The Admissions Committee will use your cumulative GPA.
The cumulative GPA includes undergraduate university degree credit courses taken, except those taken on foreign exchange and graduate studies, with all years treated equally. Courses and grades must appear on your university undergraduate transcript(s) to be included in the GPA calculation.
The application GPA calculations do not include the current academic year (Sept – June) of study as grades for your current academic year of study are not available at the time of the application deadline (Oct 1)
Minimum GPA
The minimum cumulative GPA to apply is 3.0 on a 4.0 scale according to OMSAS’ scale.
GPAs are calculated using converted grade points based on the OMSAS Conversion Scale
Please note that admission to the MD Program is competitive. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance.
You can find our Admissions Statistics for last year’s incoming class here.
General Information:
The following will not be included in the GPA calculation:
- Naturopathic and chiropractic medicine
- Consecutive Bachelor of Education programs
- College courses (even if transfer credit is granted)
- Challenge for credit courses
- Continuing Education programs
- Graduate courses
- Undergraduate courses taken as part of a graduate program
- Doctor of Medicine programs
- Only the cumulative GPA will be calculated.
- For repeated courses, all grades obtained are calculated towards the GPA.
- Degree programs or individual courses are not considered a factor in the calculation of GPAs.
- Calculations include grades from all courses included on the University transcript for Canadian and United States Universities, including repeated courses.
- Courses that a “pass” or “credit” grade is assigned for are counted for credit, but we do not include them in the GPA calculation.
- If you have withdrawn from a course and there is a grade reflected on your transcript for that course, it will be included in GPA calculations. If there is no grade associated with a withdrawn course, it has no effect on your application.
No adjustments are made based on course load or course levels.
International grades:
Applicants attending university outside Canada, or the United States must have their academic credentials/foreign transcripts assessed for Canadian equivalency by World Education Services (WES). Information pertaining to the assessment of international grades can be found on the OMSAS website.
A course-by-course WES evaluation with an overall GPA is required.
Credentialing assessment means converting international academic credentials into their Canadian educational equivalents. If a World Education Services (WES) assessment includes a copy of your official transcript, you are not required to request a transcript from your registrar.
The standard cumulative GPA will not be calculated for candidates submitting foreign transcripts. WES assessments will be reviewed and applications for these candidates will be reviewed on an individual basis.
Each year the Queen’s School of Medicine Admissions Committee determines minimum requirements based on the GPAs and MCAT scores from within the current applicant pool. Therefore, these requirements vary, sometimes significantly, from year to year and there is no way to predict what they will be based on past years. Once determined, these cut-offs are applied to all applicants to determine who will progress to the file review process.
We therefore do not publish our previous or current GPA and MCAT cut-offs.
Yes. Winter 2020 will be considered in the cumulative GPA calculation just as all other academic semesters/years.
Queen’s Undergraduate Medical Education program will include repeated course in total credit count as listed on your official transcript. Cumulative GPA calculation includes all grades listed on the transcript, including repeated courses. Therefore, if you choose to repeat a course, both grades will be included in your GPA calculation.
Transfer credits (i.e., International Baccalaureate, Advance Placement and CEGEP programs, exchange credits) appearing on your university transcript are not included in your GPA calculation but are considered in the credit requirement totals provided all other requirements are met.
If a practicum course is graded and given a weight on a transcript it will be included in GPA calculation.
If you have completed an extra year, or a non-degree year, we will treat that year the same as other years.
The School of Medicine policy states:
Applicants will be deemed ineligible for admissions into the Queen’s School of Medicine program if they:
1. are a current student, past student, or graduate of an Undergraduate Medical Education program at a Canadian Medical School;
and/or
2. have been required to withdraw from an MD program (to be assessed on a case‐by‐case basis).
Queen's School of Medicine does not have any requirements related to carrying a full course load. You are free to select courses and course loads that are best for you.
To qualify for entry into the School of Medicine, candidates are required to have a minimum of 30 half courses or 15 full courses (or in combination) at the undergraduate university level. This would typically equate to a total OMSAS course load weighting of 30 (see OMSAS Weighting in the table below). This requirement must be fulfilled by the June 30th prior to possible entry into the program.
At the time of application:
Applicants must have completed a minimum 20 half or 10 full courses (or in combination) of the 30 half courses or 15 full courses at the Undergraduate level in a University program as described by the OMSAS Weighting at the time that their application is submitted.
Queen's does not assess its applicants based on what course levels they have taken in each year.
For a variety of reasons, we are unable to accept applications for transfer into our curriculum.
All candidates must complete the application process and if you are a successful candidate, you must complete all components of the program curriculum. You are not able to transfer any course credits.
Summer or part time courses are included in cumulative GPA calculation. All summer and supplemental course credits will be included in 15 full or 30 half-credit requirements.
If you withdraw from the course prior to being assigned a numerical grade, it will have no affect on your application. If a grade has been provided on the transcript for this course, it will be included in GPA calculations.
An applicant can have no more than one credit/no credit course in a semester to be eligible for a GPA calculation.
If the structure of your program does not allow for this, then you must submit official documentation from the institution as to why the student does not have a choice to select a numerical or alpha grade. This reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
This will take effect for any courses taken in Fall 2022 and onward.
All Queen's applicants are required to complete the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). Information regarding the test can be found on the MCAT site.
Yes. All applicants to the Undergraduate Medical Education Program at Queen’s University are required to complete an online assessment, CASPer®, to be eligible for admission.
CASPer scores are only available for one application cycle and the test is only offered on a select number of days. Applicants who have already taken the test in previous years are expected to re-take it.
If you take CASPer during this cycle but before one of our testing testing dates, you will still be able distribute your score to us however you will need to wait until you have recieved your OMSAS ID (8xxxxx) for this year's application and then request that your score is distributed to Queen's as the OMSAS ID is a requirement. Please do not input an OMSAS ID from previous years or make one up as we use this number as one of our identifiers.
If you are applying to another university or program that requires you to write the CASPer assessment in French, you will need to write it again in English for this application.
If you are writing a different version of the CASPer assessment (other than CSP-10201 – Canadian Professional Health Sciences for you MD application) you will need to complete the CSP-10201 – Canadian Professional Health Sciences version as well for this application.
There is a separate fee for that CASPer test which is paid by the applicant directly to Altus Assessments. This fee is not included in the OMSAS/Queen’s application fee.
To qualify for entry into the School of Medicine, candidates are required to have a minimum of 30 half courses or 15 full courses (or in combination) at the undergraduate university level. This would typically equate to a total OMSAS course load weighting of 30 (see OMSAS Weighting in the table below). This requirement must be fulfilled by the June 30th prior to possible entry into the program.
At the time of application:
Applicants must have completed a minimum 20 half or 10 full courses (or in combination) of the 30 half courses or 15 full courses at the Undergraduate level in a University program as described by the OMSAS Weighting at the time that their application is submitted.
To be eligible to apply to our MD domestic stream, you must be a Canadian citizen or Canadian permanent resident at the time of submission of your application. If you are an international student, you are eligible to apply to the International stream.
As part of the application, you would be required to have any foreign transcripts assessed by WES (World Education Service) at the time of application. https://www.wes.org/ca/
Please note that the continuation of the International stream is currently under review and a decision is pending. Please be aware that the result will impact this upcoming application cycle.
If you obtain permanent residency in the future, please see information pertaining to applicant procedure. School of Medicine Admissions and OMSAS: Application Center.
Queen’s does not have any restrictions based on place of residence in the admissions process. There are no provincial or regional quotas in the admissions process.
- The Admissions Committee does not give preference to applicants who have studied in any university program. Applicants are encouraged to consider all the undergraduate programs available to them and to embark on the course of studies in which they have the greatest interest and that would prepare them for an alternate career should they not gain a place in medicine.
- There is no preference to applicants at any level of training.
- Place of residence and location of the university where studies have been undertaken are not criteria in selection.
- Age, gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation are not factors considered in the selection process.
Queen’s University MD Program does not require prerequisite courses.
With the elimination all prerequisite courses, applicants can select a program of study and courses, which best meet the goals of their undergraduate degree program. We do not recommend any course or degree program since as there is no preference to applicants who have studied in any university program. Applicants are encouraged to consider all the undergraduate programs available to them and to embark on the course of study in which they have the greatest interest and that would prepare them for an alternate career should they not gain a place in medicine.
Valid MCAT scores are ones that have been completed within 5 years of the year of application submission deadline (October 1st).
The Queen’s School of Medicine imposes NO restrictions on the number of times that the candidate may take the test. In the event an applicant has written the test multiple times, the applicant must ensure that all test results are released to OMSAS.
Applicants best test results are associated with their application.
While we utilize the MCAT in our evaluation process, we do not administer the test. Therefore, we are unable to offer any information or advice on preparation of the MCAT. We suggest you refer to the MCAT website for further information on preparation. https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/
The MCAT is still a requirement for application to Queen’s School of Medicine. We are very much aware that the dates available for writing the MCAT have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Future applicants should refer to the AAMC MCAT site for up-to-date information on available testing dates.
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) are offering a fee assistance program for Canadian examinees in financial need who register for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) for the 2021 and 2022 testing years. The AAMC and the AFMC are committed to providing support to Canadian students who would be unable to take the MCAT without financial assistance. This will contribute to a diversity of students enrolled in Canadian medical schools.
If paying for MCAT expenses out of pocket would be challenging for you, please consider applying! To check your eligibility and apply, refer to AFMC's website here.
Application deadlines are posted on the OMSAS website.
Applicants are expected to choose appropriate referees to complete the Confidential Assessment Forms. Referees should have extensive personal knowledge of the applicant and be able to reasonably make statements concerning the applicant's character, personal qualities, and academic capabilities. It is recognized that referees may not be able to evaluate all the characteristics requested; however, applicants should ensure that, in choosing their three referees, the subject areas are covered. At least one referee should be a non academic/character referee.
Please note: The Admissions Committee is unable to review and evaluate letters of reference that are not written in English.
All application components are to be within the OMSAS application and are to be transmitted to Queen’s School of Medicine through OMSAS.
To update and/or change your address, or other demographics on your application, please contact Ontario Medical Schools Application Service (OMSAS). https://www.ouac.on.ca/guide/omsas-app-guide/
Applicants attending university outside Canada, or the United States must have their academic credentials/foreign transcripts assessed for Canadian equivalency by World Education Services (WES). Information pertaining to the assessment of international grades can be found on the OMSAS website.
A course-by-course WES evaluation with an overall GPA is required.
Credentialing assessment means converting international academic credentials into their Canadian educational equivalents. If a World Education Services (WES) assessment includes a copy of your official transcript, you are not required to request a transcript from your registrar.
The standard cumulative GPA will not be calculated for candidates submitting foreign transcripts. WES assessments will be reviewed and applications for these candidates will be reviewed on an individual basis.
Late submissions will NOT be accepted.
Tuition information can be found on the website for the Office of the University Registrar.
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) are offering a fee assistance program for Canadian examinees in financial need who register for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) for the 2021 and 2022 testing years. The AAMC and the AFMC are committed to providing support to Canadian students who would be unable to take the MCAT without financial assistance. This will contribute to a diversity of students enrolled in Canadian medical schools.
If paying for MCAT expenses out of pocket would be challenging for you, please consider applying! To check your eligibility and apply, refer to AFMC's website here.
Ontario Medical School Application Fee Waiver Pilot Program (2021-2022)
If applying to medical school is a significant financial burden to you, consider applying to the Ontario Medical School Application Fee Waiver Pilot Program and save approximately $600. This pilot-program subsidizes the application costs for up to three Ontario medical schools for the 2021-2022 application cycle. This program was collaboratively developed by the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC), Council of Ontario Faculties of Medicine (COFM), Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC), and Price of a Dream (POD). Applications open on June 24th and close on August 23rd. You can find more information on eligibility here .
If you have any questions, you can contact AFMC (service@afmcstudentportal.ca) or the POD (mdpriceofadream@gmail.com).
We will continue to make offers from our waitlist until the class is full. This can sometimes continue through August. There is no way to predict how long the process will take. Movement of the waitlist will not commence until after the first round offered candidates have had a chance to respond.
When the class is full, an email will be sent to remaining waitlisted candidates.
It is our policy not to disclose an applicant's position on the waitlist.
Attendance at an interview is mandatory. A reasonable effort to accommodate students who have conflicting interviews or compelling personal circumstances may be accommodated. Due to the limited availability of interview times, such accommodation is not always possible.
I missed the deadline to accept my interview, as the email was lost in my inbox. Can I still accept?
Invitations are sent to e-mail to the address you provide in your OMSAS application. All applicants who are offered an interview must reply by a given date. It is the responsibility of the applicant to monitor their email and all associated email folders (inbox, spam, junk, etc.) during the application process as invitations are sent via email. Any invitations that are not answered by our stipulated deadline in the invitation will be automatically set to declined.
Please check OMSAS’ Important Dates.
Interviews are typically conducted in February and March. Applicants will be notified by email.