MD Program — Dalhousie University (Faculty of Medicine)

Program status: Active — CACMS/LCME accredited. Atlantic Canada’s only English-language medical school. As of 2025, general out-of-province seats have been eliminated.

SpaceCat Fit Notes

1. CASPer: Required (25% of pre-interview formula), but moot — residency barrier makes Dalhousie inaccessible regardless of CASPer performance.
2. GPA window & upgrading strategy: Dalhousie requires minimum 3 years (90 credit hours). Pre-interview formula is 50% GPA + 25% MCAT + 25% CASPer — the heaviest GPA weight of any school considered. OOP minimum is 3.7. Upgrading is irrelevant given the residency barrier.
3. Experiential / written advantage: Short answer questions and supplemental activities are part of Section 2 of the application, with verifiers. SpaceCat’s shelter work would be relevant, but the residency barrier makes this moot.

4. Out-of-province: Ontario resident. ### Maritime residency definition:

5. Overall assessment: Not viable — As of 2025, Dalhousie eliminated all general out-of-province seats. The remaining 6 OOP seats are restricted to the Indigenous Admissions Pathway and Black Learners Admissions Pathway. SpaceCat cannot apply regardless of academic profile or alma mater connection to Dalhousie.

Quick Facts

• Institution: Dalhousie University
• Program name: Doctor of Medicine (MD)
• Degree granted: MD
• City, Province: Halifax, Nova Scotia (regional campuses in New Brunswick and PEI)
• Program type: Standard (4-year)
• Duration: 4 years
• Delivery format: In-person
• Full-time / Part-time: Full-time only
• Language of instruction: English
• Start date(s): August
• Intake frequency: Annual
• Application deadline(s): Section 1 due July 31, 2025; Section 2 and fee due September 3, 2025; MCAT deadline August 9, 2025 (for fall 2026 entry) (Dal Admissions; Dal Deadlines)
• Application system: Dalhousie’s own online portal at apply.dal.ca — NOT OMSAS (Dal Application Process)
• Application fee: $70 (non-refundable)
• Program URL: https://medicine.dal.ca/departments/core-units/admissions.html
• Accredited: Yes — CACMS and LCME accredited

Admission Requirements

GPA

• Minimum GPA: 3.3 for Maritime residents; 3.7 for out-of-province applicants. No minimum for Indigenous or Black Learners pathways. (Dal Admissions; AcceptedTogether Dal Guide)
• Competitive GPA: Average GPA of admitted students (Class of 2028): 3.8 (Dal Class Statistics)
• GPA calculation: Dalhousie removed specific course load requirements recently. A minimum of 3 years (90 credit hours) of undergraduate study is required. (AcceptedTogether Dal Guide)

MCAT

• Required: Yes — must be completed by the August deadline (August 9, 2025 for 2026 entry). (Dal Admissions)
• Minimum score: Sliding scale linked to GPA — a GPA of 3.3 requires minimum MCAT of 499; a GPA of 4.0 requires minimum MCAT of 492. Minimum 123 in each section regardless of total. (AcceptedTogether Dal Guide)
• Competitive MCAT: Average MCAT of admitted students (Class of 2028): 505 (Dal Class Statistics)

CASPer

• Required: Yes — all applicants must complete CASPer. Dalhousie will only consider applicants scoring above -1.5 standard deviations from the mean. (AcceptedTogether Dal Guide)

Interview

• Format: Multiple Mini Interview (MMI). (Dal Admissions)
• Pre-interview formula: 50% GPA + 25% MCAT + 25% CASPer. (AcceptedTogether Dal Guide)
• Interview invitations: Early-mid November; interviews take place one weekend in November. (Dal Application Process)
• Decision letters: End of March. (Dal Application Process)

Prerequisites

No specific prerequisite courses are required. Dalhousie recently removed all course load requirements. Any bachelor’s degree discipline accepted. (AcceptedTogether Dal Guide)

Supplementary Requirements

• Short answer questions and supplemental information required in Section 2 of application.
• Out-of-province applicants (equity pathways only) must submit a 250-word statement explaining their selection of Dalhousie. (Dal Application Process)
• Verifiers required for supplemental activities; contacted between November and February. (Dal Admissions)

Out-of-Province Considerations

CRITICAL: General out-of-province seats eliminated as of 2025

Beginning with the 2025 application cycle (for August 2026 entry), there are NO general pool out-of-province positions at any Dalhousie Medical School campus. The six (6) out-of-province positions at the Halifax campus are now limited exclusively to applicants in the Indigenous Admissions Pathway and/or Black Learners Admissions Pathway. (Dal Place of Residence)

Seat allocation (Class of 2028 data):

(Dal Class Statistics; NS Government News)

Maritime residency definition:

To qualify as a Maritime province resident, applicants must meet ONE of: - Criteria A: Completed 4 years of junior/senior high school (grades 7-12) within the last 12 years in NS, NB, or PEI. - Criteria B: Permanent address in one Maritime province for at least 6 consecutive years prior to application while attending high school, post-secondary, or employed. - Criteria C: Permanent address in one Maritime province for at least 3 consecutive years prior to application while NOT enrolled in post-secondary.

(Dal Place of Residence)

Exception process:

Applicants not meeting standard criteria may submit a 250-word statement by July 31 for case-by-case review, particularly those with Indigenous or African Nova Scotian heritage. Submitting a statement does not guarantee allocation of in-province status. (Dal Place of Residence)

Cost

• Tuition (annual, approximate): ~$26,783 CAD/year (AcceptedTogether Dal Guide; Dal Tuition Fee Schedules)
• Total 4-year estimated cost: ~$107,132 tuition + $60,000-$80,000 living expenses (AcceptedTogether Dal Guide)

Competitiveness

• Cohort size: ~150 students/year (expanding; was 114 NS seats + others; total ~169 including all campuses) (Dal Class Statistics; Dal Place of Residence)
• Total applications received (Class of 2028): 1,816 (625 Maritime + 1,165 non-Maritime + 18 government-sponsored) (Dal Class Statistics)

Information Not Found

No specific gaps identified for this program.