GENERAL INFORMATION
- Campus – Total of 217 students
- Hamilton Campus in Hamilton- 153 students
- Waterloo Regional Campus (WRC) in Kitchener – 32 students
- Niagara Regional Campus (NRC) in St. Catharines – 32 students
- Numbers (2023-2024 Cycle):
- Total number of Applicants: 5284 Applicants
- Total number of Interview Invites: 569 Applicants
- Total number of Admissions: 217 Applicants
- Program length: 3 years
Application Overview
| In Province (IP) Status | Preferences given to Ontario residents |
| Minimum GPA Required | 3.0/4.0 GPA |
| GPA Calculation Options | Cumulative GPA (cGPA) |
| Required Course Load | None |
| Minimum Credits Required | Three years of undergraduate degree |
| Pre-requisite Courses | None |
| CASPer | Required (Competitive) |
| MCAT | Required (Competitive) – Only CARS considered: 123 minimum |
| Interview Format | MMI – Virtual |
| References | 3 References |
| Pathways | Facilitated Indigenous Admissions Program (FIAP) Black Applicants: Black Equity Stream (BESt) Military Medical Training Program (MMTP) MD/PhD Combined Program |
| International Students | Not considered starting 2026 |
ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS
- GPA: McMaster university uses 4.0 scale. To convert your GPA, use the OMSAS GPA conversion table here. For detailed how-to for calculating your GPA, please see this post.
- McMaster university uses cumulative GPA (cGPA) in their assessment.
- All undergraduate grades including supplementary, spring, summer, part-time and distance education courses will be used to calculate the overall GPA.
- Minimum GPA:
- Minimum GPA required to apply is 3.0/4.0 for all applicants. However, the mean GPA for admitted students for 2023-2024 cycle was 3.92/4.0.
- Required Course Load:
- There is no required course load for applicants to have taken to be eligible.
- Minimum Credits Required:
- McMaster university requires a minimum of 3 years of undergraduate degree to be completed by May of the year of entry.
- Pre-requisite Courses:
- There are no mandatory pre-requisite courses to apply to McMaster University.
ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS
- MCAT:
- MCAT is required for admissions to McMaster university. However, McMaster only considers CARS score as part of their assessment. While the minimum CARS score required is 123, it is used competitively and the mean CARS score of admitted students in 2023-2024 cycle was 129.
- CASPer
- CASPer is also required for application, and is used competitively for McMaster.
RESIDENCE
- McMaster university gives preference for Ontario residents, where 90% of the seats are allocated for IP applicants and 10% allocated for OOP applicants.
- Please note that there may be changes to IP status following the Ontario government’s announcement on legislation changes. This legislation proposes that 95% of the Ontario’s medical school seats be allocated for Ontario residents. However, it is still unclear how this will impact McMaster’s medical school seat allocation.
- You may want to check this site to learn more about this change: https://www.regulatoryregistry.gov.on.ca/proposal/50233
- Ontario’s IP criteria that comes into effect starting this cycle is as follows:
- Applicant or their spouse has, at any time after their 14th birthday, resided in Ontario for at least 12 consecutive months and has either:
- received an Ontario Secondary School Diploma; or
- not resided in another province or territory for 12 or more consecutive months since completing the most recent 12 month residency period in Ontario
- To determine that the applicant or spouse has met the criteria, the full-time studies at a post-secondary institution will not be included unless:
- Applicant or spouse was in a full-time, in-person degree in Ontario; and
- The program attended is one that is ordinarily completed in four or more academic years
- Applicant or their spouse has, at any time after their 14th birthday, resided in Ontario for at least 12 consecutive months and has either:
EXTRACURRICULARS
- McMaster uses the following selection formula:
- For Interview Invites: 32% GPA + 32% CARS + 32% CASPer + Up to 4% Graduate degree bonus
- For Final Admissions: 70% MMI Score + 15% GPA + 15% CARS
- McMaster does not directly consider extracurricular activities outlined in the autobiographic sketch (ABS) as part of their assessment.
INTERVIEW
- McMaster university conducts virtual MMI style interview for selected applicants. There is no official information regarding the details of how MMI is conducted. However, McMaster generally has 10 stations with 2 minutes of reading and prepping time and 8 minutes of response time.
REFERENCES
- All applicants are required to submit three referees through OMSAS application portal. In choosing three referees, these are the following recommended criteria:
- One academic or employment related
- One non-academic / character referee
- One referee of your choosing
- References completing the Confidential Assessment Forms (CAF) will be asked the following questions:
- 1. Would this applicant make a good physician?
- 2. Rate the applicant on each of the following attributes: Communication skills, Problem-solving skills, Professionalism, Empathy
- 3. Identify and comment on 1 area of improvement for the applicant
- 4. Share any other information you feel may be relevant to a medical school’s admission committee
PATHWAYS/SPECIAL STREAMS
- Facilitated Indigenous Admissions Program (FIAP): Indigenous applicants must meet the same minimum eligibility criteria as the general stream applicants.
- Applicants applying through this stream will be asked to complete the FIAP self-identification application.
- Qualified Indigenous applicants will be given a choice to defer providing their MCAT score until after interview decisions have been released.
- Black Applicants: Black Equity Stream (BESt): Black applicants must meet the same minimum eligibility criteria as the general stream applicants.
- Applicants applying through this stream will be asked to write a personal essay. This essay will help determine applicant’s suitability to this stream, and is not scored.
- Military Medical Training Program (MMTP): MMTP applicants must meet the same minimum eligibility criteria as the general stream applicants.
- To be eligible, applicant must be an active member of the Canadian Armed Forces and send an introduction letter to the MD Program Admissions Office to indicate that they have applied through the MMTP.
- Maximum of 3 seats are allocated for MMTP applicants per year.
- MD/PhD Combined Program: Applicants must submit their application through both the OMSAS and McMaster University School of Graduate Studies portal. Applicants must be accepted to both programs to be eligible.
- Maximum of 3 seats are allocated for MD/PhD applicants per year.
- Graduate Applicants: While this is not an official admissions pathway, graduate students will be eligible for up to 4% bonus to the pre-interview selection formula.
- Graduate students must provide a letter indicating that their supervisors are aware of applicants’ intention to apply to McMaster university’s medical school. This requirement is not needed if their supervisor is one of three referees.
HELPFUL LINKS
- McMaster Admissions Site: https://ugme.healthsci.mcmaster.ca/admissions/
- Admissions Statistics (2023-2024 Cycle): https://ugme.healthsci.mcmaster.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Class-of-2027-Statistics.pdf
- Application stream: https://ugme.healthsci.mcmaster.ca/admissions/who-should-apply/
- Frequently Asked Questions: https://ugme.healthsci.mcmaster.ca/admissions/faq/