The UW senate has officially approved a new honours bachelor of medical sciences program, which offers students a streamlined path to achieve a doctor of medicine (MD) in just six years.

The program is a partnership between UW and St. George’s University (SGU) in Grenada, West Indies, building on an existing partnership between SGU and Northumbria University in the U.K. Applications are now open, and the program is expected to start September 2026.

Laura Deakin, associate dean for teaching and learning in the chemistry department, explained that UW saw this partnership as an opportunity to provide another set of choices for students. 

“Typically, the route is a four-year undergraduate, and then you would apply, and then you would proceed to one of the established medical schools,” she said, on the path to achieve an MD. “What we’re hearing is that students — even with excellent grades — even after those four years, they’re still not getting in[to a Canadian school].

“They also wanted to contribute to the Canadian lack of family physicians. They see this need, and they see this closed door, and I think there’s this frustration because they feel that they can really help.”

A 2025 Health Canada report found that the country is short 22,823 physicians, with only about 1,300 new graduates annually. More than six million Canadians do not have a family doctor. 

To address this need, this program was in the works for about two years, and it was completed with an expedited approval process.

“We wanted to do what we needed to do, but we had an eye on the clock,” Deakin said. “We asked a lot of processes to be more flexible in terms of their approval. There are multiple approval stages it needs to go through, from the departments, to the faculty, to senate undergrad.”

This program offers a six year and five year path, administered fully on campus. The six year path is typically an entry from high school, where students would complete two years of preclinical studies at UW and four years of clinical training at SGU. In the five year path, students who met the pre-requisite admission requirements would complete one year at UW, followed by four years at SGU. There are also options to take courses in the U.K. or the U.S. 

The program does not require Canadian or other international students to take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). American students are required to complete the MCAT. 

“I think the real benefit is the fact that a student does not have to have that stress of going through those years of undergrad, and doing really well, and sitting for that MCAT, and still not getting a seat,” said Laura Bruno, vice president of student recruitment at SGU.

Admission requirements for direct entry from high school would be an Ontario Secondary School Diploma with an overall average of at least 90 per cent with a strong science performance. 

“We also look for some of the attributes and characteristics that we think would make an excellent physician,” Bruno said. “Those can be demonstrated through personal statements, through letters of recommendation, through their interview, through activities — volunteer or paid activities that they’ve been involved in.”

The tuition fee for fall 2026 is projected to be about $70,000 CAD for the academic year. Some of the revenue from the tuition fee will be allocated to UW for human resource costs of administering the program. 

Supports dedicated to student success include a dedicated advisor at UW, after hours support, an advisor at SGU, cohort building activities, and a peer mentorship program. 

“One of the most exciting things is this is [the] first in Canada,” Bruno said. “Waterloo has broke some ground here nationally — there’s not another pathway like this. I think it’s exciting for the university, it’s exciting for Canadians.” 

Over the past four decades, SGU has conferred MD degrees to about 2,400 Canadian students, where 203 chose Canadian residencies after their degree. Of these residents, 125 physicians have practiced in Ontario. More information about the program and the application process can be found here.