Doctor of Medicine (MD) — University of British Columbia

Program status: Active

SpaceCat Fit Notes

1. CASPer: Not used — no advantage here. Details
2. GPA window & upgrading strategy: AGPA drops up to 30 credits from lowest year, but OOP minimum is 85% (competitive avg 89.65%). Details
3. Experiential / written advantage: NAQ weighted equally with GPA pre-interview — favorable weighting, but 85% OOP academic bar must be cleared first. Details

4. Out-of-province: Ontario resident. Max 33 OOP seats (10%) from ~1,400 OOP applicants (~2.4% OOP acceptance rate). details

5. Overall assessment: Not viable — 90% BC-resident preference, max 33 OOP seats, 85% OOP GPA minimum, no CASPer advantage.

“Preference for admission to the MD Undergraduate program is given to residents of British Columbia; however, a small number of out-of-province applicants are accepted each year.”

“out-of-province applicants with an overall academic average of less than 85% (based on the adjusted academic average, if applicable) will not receive full file reviews”

“Up to 10% of seats (33 total in 2025/2026) are reserved for out-of-province applicants.”

Quick Facts

• Institution: University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine
• Program name: Doctor of Medicine (MD)
• Degree granted: MD
• City, Province: Vancouver, BC (main campus); distributed sites at University of Victoria (Island Medical Program), University of Northern British Columbia (Northern Medical Program), UBC Okanagan (Southern Medical Program)
• Program type: Standard (4-year MD) — distributed model across BC
• Duration: 4 years
• Delivery format: In-person
• Full-time / Part-time: Full-time only
• Language of instruction: English
• Start date(s): August/September (Fall entry only)
• Intake frequency: Annual
• Application deadline(s): September 15, 2025 at 12:00 PM (noon) Pacific Time. MCAT scores and non-North American transcripts due by October 15, 2025 at 11:59 PM Pacific. (Source)
• Application system: UBC’s own online application (NOT OMSAS — UBC is not an Ontario school) (Source)
• Program URL: https://mdprogram.med.ubc.ca/
• Accredited: Yes — CACMS accredited

Admission Requirements

GPA

• Minimum GPA (BC residents): 75% overall academic average (below this, no full file review). (Source)
• Minimum GPA (out-of-province): 85% overall academic average (below this, no full file review). Significantly higher bar for OOP applicants. (Source)
• Competitive GPA: Average entering class GPA: 89.65% (2024 entry). (Source)
• GPA calculated on: Two metrics:
• OGPA (Overall GPA): All university credits with grades from accredited post-secondary institutions.
• AGPA (Adjusted GPA): For applicants with >90 credits, removes up to 30 credits from the lowest-performing academic year (lowest grades removed first, provided 90 graded credits remain).
• Fails, duplicates, and repeat courses are included in both calculations. Pass/fail and CR/NCR courses do not count toward either GPA or the 90-credit minimum. (Source)
• GPA window: All credits (OGPA) or all credits minus lowest year (AGPA). The AGPA drop of up to 30 credits from the worst year provides some relief.
• GPA scale: Percentage-based (not 4.0 OMSAS scale — UBC uses its own conversion)

Prerequisites

• English: 6 credits (two semesters) required by April 30 of entry year — either 6 credits literature OR 3 credits literature + 3 credits composition. (Source)
• Minimum credits: 90 university-transferable credits by April 30 of entry year. (Source)
• Strongly recommended (not required): General Biology (6 cr), General Chemistry (6 cr), Organic Chemistry (6 cr), Biochemistry (6 cr). (Source)

Prior Degree Requirement

• 90 university-transferable credits minimum. No completed degree explicitly required, but 90 credits typically represents 3+ years of full-time study. (Source)

CASPer

Not required. UBC does not use CASPer. (Source)

Supplementary Requirements

• MCAT: Required. Minimum total score: 496 on a single exam. If multiple attempts, the exam with the highest total score of 496+ is used. MCAT does not factor into interview invitation decisions (provided minimum met). Valid test dates: April 17, 2015 – September 13, 2025. (Source, Source)
• Interview: Yes — Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) format. 10 stations, each 8 minutes with 2-minute scoring period. Conducted virtually via Kira Talent platform. Interviewers include academics, clinicians, community representatives, and 3rd/4th-year medical students from across BC. 2025/2026 interviews: January 31 and February 1, 2026. (Source)
• Non-Academic Qualities (NAQ): UBC evaluates a detailed NAQ score based on leadership, service ethic, collaboration capacity, experience diversity, and high achievement. “Long-standing volunteer or employment commitments” valued over brief involvements. (Source)
• Citizenship: Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person with refugee status. International students cannot be admitted. (Source)

How Applications Are Evaluated

• Pre-interview: Academic (GPA) and non-academic (NAQ) scores weighted equally. MCAT is threshold only (496 minimum) and does not factor into interview decisions. (Source)
• Post-interview: All aspects of file reviewed together holistically by selection committee. (Source)
• BC residents receive strong preference — up to 90% of seats reserved for BC residents.

Out-of-Province Considerations

• Residency restrictions: “Preference for admission is given to residents of British Columbia.” Up to 10% of seats (maximum 33 in 2025/2026) available to out-of-province applicants. BC residents must hold valid BC Services Card by application deadline. (Source, Source)
• OOP academic minimum: 85% (vs. 75% for BC residents) — a 10-percentage-point penalty. (Source)
• OOP acceptance rate: ~30 OOP students admitted from ~1,100+ OOP applicants (~2.7% in recent cycles). (Source — search results)
• Waivers from BC residency preference: Available for PhD holders, Indigenous applicants, Black applicants, and MD/PhD applicants. (Source)
• Out-of-province policy URL: https://mdprogram.med.ubc.ca/admissions/before-you-apply/admission-requirements/

Cost

• Annual tuition (domestic, 2025-2026): ~$22,870 (Year 1). Varies by year: ~$20,348 (Year 2) to ~$27,130 (Year 4). Same for BC and out-of-province domestic students. (Source — search results)
• Total program (approximate): ~$90,000–$95,000 over 4 years (domestic) — lower than Ontario MD programs

Competitiveness

• Cohort size: 328 total (2025/2026) — distributed across 4 sites: Vancouver-Fraser (208), Island/Victoria (40), Northern/UNBC (40), Southern/Okanagan (40). (Source)
• Number of applicants (2024 entry): 2,915. (Source)
• Acceptance rate: ~11.3% overall (328 from 2,915) — but OOP rate is ~2.7%. (Source)
• Average admitted GPA: 89.65% (OGPA/AGPA, 2024 entry). (Source)
• Average admitted MCAT: 513.15 (2024 entry). (Source)
• Average age: 25.33 (2024 entry). (Source)

Information Not Found

No specific gaps identified for this program.

Sources

Official program pages: - MD Program Admissions - Admission Requirements - Evaluation Criteria - Admissions Statistics - Application Timelines - Interviews - Frequently Asked Questions - Applicant Guide 2025/2026 (PDF)

Third-party sources: - MedApplications — UBC Application Guide