Top Universities in Canada for Medicine and Healthcare Programs

Top Universities in Canada for Medicine and Healthcare Programs

As an international student, getting a degree in medicine or healthcare in Canada can open doors to exciting jobs. Nearly all Canadian provinces need medical and healthcare workers, and a Canadian degree in these fields will give you both academic and real-world knowledge.

This resource tells you about some of the best Canadian universities for medicine and healthcare programs if you are looking for schools to attend. This article also gives an overview of the graduate and undergraduate programs in these fields, as well as the tuition costs for international students and the general requirements for getting into these programs.

Requirements for admission to programs in medicine and healthcare

Undergraduate medical and healthcare programs

Even though it says “doctor” in its name, the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree is an undergraduate degree in Canada. You can only get into an MD program if you have a bachelor’s degree in something other than medicine that is equivalent to a four-year Canadian undergraduate program. This means that you can’t start a medical program right after high school like you can in some other countries.

Admission to Canadian medical schools is very competitive, and most MD programs require an undergraduate score of 85–90% (or a grade point average of 3.5 or higher). A minimum score on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is also required by many schools.

In Canada, people who want to study medicine or health care must take courses in biology, chemistry, physics, humanities, math, and English as part of their undergraduate program. You may also be asked to write an academic explanations essay, a personal essay, a sketch of your life, give references, and attend personal interviews.

Aside from the MD program, there aren’t many other healthcare undergraduate programs that let you start right after high school. Depending on the program you choose, you may have to spend anywhere from one to four years in college before you qualify. Some programs may also ask for scores on tests like the Dental Aptitude Test (DAT) and the CASPer test.

As an international student, you may also need to show that you know how to speak French or English by submitting scores from approved language tests.

Medicine and healthcare graduate programs

In the fields of medicine and health care, Canada has a wide range of graduate programs. After getting your MD (or the equivalent in your home country), you may be eligible for post-graduate medical education (PGME) programs like residency, fellowship, or Areas of Focused Competence (AFC) programs in your chosen area of specialization.

If you got your medical degree as an undergraduate in a country other than Canada, you need to take the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination (MCCEE or MCCQE1) to be eligible for PGME programs. For residency programs, many medical schools need applicants to have money from a sponsoring agency. Along with your medical school transcripts, you may also need to send in letters of recommendation, personal statements, and your curriculum vitae.

Before you can apply to professional graduate programs in Canada, like master’s or doctoral programs in Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Nursing, or PGME programs, you need a license to practice from the right provincial regulator.

Depending on the program you choose, there are different requirements to get into other graduate programs in health care. To qualify, you will need to finish a relevant undergraduate program that includes all of the required courses and meet GPA requirements.

Most master’s and doctoral programs also require applicants to submit research proposals, statements of interest, personal or academic essays, professional or academic references, and other things. Applicants whose first language isn’t English or French may also have to take the IELTS, TOEFL, TEC Canada, or one of a few other language tests.

Medicine and healthcare programs at the best Canadian universities

Canada has some of the best schools for medicine and healthcare programs in the world. Here are some of the Canadian schools that made the QS World Rankings 2022 list of the top 150 for medicine:

1. The University of Toronto, Ontario

In the field of medicine, there are:

• Undergraduate programs include a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree, which takes four years and includes two years of basic science and clinical training and two years of clerkship. There is also an integrated MD-PhD program at the University of Toronto that takes eight to nine years.
• Graduate programs: Three- to six-year residency programs in fields like anesthesia, family medicine, pathology, radiology, cardiology, pediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, and more.

Other healthcare programs:

• Undergraduate programs include a Bachelor of Science in Medical Radiation Sciences (MRS) that takes 32 months and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing that takes two years.
• Graduate programs: The Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology has Master of Science (MSc) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) courses. The University also has MSc programs in Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Speech-Language Pathology, but international students are not allowed in these programs right now.

Cost of tuition for an international student:

• The cost of tuition for an international student in the MD program is $91,760 CAD per year. The MD-PhD program costs about $48,990 CAD per year, while the MRS program costs $41,150 CAD per year. For international students, the cost of the BSc Nursing program is $46,310 CAD per year.
• When applying for residency training, international students need to be sponsored by a foreign government or government-funded agency. This money will pay for your salary and your medical education after you finish medical school. For these programs, you can’t pay for them on your own. If you want to study laboratory medicine, the annual tuition fee for international students is $39,830 CAD for MSc programs and $6,210 CAD for PhD programs. The cost of the Master of Nursing program is $34,730 CAD per year.

2. McGill University, Quebec

In the field of medicine, there are:

• Undergraduate programs include a Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery (MDCM) that takes four years, a combined MDCM and PhD that takes seven years, and a joint MDCM and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (MD-OMFS) program that takes six years. McGill also has a program called Med-P, which starts with a year of preparation in the Faculty of Science and then moves on to the four-year MDCM program.
• Graduate programs: The University has many post-graduate medical education (PGME) programs, including more than 75 residency programs and 250 fellowship programs in different areas of medicine. Students can also choose to get more training in Cytopathology and Adult Thrombosis Medicine, which are called Areas of Focused Competence (AFC).

Other programs for healthcare:

• Undergraduate programs include BSc Rehabilitation Science in Occupational Therapy or Physical Therapy, which takes four years, and BSc N or Integrated Bachelor of Science in Nursing, which takes four years.
• Five-term MSc (Applied) programs in Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Nursing for graduate students.

Cost of tuition for an international student:

• For international students, the cost of tuition for the MDCM program, the joint MDCM-PhD program, and the MDCM-OMFS program is $55,504.89 CAD per year. The Bachelor of Nursing program costs $26,430.90 CAD per year to attend for international students. Other BSc programs cost $55,386.30 CAD per year to attend.
• The cost of tuition for PGME programs, such as fellowships and residencies, is $33,072 CAD per year. For AFC and fellowship programs, students need a scholarship from a non-profit to pay for their schooling and salary. International students pay $13,505.70 per term for tuition for MSc (Applied) programs.

3. The University of British Columbia, B.C.

In the field of medicine, there are:

• Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) programs last four years. Even though UBC has a four-year MD program, it is not open to international students at this time.
• Interdisciplinary Oncology, Craniofacial Science, and Experimental Medicine are all graduate programs that take two years to finish.

Other programs for healthcare:

• Bachelor of Nursing and BA Speech Sciences take four years, while Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science (BMLSc) takes only two years.
• Graduate programs include a two-year MSc in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, a one-year Master of Health Science (MHSc), a two-year Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT), a 26-month Master of Physical Therapy (MPT), and a two-year Master of Nursing.

Cost of tuition for an international student:

• The cost for an international student to take the DMD program is $76,423 CAD per year. The BA Speech Sciences program costs $42,803 CAD per year, while the BMLSc costs $55,849 CAD per year. The cost of tuition for the Bachelor of Nursing program is $51,440 CAD per year.
• The MHSc program costs $23,337.54 CAD for a year of study, while the MOT and MPT programs cost $48,429.87 CAD per year for international students. The total cost of tuition for the Master of Nursing program is $89,989.10 CAD. The fees for the other master’s programs at UBC are about $9,313.92 CAD per year.

4. McMaster University, Ontario

In the field of medicine, there are:

• Undergraduate programs include an MD in three years and an MD-PhD in seven years.

Other programs for healthcare:

• Undergraduate programs: Bachelor of Health Science (BHSc), Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), and Bachelor of Medical Radiation Science (MRSc), all of which take four years to complete.
• Graduate programs include a two-year MSc with a thesis and a four-year PhD with a thesis in Medical Sciences, a two-year MSc and a four-year PhD in Nursing, two-year MSc programs in Occupational Therapy (OT) and Physiotherapy (PT), and a 23-month MSc in Speech-Language Pathology.

Cost of tuition for an international student:

• The BHSc program costs $48,995.70 CAD a year, while the MD program costs $96,000 CAD a year. Bachelor’s programs in Nursing and Medical Radiation Services cost $46,043 CAD and $43,116 CAD per year to attend as an international student.
• The annual tuition fee for MSc and PhD programs in Medical Sciences is $29,394.99 CAD and $6,008 CAD, respectively. Nursing graduate programs cost about $43,437.60 CAD per year. International students pay $64,185.72 CAD per year for tuition in the MSc OT, PT, and Speech-Language Pathology programs. There is funding for PhD programs.

5. Université de Montréal, Quebec

In the field of medicine, there are:

Undergraduate programs: The four-year MD program is only available in French.

Other programs for healthcare:

• Undergraduate programs: Bachelor’s degrees in French are offered in physiotherapy, nursing, and audiology which take three years to finish.
• Graduate programs include Master’s and PhD programs in Biomedical Sciences, Master’s degrees in Dentistry, Nursing Sciences, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Therapy (MPO), and a PhD in Nursing Sciences. Master’s programs last between one and two years, while PhD programs can be finished in three to four years.

Cost of tuition for an international student:

• The MD program at Université de Montréal costs $144,384 CAD for the entire program duration. Depending on how many credits are needed, other bachelor’s programs cost between $64,972.80 CAD and $142,218.24 CAD for the full program.
• Most of the university’s master’s programs in health care cost $28,7131.60 CAD per year, and each trimester has 15 credits. The MPO in Speech Therapy, which takes two years and costs about $51,078.40 CAD, is an exception. The total cost of tuition for a PhD in health care is $51,577.20 CAD.

Conclusion

Canada is a popular place to study, and its programs in medicine and healthcare are known around the world. Whether you want to be a doctor, a dentist, or a nurse, or you want to do research in health care, a Canadian degree will help you build a strong foundation for your career and put you on the right track to success.

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