York University School of Medicine: Admissions and 2028 Updates

York University School of Medicine: Overview

York University is preparing to open a new medical school in Ontario in 2028. The York University School of Medicine will offer an accelerated three-year Doctor of Medicine (MD) program with a strong focus on family medicine, generalist care and community-based medical education.

The school is still completing the accreditation process, and many of the details prospective applicants will want to know — including GPA requirements, whether the MCAT will be required and how students will be selected — have not yet been announced. York University says that admissions information will be available in early 2027.

We will update this page as York University releases its official admissions requirements, application process, selection criteria and other information for prospective medical students. Check back for the latest York University medical school updates.

York University School of Medicine: What We Know So Far

York University's proposed MD program has already passed several major milestones. The Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance approved the MD program in February 2026, and the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) granted the developing school Candidate status in June 2026.

However, York University School of Medicine is not yet fully accredited. Candidate status is part of the accreditation process for new Canadian medical schools and comes before preliminary accreditation. York continues to describe the planned 2028 opening as subject to successful accreditation.

When Will York University Medical School Open?

The York University School of Medicine is expected to welcome its first class of medical students in 2028, provided the program receives the necessary accreditation approvals.

York plans to admit 80 undergraduate medical students per year to its three-year MD program. At steady state, this would mean approximately 240 MD students enrolled across the three years of the program. The school also plans substantial postgraduate medical training.

Ontario originally announced support for 80 undergraduate and 102 postgraduate positions when the school opens. The postgraduate program is expected to expand to 293 positions at steady state.

The Ontario government announced an additional $55.8 million investment in July 2026 to support York's path toward accreditation and its planned launch. The funding is intended to support areas such as curriculum development, accreditation, faculty recruitment, the establishment of a medical library and undergraduate and postgraduate medical education.

What Will the York University MD Program Be Like?

One of the most notable features of the proposed York University MD program is its length.

York is developing an accelerated three-year MD program, making it structurally similar in length to McMaster Medical School, which also delivers its MD curriculum over three years. The curriculum is being designed specifically around the preparation of family physicians and other generalist doctors.

The program will also emphasize community-based medical education.

York's planned Integrated Community-Based Learning Network will place students in primary care, hospital, and community environments. Beginning in the second year of the MD program, students are expected to participate in longer-term clinical learning experiences that allow them to follow patients over time and work with health care teams across different care settings.

This approach differs from a curriculum built primarily around a sequence of shorter clinical rotations. York's strategic plan describes its planned curriculum as being anchored by Longitudinal Integrated Clinical Learning Experiences, with students learning across a network of primary care, generalist and interprofessional health care partners.

The curriculum is also expected to incorporate population health, social determinants of health, illness prevention, chronic care, mental health, rehabilitation, geriatrics and palliative care. York also plans to incorporate digital health and artificial intelligence into medical education.

Where Will York University Medical Students Train?

York describes its model by saying that the community will be the campus.

The school's main facility is planned for the Vaughan Healthcare Centre Precinct, next to Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital. However, medical education will not be concentrated exclusively at that location.

Students are expected to receive clinical training throughout northern Toronto, York Region, Simcoe County, the District of Muskoka and surrounding rural communities.

York also plans to draw on hospitals, primary care practices, community health organizations, rehabilitation facilities, long-term care and other community health services as part of its distributed learning network.

This emphasis on distributed medical education also has parallels with programs such as NOSM University, where community-based medical education is central to the school’s model.

For prospective students, this means that York's medical school may offer a substantially different clinical experience from a medical program concentrated around one major academic teaching hospital.

What Will York University Medical School Focus On?

Primary care is central to the school's stated mission.

York says the program is being designed to educate family medicine and generalist physicians and help address shortages of primary care doctors in Ontario, particularly in underserved urban communities, rapidly growing regions and rural areas.

The school has also emphasized interprofessional education. Medical students are expected to learn alongside professionals in areas such as nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychology and social work.

At the postgraduate level, planned areas include family medicine and generalist specialties such as general internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology, and general surgery.

This focus is important for prospective applicants because York's eventual admissions process is expected to reflect the mission of the school.

York University Medical School Admissions

York University has not yet released its complete MD admissions requirements.

The university says admissions information will be released in early 2027. Although York has not yet confirmed its application process, prospective applicants can familiarize themselves with the OMSAS application process in the meantime, since OMSAS is the centralized application service used by Ontario medical schools.

As of August 2026, applicants therefore should not rely on unofficial claims about York University's medical school requirements. York has not yet officially announced a minimum GPA, MCAT requirement, CASPer requirement, prerequisite courses, application essays, reference requirements, interview format or final application timeline.

In particular, prospective students should be cautious about claims that the York University School of Medicine will be an MCAT-free medical school. York has not yet published its official MCAT policy.

Until the admissions criteria are released, students planning to apply to York as well as other Canadian medical schools should continue preparing based on the requirements of the broader group of schools they intend to apply to rather than assuming that York will use or waive any particular admissions component.

What Will York University Look for in Medical School Applicants?

Although formal admissions criteria are still forthcoming, York has published substantial information about the principles it wants its future admissions system to reflect.

Its 2025–2030 School of Medicine Strategic Plan calls for an inclusive and holistic admissions process and says the school intends to recruit learners who reflect the communities it serves. York also says it plans to prioritize strong applicants who demonstrate commitment to primary and generalist care and readiness to learn in and serve communities within the school's service area.

York's FAQ similarly describes plans for pathways supporting groups that have historically been underrepresented in medicine, including mature, Indigenous, Black, economically disadvantaged and disabled students. The university also says students will be selected in part through a community-supported process intended to identify applicants who both reflect and are committed to supporting the population within York's service area.

These statements do not establish the eventual admissions formula. However, they suggest that applicants should expect York's selection process to assess more than academic performance alone.

Experiences demonstrating sustained community engagement, collaboration, service, understanding of health inequities and a genuine interest in primary or generalist care may therefore become particularly relevant once the admissions process is finalized.

Will York University Have a Pre-Med Program?

York University is also developing a two-year pathway designed to accelerate access to medicine and nursing through a proposed interprofessional degree program.

This should not currently be interpreted as a guaranteed direct-entry route into the MD program. Details of the pathway and its relationship to medical school admission remain under development.

York also identifies several existing undergraduate programs as possible foundations for students interested in medical education, including Biomedical Science, Health Studies, Psychology, Kinesiology and Health Science, Global Health and Neuroscience.

As with other Canadian medical schools, prospective applicants should wait for the official admissions criteria before choosing an undergraduate program specifically because they believe York will require or prefer it.

What Does CACMS Candidate Status Mean for York University?

York University's achievement of Candidate status in June 2026 was an important accreditation milestone, but it does not mean the MD program has completed accreditation.

CACMS lists York University under Candidate Status, while medical schools that have advanced further in the development process, such as Toronto Metropolitan University, are listed under Preliminary Accreditation.

Under the CACMS process for new medical education programs, Candidate status is followed by the preliminary accreditation process. Preliminary accreditation is the stage associated with moving toward the review and acceptance of the charter class.

This is why York continues to describe the 2028 opening as subject to accreditation.

How Should Future York University Medical School Applicants Prepare?

There is still too much missing information to build a York-specific application strategy.

However, prospective students can start developing the broader qualifications expected of competitive Canadian medical school applicants while paying close attention to the particular mission York has already described. Reviewing current medical school acceptance rates in Canada can also provide useful context for the competitiveness of Canadian medical school admissions.

Academic performance will remain important regardless of the eventual admissions formula. Applicants can also seek sustained experiences in community service, health care, advocacy, research, employment or other settings that allow them to demonstrate qualities such as collaboration, communication, responsibility and service to others.

Students genuinely interested in York may also benefit from learning about primary care, population health and the health needs of diverse communities. These areas feature prominently in York's stated educational mission. This should be done because it aligns with the applicant's actual interests and experiences, however, rather than simply trying to manufacture a profile that appears to fit a new medical school's mission.

Most importantly, applicants should avoid making major decisions based on admissions requirements that York has not yet announced.

What's Next for the York University School of Medicine?

The next major developments for prospective medical students will be York's continued progress toward accreditation and the release of its official admissions information in early 2027.

Those announcements should clarify some of the biggest unanswered questions, including academic requirements, the MCAT, application components, eligibility rules, the interview and the application timeline for the inaugural 2028 class.

We will continue updating this article as York University releases new information about its MD program. Check back for the latest York University School of Medicine admissions requirements, application details and 2028 entry updates.

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