General Information

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

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 intense 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 believe to be a sound background for medical education. 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/PhD) 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 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 and calculated in the overall academic average/GPA.

Age is not a selection factor in application evaluation. 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. The CaRMS application service will have a copy of the credential evaluation and it is the applicant’s responsibility to contact CaRMS to request their previous evaluation be added to their current application.  The Admissions Office does not contact CaRMS on the student’s behalf.

At least one academic reference is required. Both referees should know you well enough to write valuable, insightful comments. If you are a mature applicant, you may qualify for an academic exception. Full details are available on our webpage.

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.

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.

An academic reference is someone who can verify and discuss your ability to succeed in an academic degree, such as professor or supervisor, who has graded your academic work.  Academic references are not supervisors on work terms or placements who provide only written feedback on your placement performance and do not contribute to your graded work. References at the post-secondary level 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.