Rural Applicants

Rural

NEW! Enhanced Rural Admissions Process for 2024-2025

The Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry has positions reserved for Rural applicants.

For the 2024-2025 Admissions cycle, we will have 30 positions available for qualified Rural applicants.These positions are to encourage applicants who come from and have an understanding of rural, remote, or northern communities who may have the goal of returning to practice in these communities. These applicants must meet all minimum requirements during the application process in addition to satisfying Rural applicant criteria. The Faculty offers these positions over and above those who receive offers of admission through the regular process.

The Rural Admissions Process includes an assessment of where the applicant has resided, a written statement regarding the applicant’s connection to their rural community or communities, and an interview with rural practitioners and community members. Please note that the written statement and rural interview are NEW features of our Rural Admissions process this year. We want the chance to hear from you about your connection to your rural background.

Criteria

To be considered for a rural position, you must:

(a) be a current resident of Alberta, NWT, Yukon or Nunavut; and

(b) have lived for a minimum of 36 months between your twelfth and eighteenth birthdays in a community or communities within Alberta, NWT, Yukon, or Nunavut which is or are located 40 kilometres or more from the centre of a City with a population of greater than 500,000 (Edmonton & Calgary).

Note the following:

  •  Applicants who identify on the application that they believe they are eligible to be considered for a rural position may be required to provide supporting documentation in a form determined by the MD Admissions Office with the Rural/Regional Admissions Subcommittee.
  • The maps below will serve as a guide in determining distances from Edmonton (Figure 1) and Calgary (Figure 2).
  • Any determination that is required to be made regarding eligibility, including whether a particular location falls 40 kilometers or more from the centre of Edmonton or Calgary, shall be made by the MD Admissions Office with the Rural/Regional Admissions Subcommittee, whose decision on eligibility is final and binding.

edmonton-40km.jpg

Figure 1: Edmonton. Communities located inside of the light green circle are not considered rural. Should the community or communities you have lived in for a minimum of 36 months between your twelfth and eighteenth birthdays be located on the cusp of the light green circle, you may declare rural status and it will be reviewed by the MD Admissions Office with the Rural/Regional Admissions Subcommittee, whose decision on eligibility is final and binding.

calgary-40km.jpg

Figure 2: Calgary. Communities located inside of the light green circle are not considered rural. Should the community or communities you have lived in for a minimum of 36 months between your twelfth and eighteenth birthdays be located on the cusp of the light green circle, you may declare rural status and it will be reviewed by the MD Admissions Office with the Rural/Regional Admissions Subcommittee, whose decision on eligibility is final and binding. 

 

Rural Admissions Process:

  1. Applicants indicate on their application that they believe they are eligible to be considered for a rural position. Please note that Albertan applicants whose applications, upon review through our Admissions process, are not deemed in to meet the criteria for rural positions will have their applications revert to the in-province Albertan applicants stream.
  2. An additional checklist item will be added to the applicants’ Launchpad, ‘Rural Admissions Pathway: Written Submission’ to be completed by the application deadline.
  3. Eligible rural applicants who are selected for interview will also participate in a separate virtual rural panel interview to take place in Spring 2025, in addition to their MMI. Rural eligibility will be confirmed in early 2025 prior to interview invites. Interview invites are typically released by mid-February. 

Any inquiries related to rural determination will be directed to the above information. 

NOTE: Rural applicants will be given priority access to seats at the Northern Alberta Medical Program (NAMP) at the Grande Prairie campus when the NAMP opens in 2025. All applicants who receive an offer of admission will be invited to select their preferred location of training (Edmonton or Grande Prairie).

Rural FAQ:

How do I apply to the Northern Alberta Medical Program based in Grande Prairie at Northwestern Polytechnic?

Please apply to the University of Alberta MD Program: University of Alberta MD Program application. This is a general application for both the Edmonton and the Grande Prairie campuses. All applicants who receive an offer of admission will be invited to select their preferred location of training (Edmonton or Grande Prairie). Please note that if you are a rural applicant (see below for a definition of rural applicant) you will be invited to indicate this on your application University of Alberta MD Program application.

How many students will be accepted to the Grande Prairie regional campus at Northwestern Polytechnic?
30 seats are available for the 2025/26 academic year. 
Are there pre-requisite courses for NAMP?
No, there are no prerequisite courses required. You should be taking courses which meet the requirements for your degree program and interest you. You may wish to take some coursework to help prepare yourself for the MCAT. Please refer to the AAMC website for MCAT topics.
How is the Northern Alberta Medical Program different from the Edmonton-based UAlberta MD Program?
The MD Program offered at the Northern Alberta regional campus is the same accredited, internationally recognized program offered at the Edmonton campus.
Will I graduate with an MD from UAlberta or Northwestern Polytechnic?
Upon successful completion of all training, learners will receive a University of Alberta MD degree.
Where will learners do training in Northern Alberta?
Programs will take place at Northwestern Polytechnic’s School of Health at the Grande Prairie campus and adjacent Health Education Centre (HEC). There will also be opportunities for learners to complete residencies in other northern rural communities. For more information about rural placements please visit the Office of Rural & Regional Health website.
Who is eligible for a rural position in the MD Program?

The MD Program has positions reserved for qualified rural applicants. 

To be considered for a rural position, you must:

(a) be a current resident of Alberta, NWT, Yukon or Nunavut; and

(b) have lived for a minimum of 36 months between your twelfth and eighteenth birthdays in a community or communities within Alberta, NWT, Yukon, or Nunavut which is or are located 40 kilometres or more from the centre of a City with a population of greater than 500,000 (Edmonton & Calgary). 
Who is a rural applicant?

Rural applicants are those applicants who meet our rural definition, above:

(a) be a current resident of Alberta, NWT, Yukon or Nunavut; and

(b) have lived for a minimum of 36 months between your twelfth and eighteenth birthdays in a community or communities within Alberta, NWT, Yukon, or Nunavut which is or are located 40 kilometres or more from the centre of a City with a population of greater than 500,000 (Edmonton & Calgary). 
As a rural applicant, where can I do my medical training?

Rural applicants can choose whether to train in Grande Prairie or Edmonton. Rural applicants will have first choice of the 30 seats available in Grande Prairie. If there are seats remaining after rural applicants have had the opportunity to select Grande Prairie as their training site, non-rural applicants who have indicated a preference to train in Grande Prairie will be offered seats. 

All applicants who receive an offer of admission will be invited to select their preferred location of training (Edmonton or Grande Prairie).

Are there any differences in the MD Program application process if I am a rural applicant?
Rural applicants will be asked to provide an additional written submission as a part of their online application. Rural applicants will also be offered an additional interview with rural physicians and community members, to provide an opportunity to discuss their connection to their rural background. All other parts of the application process will be the same.
Once I am in the MD Program, can I transfer campuses?
Applicants will be matched to one campus at the time they begin the MD Program. They will be expected to continue their studies at that campus. Medical students will not move back and forth between campuses, and will not transfer to a different campus.