Students are admitted to the medicine program once per year; classes begin in late August. The application process takes almost a full year; you need to apply in year previous to when you wish to begin studies. For example, if an applicant wishes to start medical school in August 2025, they need to apply during the summer of 2024. The application service opens in June each year and the deadline is late August-early September. See the Important Dates tab for further details. All applicants must apply through the Application System of Memorial University. 

There is no preferred program of study, however, the Committees evaluate grades, difficulty of courses taken, course level, and course load.

The competition for each geographic pool is significant and the seats are limited; prospective applicants are advised to pursue a degree in a subject area they like and are interested in, NOT one they are completing solely for applying to medical education. You should select a subject area you are interested in to complete your degree and one that will offer either employment or a starting point for graduate studies should you not be accepted on your first application. It is common for applicants to apply more than once. Science courses are good preparation for the MCAT exam, however, many students from non-science degrees write the MCAT each year and score well.

The course load in the medicine academic curriculum is demanding; therefore, the Committees need to be convinced that an applicant can successfully complete this academic curriculum. Medical school is intensive and there is no option for a reduced workload; it is a full-time program. Thus, a full course load in each year of study prior to medical school is preferred but is not necessarily required. Any applicant having justified reasons to pursue less than a full-course load each semester, should elaborate with further details on their application in the Additional Information section.

No. If you repeat a course your new grade and old grade will be averaged; unless you did very poorly the first time and exceptionally better the second, a higher grade on a repeat course is not going to impact your transcript enough to be significant. In addition, if you repeat a course it is expected that you will do much better since you already took the course before.

No. However, a transfer may be considered if there is space available in the class and the student is attending an accredited Canadian medical school, but such situations are highly unusual. Transfer students must meet all the published admission requirements in effect at that time. The undergraduate medicine program manages transfers; please contact their office (ugme@med.mun.ca) for more details.

Medical students can pursue both a clinical and research training program (i.e. MD/Ph.D) at Memorial University. Applicants interested in this program must be accepted into the undergraduate medical program first and then apply for the Ph.D program via the Offices of Undergraduate Medical Education and Research/Graduate Studies for this program. Please refer to Graduate Studies, Faculty of Medicine for additional information.

Many applicants accepted to medicine have a graduate degree; however, there is no requirement to complete a graduate degree in order to be accepted to medical school.

Applicants who have not yet completed their graduate degree and receive an offer for medical school, are not required to complete their graduate degree, however, the Admissions Committee does consider the completion of a graduate degree an indication of professionalism.

Graduate courses are considered as part of the whole academic record; they are looked in conjunction with the overall performance of the applicant in a degree program as well as a separate degree at the graduate level.  

The committees consider length of time away from full-time studies and past academic performance in addition to MCAT & CASPer exams, extracurricular activities, references, and work experience. There are many metrics to consider beyond academic performance, however, a weak past academic performance combined with being away from full-time studies for many years is generally not a competitive combination.

No. If your studies are complete and the transcript from the international institution is no longer changing, the same credential evaluation from a previous application cycle may be used.  Credential evaluations are required if you are a graduate of a university outside of North America. 

If you have applied to Memorial University's Doctor of Medicine Degree since 2022, AND your credential evaluation is unchanged from that time, you can request a copy of it to be forwarded to your current application. Details on the procedure to do this are available in the Application Handbook 2024-2025. If you applied to the Doctor of Medicine Degree prior to 2022, we are unable to retrieve your credential evaluation and a new copy must be submitted with your application. 

Each applicant must submit two references with their application; at least one academic reference is required. Both referees should know you well enough to write valuable, insightful comments on a variety of metrics. It is important to seek references from someone who can not only verify your academic ability but also comment on your personal characteristics and suitability to become a physician.

References, both academic and non-academic, must satisfy the criteria set forth in Reference Criteria. references submitted from referees that do not clearly satisfy the criteria are not accepted and such applications will be closed. 

If you are a mature applicant, you may qualify for an academic exception. Full details are available on our webpage and the Application Handbook 2024-2025. 

The Committees appreciate that applicants may have difficulty in getting an academic referee who knows them well. It is suggested to supply the academic reference and outline your concerns about this on the application in the Additional Information section of the application.

If you have any questions regarding the acceptability of a referee prior to submitting your application, please contact the Admissions Office, 709-864-6328 or munmed@mun.ca. 

 

 

An academic reference is someone who has directly taught you and graded your work at the level of a Bachelor's degree or higher and submitted grades that contribute to the final mark on your transcript. Complete Reference Criteria explains all requirements for appropriate references. If you are in doubt after reviewing the criteria, please contact the Admissions Office with your query. 

References at the level of a Bachelor's degree or higher are strongly preferred; academic references from high school teachers are accepted but not advised.

A criminal record check is not required as part of the application process, however, all medical students are required by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland and Labrador to have a criminal record check.