Use the tabs below to find eligibility criteria to participate in the Medicine Subspecialty Match
To participate in the MSM match, you must:
- be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada. Some exceptions may apply.
- be a:
- current resident in their third year of an RCPSC/ACGME accredited Internal Medicine program in a Canadian or U.S university; or,
- current resident in their final year or have completed training in an RCPSC/ACGME accredited program in Anesthesiology, Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Cardiac Surgery*; or,
- current resident in their third or later year of an RCPSC/ACGME accredited Psychiatry, Cardiac Surgery and General Surgery program in a Canadian or U.S university*.
*Further exceptions may apply. Please consult the provincial criteria.
First and Second Iteration
The MSM match is run in two phases, called iteration.
- The first iteration of the match is open to all applicants who are eligible.
- The second iteration of the match is open to all applicant that were eligible for first but did not apply or did not match in the first iteration.
Additional Requirements
You will be required to have obtained your:
- Medical Identification Number for Canada (MINC) and enter it in your application.
In addition to basic eligibility requirements, there are also individual provincial requirements established at the provincial level. Refer to the provincial criteria of the province you are interested in training in, as well as the program descriptions for more information.
Potential additional requirements
- Proof of language proficiency requirement (Refer to the Summary of language proficiency requirements)
- Medical Council of Canada Examinations
Applying to programs in this match.
This match has numerous different application streams (e.g., Particular Stream, Competitive Stream, Competitive NON-MOH etc.) An application stream is an allocation of positions based on specific provincial eligibility requirements and funding. Refer to program descriptions of individual residency programs for more information as well as the full directory of the application streams in the MSM.
In addition to basic eligibility requirements, there are also individual provincial requirements that may differ between provinces as provincial governments are responsible for the management, organization and delivery of health care services for their province and may have differing regulations in place.
Refer to the provincial criteria of the province you are interested in training in, as well as the program disciplines and locations you are interested in applying in by consulting program descriptions and for more information.
Provincial requirements by province
Summary of citizenship requirements
Summary of language proficiency requirements
Individual provincial criteria
MSM Match Policies
- Match Violation Policy
- Interview format policy
To participate in the Medicine Subspecialty Match (MSM) you must be a Canadian citizen or hold a valid Canadian permanent resident card.
Provincial criteria
Each province has criteria that must be met by applicants applying for positions within that province. Eligibility requirements differ from province to province, so you should carefully review the criteria when preparing to apply to programs.
Eligibility criteria is updated shortly before the opening of each match.
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