Before You Apply
At the 大象传媒 School of Medicine, we believe training excellent, socially accountable, community-focused physicians begins with admissions. Our process is intentionally designed to reflect the school鈥檚 mandate, which is to prepare physicians with the skills and commitment they need to provide high-quality health care to British Columbia communities.
Our approach is merit-based yet inclusive. We holistically examine applicant portfolios and select those who demonstrate strong academic abilities, interpersonal skills, lived experiences and motivation to contribute meaningfully to providing community-based care to high-need groups in British Columbia.
Aligned with our commitments to equity, diversity, inclusion, decolonization and reconciliation, our admissions process looks for those who are prepared to serve in diverse communities and who are dedicated to delivering high-quality care that is culturally safe to all patients. We welcome applicants who have experience working in or with communities that face barriers to care and who share our vision of a stronger, more integrated primary care system.
Resources
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Non-academic requirements
Academics are only part of what we consider when reviewing applications. We also consider the following information as part of the application process:
Personal statement and questions
You鈥檒l be asked to answer questions and submit a brief vision statement (maximum 400 words) outlining your professional goals and aspirations for a future career in medicine.
Community involvement
As part of the application, you may identify up to three communities to which you belong or actively contribute. We recognize that community is a broad term, and your communities can include connections based on geography, culture, identity, shared interests, causes or long-term commitments. For each community you list, you will be asked to provide:
- A brief description of your role and involvement
- The duration of your participation
- The name and contact information of a community leader who can verify your involvement
You may notify your community involvement verifiers to look for an email request, which will be initiated while you complete your application. The verification email will be sent from med_mdadmissions@sfu.ca. Your verifiers may wish to add this address to their safelists to ensure that the requests are received.
They will be asked to provide answers to a short set of questions. Verifiers will NOT be asked to upload a reference letter.
Employment
You may list up to (5) five paid employment roles. This section helps us understand the breadth and depth of your work experience, including roles that may have shaped your perspective or commitment to service.
For each role, you鈥檒l be asked to provide:
- A job title and employer
- A brief description of your responsibilities
- Duration of employment (start and end dates)
- Average hours worked per week
- Location of the position
Eligible roles are those for which a T4 or T4A tax slip was issued. Unpaid internships, for-credit or unpaid co-op positions, or volunteer work are not eligible for this submission; only paid employment roles are eligible.
You may notify your employment involvement verifiers to look for an email request, which will be initiated while you complete your application. The verification email will be sent from med_mdadmissions@sfu.ca. Your verifiers may wish to add this address to their safelists to ensure that the requests are received.
They will be asked to provide answers to a short set of questions. Verifiers will NOT be asked to upload a reference letter.
Character references
You鈥檒l be asked to provide the names and contact information of five (5) character references who we will contact during the admissions process. Your references should be people who know you well through educational, professional or extra-curricular settings. They cannot be family members or friends. If appropriate, community or employment verifiers listed elsewhere in your application may also serve as character references.
For each reference, you鈥檒l be asked to include:
- Full name
- Contact information (email and/or phone)
- Your relationship to them
In selecting your references, choose people who can meaningfully comment on your character, values and readiness to pursue a career in medicine.
You may notify your character references to look for an email request, which will be initiated while you complete your application. The email will be sent from med_mdadmissions@sfu.ca. Your references may wish to add this address to their safelists to ensure that the requests are received.
Character references will be asked to provide answers to a set of questions. They will NOT be asked to upload a reference letter.
Additional languages spoken
You may provide a list of languages in which you are conversationally fluent. By conversationally fluent we mean any language spoken with enough proficiency to participate in everyday conversations on a range of topics, including work, education or social settings, without significant difficulty. This implies a comfortable ability to understand and communicate in spoken interactions. Applicants indicating conversational fluency may be required to verify their language abilities by completing a portion of the multiple mini-interview (MMI) in their self-reported additional language(s).
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