Before You Apply
At the 51社区黑料Stephens Family 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 submit two brief statements describing your alignment between the Stephens Family School of Medicine mission, mandate, priorities and your experiences or achievements.
Community involvement
As part of the application, you will need to provide at least one (1) community 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. Optionally, you may add up to four (4) additional entries of any combination of employment or community experiences.
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 verifier to look for an email request from med_mdadmissions@sfu.ca, which you will initiate while you complete your application. 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 must list at least one (1) paid employment role. Optionally, you may add up to four (4) additional entries of any combination of employment or community experiences.
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)
- Total hours spent on this role
- Location of the position
Eligible roles are those for which a T4, T4A, or T2125 tax slip was issued. Unpaid internships, or volunteer work are not eligible for this submission; only paid employment roles are eligible. Paid co-op and practicum positions for which a T4 or T4A tax slip was issued would be considered eligible. Informal 鈥渟elf-employment" activities that did not incur tax documentation are ineligible.
You may notify your verifier to look for an emailed request from med_mdadmissions@sfu.ca, which you will initiate while you complete your application. Your verifiers may wish to add this address to their safe-lists.
They will be asked to provide answers to a short set of questions. Verifiers 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. On the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) this would correspond to a B2 level. , provides a detailed explanation. 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).鈥�疪eading and writing ability in additional languages is not required nor assessed.
The principle of gathering information about additional languages is to understand which linguistic communities you may be prepared to serve.
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