Admission Requirements
The most up-to-date requirements and notice of upcoming changes will be posted on the College of Medicine
www.medicine.usask.ca/admissions.
Residency & Citizenship
Saskatchewan Residents
Qualified applicants must be Canadian citizens or landed immigrants at the time of application.
Applicants normally must have resided in Saskatchewan for three years prior to September 1 of the year in which admission is being sought. However, applicants who have left the province but have previously lived in Saskatchewan for an accumulated period of 15 years (permanent residency) will be treated as residents. Applicants who have previously lived in Saskatchewan for an accumulated period of less than 15 years and do not qualify under the three year condition will receive credit of one year toward the three-year requirement for every five years residency in the province.
An exception to the three-year ruling may be made for members of the Armed Forces of Canada or RCMP, or for an applicant whose spouse, parent, or guardian has moved to Saskatchewan for reasons of employment or training. In these cases, the applicant
must have resided in Saskatchewan for at least 12 consecutive months directly preceding the time of application.
In support of claim to qualify as a resident of Saskatchewan, the Admissions Committee will take into account:
- Place of residence of parents, guardians or person who is the main source of income;
- Reasons for any break in continuity of residence, which will include attendance at an out-of-province educational institution, summer employment where applicable, and any other reason deemed to be relevant by the Admissions Committee;
- Filing of income tax return as a resident of Saskatchewan (where applicable) Driver's License, Hospitalization;
- Residency will date from when Driver's License and Hospitalization have been changed.
- Residency in the Yukon, Northwest or Nunavut Territories.
Aboriginal Equity Access Program Ten percent of first year spaces are reserved for persons of Canadian Aboriginal descent (half of the equity seats in a given year are limited to applicants meeting the Saskatchewan residency requirements). Applicants of Aboriginal descent will first be considered in the Saskatchewan pool and if not competitive, then in the equity pool. Applicants should identify themselves on the application for admission. Further information about Aboriginal Programs at the U of S is outlined at the website. |
Out-of-Province Residents
Up to six positions may be offered to out-of-province applicants.
Applicants must be Canadian citizens or landed immigrants and have lived in Canada at least three years.
Academic Requirements
The academic requirements for the College of Medicine are as follows:
Prerequisites Students must have completed a number of required university courses before entering the College of Medicine with a minimum overall average of 70%.
ALL THE PREREQUISITES OR THEIR EQUIVALENTS, MUST BE COMPLETE BY APRIL 30, 2009.
The required courses at the University of Saskatchewan are:
- BIOC 200.3 and 211.3
- BIOL 120.3 and 121.3 (previously BIOL 110.6, general)
- CHEM 112.3 (general)
- CHEM 250.3 (organic)
- ENG 110.6 or any two of ENG 111.3, 112.3, 113.3, 114.3
- PHYS 115.3 and 117.3 (previously PHYS 111.6, general)
- A full course equivalent (6 credit units) in the social sciences or humanities
Students may schedule their prerequisite courses as part of full years of study or not, but an overall academic average of 70% or higher is required to be considered for admission. If the average is below 70%, students may improve their average in the prerequisite courses by taking
higher level courses in the same subject areas.
The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) All applicants are required to write the MCAT prior to the application deadline and meet minimum scores of 8 in the sciences and verbal reasoning sections, and N in writing skills; however, either one 7 or an M will be accepted.
Scores must be available by the application deadline. The best MCAT scores obtained at any one sitting in the last five years will be used. (Earliest acceptable scores to apply for admission in 2009, will be April 2004). The maximum number of times an applicant may take the MCAT is 5 times (additional sittings will not be accepted unless approved in writing by the Admissions Office, College of Medicine).
Registration for the MCAT is to be completed online.
Average for Admission To establish an academic average for consideration by the Admissions Committee, applicants must complete two full undergraduate years of study, A full course load is defined as thirty credit units taken between September and April at the University of Saskatchewan and The University of Regina. Saskatchewan residents must attain a minimum of 78% in the two-year average to be considered for admission (80% minimum for out of province. In recent years, 88-90% has been the cutoff for interview offer.). Courses taken during the summer (May to August) are not considered in the two-year average.
Saskatchewan residents (as defined in the Residency and Citizenship section of the Medicine Admission Requirements) attending university within Saskatchewan may file an application for admission to Medicine assuming satisfactory completion of the April examinations. In other words, the current year will factor into the average for admission.
Saskatchewan residents attending university outside Saskatchewan and out-of-province students will be considered on the basis of the best two full years complete at the time of application. The current year may include prerequisite courses but will not be considered toward the average for admission.
Applicants may improve their average for admission by taking (an) additional full year(s) of university study. However, all programs must lead to a degree or, where students already have (an) undergraduate degree(s), to a certificate** or to a degree in another discipline. It is not acceptable for students who have spent several years at university to take largely 100 level courses to improve their average, nor is it acceptable for students to repeat a course they have already taken and use the new grade for competitive purposes. If in doubt, students are advised to consult the Admissions Office.
**See the College of Arts & Science section of the
Calendar, under
Advanced and Honours Certificates. Applicants who have attended universities outside of Canada are encouraged to check with International Admissions, Student and Enrolment Services Division, before applying to determine whether credit will be granted for the courses taken. In cases where interpretation of marks of a student with at least two years of study from an international university is not possible, the individual will be required to complete one full year of study at an approved university with at least an 85%; or the required two full years
. Graduate Students In considering graduate students, the average may be based on the following, or the two best full undergraduate years, whichever works to their advantage:
Course-based graduate program, which may or may not include a research project. The average of all grades in the program will count as one full year combined with the best two full undergraduate years. The post-graduate program must be comparable to at least one full academic year (30 credit units).
Master’s thesis-based program. The average of all Master’s grades will count as one full year combined with the best two full undergraduate years.
Ph.D. thesis-based program. The average of all graduate grades will count as one full year combined with the best full undergraduate year.
For all graduate programs, the program must be completed and grades available by December 31, 2008, for those attending out-of-province institutes and by April 30, 2009, for those attending institutes within Saskatchewan as Saskatchewan residents.
Transcripts
Copies of transcripts from
all universities attended other than Saskatchewan universities
must be attached to the application. In addition,
official transcripts must be sent by your university directly to the College of Medicine. Transcripts in a language other than English must have an official translation attached.
Calendar
A calendar from the university attended (if non-Canadian)
must be included with the application, if in the English language.
Special Cases The Admissions Committee will consider special case entrants submitting requests in writing (
Note: Advice on the suitability of special case requests should be obtainded from the Admission's Office prior to submission). An example would be a single parent whose family responsibilities prevent them from attending university full time.
Deferrals Applicants admitted to first year Medicine may be allowed to defer entry for up to two years (Saskatchewan residents only). This is normally granted only to postgraduate students to allow them to complete a Master's or Ph.D. degree. Request for deferral must be submitted at the time of acceptance.
Criteria for Selection
Criteria for selection are academic performance and personal qualities.
Academic performance is based on applicants' two best full undergraduate years of study given that performance has been reasonably consistent or has improved. At the University of Saskatchewan, five full course equivalents taken between September and April are considered to be one full academic year.
Personal qualities are assessed primarily by interview. The multiple mini interview process will be used and held in March. Information about candidates is not given to interviewers prior to the interview.
Three letters of reference are also considered. Appropriate references are undergraduate or graduate instructors or research supervisors. Family friends are not considered acceptable references.
The weighting of academic performance to personal qualities is 35:65.
Candidates for Medicine are selected by the Admissions Committee of the College of Medicine on the basis of rank order of competitiveness and consideration of information pertinent to individual applicants. The Committee treats applicants anonymously, i.e. Committee members are provided appropriate information about applicants but without their names.
Applicants will be notified of their acceptance by May 31, 2009.
Counselling of Applicants Seeking Admission to Medicine
The Admissions Office, College of Medicine is available to assist all applicants who seek counselling regarding admission to Medicine. It is policy, however, not to instruct applicants as to a specific course of action they should follow but to provide the information needed for them to make their own choice with respect to the alternatives available. The following points require special attention:
- No official of the College of Medicine can guarantee the admission of any applicant. Admission is determined by the Admissions Committee on the basis of an annual competition.
- All applicants are advised to supplement any personal inquiries with written inquiries so that an official response can be made. It is only these written responses which will be considered as evidence of official advice given.
- Applicants are encouraged to discuss their plans to apply for entrance to Medicine with those who can usefully advise them, but they should be aware that second and third hand information about admissions policies is often incorrect and should not be relied upon.
- Students should select their courses with a goal in mind. There should be several upper level courses in their second year and subsequent years.
- Since many applicants are not accepted into the College of Medicine, students should choose courses in their pre-medical program that could lead to a satisfactory alternate career.
Chances for Admission
The number of positions available in first year Medicine is limited to 80 in 2008 (with plans to increase to 88 in 2009). Approximately 200 applications (in-province) are received, as well as approximately 350 applications from out of province.
Realistically, to be competitive academically, an overall two-year average of over 80% (87% for out-of-province applicants) is required.
Applicants with Disabilities - Essential Skills and Abilities Required for the Study of Medicine
While a disability should not preclude a student from consideration for admission, the disability must not prevent the student from communicating with patients and colleagues, from making observations and analyzing clinical data, and from making the medical judgments expected of a physician who has completed the educational program leading to the M.D. degree at this University.
Anyone considering entering the degree program in medicine must be familiar with the
Essential Skills and Abilities Required for the Study of Medicine (See Applicant Information Section of the website for Essential Skills document). Any questions about the policy should be directed to the Student Affairs Office, College of Medicine or the Disability Services Office in the Student and Enrolment Services Division, University of Saskatchewan.
Clinical Clerkship
The University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine has a distributive learning environment in which a number of clinical educational experiences take place in a number of Saskatchewan Health Regions and teaching hospitals (the “Academic Health Sciences Network”).
Students who are admitted to the undergraduate medical education program may be assigned to various sites for educational experiences. Specifically, it should be noted that the clinical clerkship experience (January of third year through April of fourth year) is a continuous one in which students will be assigned to a core set of rotations centered
either in the Saskatoon Health Region
or in the Regina/Qu’Appelle Health Region.
Application Forms
Application forms may be obtained from the
website.
The application deadline is November 1, 2008. There is a non-refundable application fee.
Enquiries concerning admissions should be directed to the Admissions Secretary, College of Medicine, Tel: 306-966-8554, E-mail: med.admissions@usask.ca.