Admission Requirements

To be eligible for admission, you must be an Alberta resident, as defined by the Province of Alberta. As such, you must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or have protected person status under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Criteria are outlined in the Alberta Government Guidelines (within the Student Financial Assistance Regulation) and are used to determine residency status. Details of these residency requirements can be found in the Application Manual (page 5), or they can be accessed on the Alberta Government website (http://studentaid.alberta.ca/before-you-apply/eligibility/).

Indigenous Residency

If you self-identified as Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, or Inuit), Alberta residency requirements do not apply. We will consider all Indigenous applicants from across Canada who meet our academic requirements. Proof of Indigenous status will need to be provided. Click here for details.

1. Medical College Admissions Test – MCAT: All applicants must write the Medical College Admission Test in sufficient time to ensure that their MCAT scores will be available to the Admissions Committee by the application deadline (November 25, 2024).  This usually means that writing the test by mid-August of the year of application. It is the applicant’s responsibility to take the MCAT and have their score released in time before the UCVM DVM application deadline.  Applicants should contact the MCAT Program Office (www.aamc.org/mcat ) for details about the test and they must instruct the organization to release their MCAT results to the University of Calgary. Applicants to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine DVM program should also be aware that all applicants must complete the MCAT within three (3) years of the submission date of their application.  A minimum MCAT score of 495 is required.
   MCAT Fee Assistance Program for Canadian Examinees
2. 10 Required Courses: A passing grade is required in each of the 10 required courses (see Required Course section). Each of the ten (10) courses below must be showing on your official transcript. You must have completed or be in the process of completing the TEN (10) required courses with at least SEVEN (7) of the TEN (10) required courses being completed before December 31, 2024. All courses (including in-progress, online or distance learning courses) must be completed by the end of the Winter term preceding admission (April 30, 2025). No exceptions will be made.
3. Four (4) most recent full-time semesters: A minimum combined grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 (“B” or its equivalent) over the last four full-time terms of undergraduate academic years must have completed or be in the process of completing four or more terms (semesters) of full time post-secondary undergraduate education at a recognized university or at a college providing university-equivalency in coursework. UCVM defines a “full time” term as a minimum of FOUR (4) ‘first-attempt’ courses per term (semester), taken between the months of September – December (Fall term) and January – April (Winter term) for a total of 16 half-course equivalents. The third and/or fourth term(s) may be in progress at the time of application, but at least four terms of undergraduate education must be completed by the end of the Winter term preceding admission (i.e. April 30, 2025).

English is the official language of instruction at the University of Calgary. All applicants must demonstrate English language proficiency to be considered for admission.  For all applicants for whom English is not their first language, English language proficiency can be demonstrated in one of the following ways:

1. Completion of at least TWO (2) full years within a degree program offered by an accredited university in a country which the University of Calgary recognizes as English language proficiency exempt.
2. A score of 100 with a minimum score of 27 in each sub-score on the TOEFL iBT (Test of English as a Foreign Language); OR
3. A minimum score of 8.0 with no bands below a 7.0 on the IELTS Academic (International English Language Testing System).

Normally, students will only be admissible if the English Language Proficiency requirement has been satisfied. The Registrar has the authority to use discretion in exceptional circumstances. Students must meet English Language proficiency requirements in addition to meeting the English subject admission requirement for the DVM program.