Diversity

It is our goal to maximize opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds and populations – particularly those that are under-represented in medicine – to gain admission to the MD Program, and to support those students once they are admitted. We have created organizational supports to fulfill our diversity mandate, including our Office of Indigenous Medical Education, our Black Canadian Admissions Sub-committee and our UME Faculty Lead for LGBTQ Health Education. 

In this section:

Improving health for LGBTQ patients, Dr. Amy Bourns appointed as LGBTQ theme lead
The Office of Indigenous Medical Education supports our Indigenous students and teaches tomorrow’s doctors best practices to ensure Indigenous patients receive culturally safe, quality care
The Community of Support helps Black students develop their potential as future health professionals	Spotlight on Iman Yousuf

Our Indigenous Student Application Program (ISAP) promotes and supports the entry of Indigenous students into the MD Program. Since the ISAP launched in the 2012-2013 academic year, there has been an increase in the number of applications from students who self-identify as being of Aboriginal descent.  

Minimizing the cost of medical education is an important component of our attempts to diversify our student body, particularly with respect to students who are economically disadvantaged. We are committed to providing students with financial assistance through a number of programs.

Our three high-needs bursary programs provide additional funding for students with particularly challenging financial situations:

• Our Enhanced Bursary Program assists MD students with the highest level of financial need.
• Our MD Admission Bursary Program provides assistance to applicants who might not otherwise apply for entry to the MD Program due to financial constraints.
• With an approximate total value of $160,000, our Full Tuition MD Admissions Bursary covers tuition and living expenses for one high-needs student per year over the four years of the MD Program.

The Faculty of Medicine Grant Program provides funding to students who apply for and receive government student loan funding and are assessed as still having unmet financial need. The total amount of financial assistance provided to our students through the Faculty of Medicine Grant Program has consistently been equivalent to 40 per cent  of the unmet financial need of the eligible recipients.