Canada is one of the front runners in offering high quality education for both Canadians and international students. MBBS is one of the most sought after degree in Canada. For many reasons, Indian students and students from other countries choose Canada as preferred destination to study MBBS.

Canada has set very high academic standards. It follows rigorous quality in education. Apparently, whoever gets admission to study MBBS in this country earn high quality teaching, exposure and hands on training. It opens a pool of opportunities for your future, which benefits your career in a very long run.

Criteria for MBBS Admission in Canada

UG Degree

In Canada, Canadian medical schools and colleges do not offer any Undergraduate MBBS programs. Eventually, there is literally no course offered in MBBS directly to students after completion of schooling. These universities provide MD Courses. The basic qualification / requirement to enroll in the doctor of medicine program is completion of Bachelor degree or undergraduate degree from an recognized university.

Medical programs in Canada generally vary from 3 to 5 years courses. The duration of the course vary with choice of university and student’s background. First year generally reads as preparatory year for the students who apply without science degree, where the course duration lasts for 5 year. To enroll in 4 year bachelor program, students should have a bachelor degree in Biology or science.

Language Proficiency Test

The basic entry requirement or eligibility to join MBBS in Canada is language proficiency in English. All Canadian institutes mandate the fluency in English as basic eligibility requirement. Since the quality of education is above par the global standards, international students should possess the competency. Students can either choose IELTS or TOEFL exam to validate their language proficiency. For undergraduate courses, students should get a minimum score of 6.5 and for post graduate score, it should be 7 in IELTS. In case of TOEFL exam, the score should be minimum 80 for undergraduate and 90 for post graduate courses.

Most of the universities in Canada enroll students

If you wish to get direct admission in MBBS in Canada, you have to complete undergraduate science course. Most of the universities directly enroll the students with high academic performance, who has the degree related to biological sciences.

However, to enroll without a bachelor’s degree, you can try for medical schools in Quebec. They accept the applications and enroll students for MBBS in Quebec. The entry requirement is 10+2 qualification and 1 year diploma program in CEGEP.

To study MBBS in Western Canada, 2 year bachelor degree is required.

MCAT

MCAT – Medical College Admission Test marks the basic entrance exam to screen the application of MBBS, which fetches admission in the top medical colleges. It is common entrance exam in US that screens the medical degree applicants.

Getting qualified in MCAT is another mandatory requirement to study any medical in many of the medical schools or colleges in Canada.  However, MCAT qualifications and other requisites vary with a few universities in Canada.

University of Ottawa does not require MCAT score from international students in any country, as their teaching is in bilingual.

Northern Ontario School of Medicine also doesn’t require any candidate to qualify in MCAT exam for MBBS admission

List of Medical colleges in Canada for international students

University of Manitoba

University of Western Ontario

Canadian Mennonite University

Queen’s University

Trinity Western University

University of Fraser Valley

University of Waterloo

University of Alberta

University of Calgary

University of Victoria

MBBS in Canada on Scholarship

International students are generously offered medical scholarships. In Canada, they have both government and non-government scholarships.

Government scholarships

Canada graduate scholarships

NSERC postgraduate scholarships

Non-government scholarships

Canadian Rhodes Scholars Foundation scholarship

Trudeau scholarships and fellowships

Some of the popular scholarships offered by Canadian Universities include,

Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship

University of Waterloo International Master’s and Doctoral Awards

Ontario Graduate Scholarship

Ontario Trillium Scholarship

University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowships

University of Calgary Graduate Awards

Trudeau Foundation Scholarships.

Most of the universities offer merit based scholarship and financial awards to students from all nationalities.

University of Calgary provides different forms of full and partial scholarships for the international students. Scholarship value range from $1,000 to $40,000.

Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships provided to medical students based on merit, where the scholarship amount is estimated at $50,000 per year.

University of Waterloo International Master’s and Doctoral Awards provides scholarship for international students valued at $2,045 per term.

Cost of Studying MBBS in Canada

On a comparison with other countries, the average cost of studying medicine in Canada is very much affordable. Students are likely to spend around C$20,000 and C$30,000 per year, which covers both tuition fee and living expenses. Cost of living is affordable. It is easy to live a quality life while studying in the country.

Any Canadian degree comes with international recognition. Students who opt to study medicine in Canada need not take additional screening tests or exams to practice medicine in their hometown. Especially, Indian students can start practicing medicine in India immediately after completion of the medical program, which is approved by Indian Medical Council.