated Autobiographical Sketch. Some of you may have done research or volunteering, some of you may not have. We also do not require any specific publications. Consider reflecting on your Abbreviated Autobiographical Sketch: Did you answer all the questions? Were your responses clear and well-written? Did you address the attributes listed?
Interview
Select applicants will be invited for an interview. Interviews are structured and standardized, 45-minutes duration, with a three-person panel consisting of a physician, a community member, and a senior medical student.
Accommodations are available for applicants with disabilities through the interview process.
Citizenship
Applicants must be Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents of Canada at the time of application. Permanent Residents of Canada must submit a copy of the front and back of their current Permanent Residency card to OMSAS by the application deadline.
Applicants through the International Pathway must provide proof of citizenship as part of their application, by the OMSAS application deadline. If an applicant holds dual citizenship, one of which is Canadian citizenship, they will be considered as Canadian applicants.
English Proficiency
Schulich Medicine reserves the right to deny admission to any applicant whose facility in written and/or spoken English is judged to be inadequate.
Essential Skills and Abilities Required for the Study of Medicine
Expectations for applicants who wish to enter the Doctor of Medicine (MD) Program must align with the Council of Ontario Faculties of Medicine (COFM) as expressed in their document Essential Skills and Abilities Required for the Study of Medicine.
POST-ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Applicants who receive and accept an offer of admission must meet Schulich Medicine post-admission requirements by stated deadlines. Failure to comply with post-admission requirements and/or deadlines may result in an offer of admission being withdrawn.
Post-admission requirements include, but are not limited to, the following:
Statement of Potential Health Risks and Immunization Requirements
Schulich Medicine students will be required to care for persons with infectious diseases (including but not limited to Hepatitis B, C and HIV) should they be assigned to them. Students accepted into the MD Program will be sent complete documentation regarding health status policies and immunization requirements. Documentation of immunization, tuberculin and blood-borne pathogen status will be required.
Police Vulnerable Sector Screening
Schulich Medicine students will interact with vulnerable populations through the course of their academic program. In recognition of the requirements of clinical agencies to ensure that medical students do not place vulnerable populations at risk, Schulich Medicine requires all students provide, as a condition of their admission into the MD Program, a current Police Records Check including a Vulnerable Sector Screening.
In the rare instance where you do not receive all clear status, you may request a hearing before the Executive of the Admissions Committee. The Executive of the Admissions Committee’s decision is final.
