By: Heidi Kwok, Staff Writer

On October 14, the SFU School of Medicine started accepting applications for its inaugural cohort. It will consist of 48 students beginning classes in August 2026. The school will be temporarily situated at the SFU Surrey campus, while a permanent site in Surrey City Centre begins construction in late 2026. 

The SFU School of Medicine is Western Canada’s newest medical school in almost 60 years and was established to help address the growing healthcare crisis and shortage of family doctors in the province. According to a press release from SFU, the school will strengthen primary care training by delivering a curriculum focused on “community-based learning, community partnerships, and team-based, person-centred, and socially accountable practices.” It will also be incorporating “First Nations, Inuit, and Métis knowledge systems and perspectives within its learning environment.”

Currently, the application process for the school’s doctor of medicine program is conducted through two admissions streams: an open stream for general applicants and an Indigenous stream. General requirements stipulate that only citizens or permanent residents with residency in BC or the territories may apply. 

Academic requirements are evaluated based on one of the following three options: an adjusted grade point average (GPA) of 3.83 (on a 4.33 grading scale) based on the “best 60 graded units of the last 90 units” of an applicant’s undergraduate degree; a minimum medical college admission test (MCAT) score of 510 overall; or a combination of both GPA and MCAT results, requiring a minimum of 3.67 GPA and 505 MCAT score.

In the non-academic requirements section, applicants are asked to submit a personal statement, a brief description of community service, a record of paid employment, references, and an optional list of additional languages spoken. After the interview stage, a holistic file review of all applications will then be conducted before a final decision is made.

On the r/premedcanada subreddit, Reddit users’ reactions to the application process were generally positive, with some praising the program’s fairness and flexibility. However, some expressed uncertainty about meeting the full-time course requirement of having to complete 90 units within four academic calendar years, citing co-op and extended studies as a potential barrier. Others criticized the strict requirement of having to obtain a MCAT minimum score of 123 in each section, noting that UBC’s medical program has removed the subsection score requirement from the 2025/26 application cycle onward, now only requiring a total score of 496. 

In a statement to The Peak, SFU wrote that “the admissions criteria were designed following extensive consultation with community partners, and prospective and existing students, and are in line with the latest evidence-based research.” In terms of the three admissions pathways, these “are evidence-based, correlated with success in medical school, and calibrated to acceptance rates in other Canadian medical schools.” SFU also said those who completed co-op, practicum requirements, or faced “other exceptional circumstances” may “request an exception” to the last 90 credits requirement. 

Regarding other critiques, mandatory in-person attendance at the multiple mini interviews was noted as a potential barrier to applicants who must travel south from remote communities. Some comments have likened the equal probability selection process in the initial file review stage to a lottery draw, noting that the vague wording makes it unclear how applicants will be chosen to advance to the interview stage if more than 200 apply.

To this, SFU stated that “the requirement for multiple in-person interviews reflects the fact that practising medicine requires mostly in-person interaction and aligns the admissions assessment process with the reality of being a physician. Financial assistance is available for those who need support for the costs of travel, which will be aligned to the degree of need.”

And, in terms of the “lottery draw,” SFU said “equal probability selection is a fair, evidence-based method and has a long history of success in medical school applications within and outside of Canada. Equal probability selection is only used after several aspects of active selection.”