Updated July 4, 2025

University of Alberta
University of Calgary

2026 Cycle Information

Criteria applicable for all medical graduates; for specific information, please see tabs.

Please note that the criteria on this page is from the 2025 match. Updated 2026 provincial criteria will be posted on this page in the upcoming months, once it has been reviewed by the province.

CRITERIA FOR ALL MEDICAL GRADUATES

GENERAL INFORMATION The University of Alberta and the University of Calgary have agreed to the following policies for the FSRM match. It is important to note individual programs may have specific criteria used to review applications. Applicants are responsible for reviewing program-specific criteria, as well as the provincial criteria listed, to ensure they meet all required eligibility criteria.

Failure to meet eligibility/licensing criteria or failure to provide proof of any of the stated requirements may result in the applicant file being disqualified and removed at any point during the match.

To provide transparent access to this opportunity, the requirements set herein will not be changed mid-cycle.

AHS Requirements

Please be aware that Alberta Health Services (AHS) determines immunization requirements for all healthcare workers who provide services on AHS, Alberta Precision Laboratories, Covenant Health, Carewest, and Capital Care property. This applies to resident physicians. Resident physicians matched to any University of Alberta or University of Calgary residency program must ensure they are able to comply with the AHS policy to start training July 1, 2026. Immunization requirements are subject to change as per AHS policy.

Matched applicants must meet all AHS requirements to start training July 1, 2026, including, but not limited to:

  • Satisfactory Criminal Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Search
  • Compliance with AHS Immunization Policy

CPSA Registration

All applicants must meet the criteria for registration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) for postgraduate medical education, including English Language Proficiency. Once matched, any delays in providing all required documentation to CPSA may result in a delay in the issuance of a certificate of registration and a delay in the start of postgraduate training beyond July 1.

PGME Orientation

The annual incoming PGME Orientation is scheduled in accordance with Alberta’s Resident Physician Agreement. Attendance is strong recommended for incoming residents new to the matched University as scheduled:

  • University of Calgary: Wednesday, June 24, 2026
  • University of Alberta: Thursday, June 25, 2026

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

To maintain the spirit of fairness and equity, PGME does not tolerate the submission of altered, falsified, A.I.-generated, or fraudulent information or documentation, intentionally or otherwise. Such applications will be considered void and, if discovered after the CaRMS match, may result in immediate dismissal or withdrawal of the postgraduate training position.

LICENSING BODY College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta
SOURCE OF FUNDING Alberta Health
TRAINING LEVEL ELIGIBILITY Subspecialty: Medicine subspecialties

Training level: Current resident

  • Eligibility details:
    • Open to Graduates of Canadian Medical Schools (CMGs) or US LCME-accredited Medical Schools (USMGs) who are:
      • Currently enrolled in an RCPSC-accredited core Internal Medicine residency program in Canada who will be completing PGY3 training in Internal Medicine on or before December 30, 2026.
      • Currently enrolled in an ACGME-accredited core Internal Medicine residency program in the US who will be completing PGY3 training in Internal Medicine on or before December 30, 2026.
    • Open to International Medical Graduates (IMGs) who are:
      • Currently enrolled in an RCPSC-accredited core Internal Medicine residency program in Canada who will be completing PGY3 training in Internal Medicine on or before December 30, 2026.

Subspecialty: Critical Care Medicine

Training level: Current resident

  • Eligibility details:
    • All Critical Care Medicine applicants must be currently enrolled in an RCPSC-accredited residency program in Canada.
    • Open to Graduates of Canadian Medical Schools (CMGs), US LCME-accredited Medical Schools (USMGs), or International Medical Graduates (IMGs) who are:
      • Currently enrolled as a PGY3 or PGY4 in a core Internal Medicine residency program.
      • Currently enrolled in their final year of training in one of the following residency programs: Anesthesiology, Cardiac Surgery, Emergency Medicine, General Surgery, or an Internal Medicine subspecialty.
      • Currently enrolled in their final year of training in a primary specialty residency program not listed above that meets the minimum requirements as described by the RCPSC Adult Critical Care Medicine Training Experiences (2025 v4.0) document, subject to final confirmation by PGME.

Subspecialty: Occupational Medicine

Training level: Current resident

  • Eligibility details:
    • Open to Graduates of Canadian Medical Schools (CMGs) or US LCME-accredited Medical Schools (USMGs) who are:
      • Currently enrolled as a PGY3 in an RCPSC-accredited core Internal Medicine residency program in Canada.
      • Currently enrolled as a PGY3 in an ACGME-accredited core Internal Medicine residency program.
      • Currently enrolled as a PGY5 in an RCPSC-accredited Public Health and Preventive Medicine residency program in Canada.
    • Open to International Medical Graduates (IMGs) who are:
      • Currently enrolled as a PGY3 in an RCPSC-accredited core Internal Medicine residency program in Canada.
      • Currently enrolled as a PGY5 in an RCPSC-accredited Public Health and Preventive Medicine residency program in Canada.

Subspecialty: Palliative Medicine​

Training level: Current resident

  • Eligibility details:
    • All Adult Palliative Medicine applicants must be currently enrolled in an RCPSC-accredited residency program in Canada.
    • Open to Graduates of Canadian Medical Schools (CMGs), US LCME-accredited Medical Schools (USMGs), or International Medical Graduates (IMGs) who are:
      • Currently enrolled in their second-to-last or final year of training in one of the following residency programs: Internal Medicine, Anesthesiology, or Neurology.
        • A maximum of one year of Palliative Medicine can occur concurrently with the final year of residency in the primary specialty.
        • Approval of the primary specialty Program Director is required for concurrent training; a letter of support/approval must be provided at the time of application.
      • Currently enrolled in their final year of training in a primary specialty residency program not listed above that meets the minimum requirements as described by the RCPSC Adult Palliative Medicine Training Experiences (2025 v2.0) document, subject to final confirmation by PGME.

Subspecialty: Forensic psychiatry

Training level: Current resident

  • Eligibility details:
    • All Forensic Psychiatry applicants must be currently enrolled in an RCPSC-accredited residency program in Canada.
    • Open to Graduates of Canadian Medical Schools (CMGs), US LCME-accredited Medical Schools (USMGs), or International Medical Graduates (IMGs) who are:
      • Currently enrolled as a PGY5 in a core Psychiatry residency program.
      • Currently enrolled as a PGY6 in a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry residency program.

Subspecialty: Geriatric psychiatry

Training level: Current resident

  • Eligibility details:
    • All Geriatric Psychiatry applicants must be currently enrolled in an RCPSC-accredited residency program in Canada.
    • Open to Graduates of Canadian Medical Schools (CMGs), US LCME-accredited Medical Schools (USMGs), or International Medical Graduates (IMGs) who are: 
      • Currently enrolled as a PGY4 or PGY5 in a core Psychiatry residency program.
        • A maximum of one year of training in Geriatric Psychiatry can occur concurrently with the final year of Psychiatry.

Subspecialty: Thoracic surgery

Training level: Current resident

  • Eligibility details:
    • All Thoracic Surgery applicants must be currently enrolled in an RCPSC-accredited residency program in Canada.
    • Open to Graduates of Canadian Medical Schools (CMGs), US LCME-accredited Medical Schools (USMGs), or International Medical Graduates (IMGs) who are:
      • Currently enrolled in their final year of training in one of the following residency programs: General Surgery, Cardiac Surgery.

Subspecialty: Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology

Training level: Current resident

  • Eligibility details:
    • All Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology applicants must be currently enrolled in an RCPSC-accredited residency program in Canada.
    • Open to Graduates of Canadian Medical Schools (CMGs), US LCME-accredited Medical Schools (USMGs), or International Medical Graduates (IMGs) who are:
      • Currently enrolled in their second-to-last or final year of training in one of the following residency programs: Anesthesiology, Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, or Psychiatry.

Subspecialty: Pain Medicine​

Training level: Current resident

  • Eligibility details:
    • All Pain Medicine applicants must be currently enrolled in an RCPSC-accredited residency program in Canada.
    • Open to Graduates of Canadian Medical Schools (CMGs), US LCME-accredited Medical Schools (USMGs), or International Medical Graduates (IMGs) who are: 
      • Currently enrolled in their second-to-last or final year of training in one of the following residency programs: Anesthesiology, Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Pediatrics, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Psychiatry, or Rheumatology.
        • A maximum of one year of training in Pain Medicine can occur concurrently with the final year of residency in the entry discipline.
      • Currently enrolled in their final year of training in one of the following residency programs: Medical Oncology, Neurosurgery, Orthopedic Surgery, or Palliative Medicine.
        • As described by the RCPSC Pain Medicine Training Experiences (2025 v2.0), this entry route is possible with the approval of the Specialty Committee in Pain Medicine and subject to final confirmation by PGME.

Subspecialty: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Training level: Current resident

  • Eligibility details:
    • All Child and Adolescent Psychiatry applicants must be currently enrolled in an RCPSC-accredited residency program in Canada.
    • Open to Graduates of Canadian Medical Schools (CMGs), US LCME-accredited Medical Schools (USMGs), or International Medical Graduates (IMGs) who are: 
      • Currently enrolled as a PGY4 or PGY5 in a core Psychiatry residency program.
        • A maximum of one year of training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry can occur concurrently with the final year of Psychiatry.
RESTRICTIONS
  • Residents that are off-cycle by more than six months (with a start date after December 31) are not eligible.
  • Residents currently enrolled in subspecialty residency training are not eligible except for:
    • Adult Critical Care Medicine, as outlined above;
    • Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, as outlined above;
    • Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, as outlined above;
    • Forensic Psychiatry, as outlined above; and
    • Pain Medicine, as outlined above.
  • Trainees currently enrolled in subspecialty Internal Medicine training or any training in Internal Medicine beyond the PGY3 level are not eligible except for:
    • Adult Critical Care Medicine, as outlined above;
    • Adult Palliative Medicine​, as outlined above; and
    • Current PGY4 residents in a Canadian Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada accredited core Internal Medicine residency program who did not participate in the match as a PGY3 (i.e. those who are completing a “Chief” or “Lead” resident year).
  • Re-entry applicants (i.e. licensed physicians/physicians in practice who wish to re-train in a different discipline) are not eligible.
  • Individuals who are pursuing residency training in the US and have an MD from a non-LCME-accredited school are not eligible.
  • Individuals with a sponsoring agency (i.e. Sponsored Trainees) other than the Department of National Defense (DND) are not eligible.
  • This match cannot be used for program transfer (i.e. residents who are currently enrolled in postgraduate residency training).
MATCH STREAMS N/A
CITIZENSHIP REQUIREMENTS See Summary of citizenship requirements.
PROOF OF LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY  See Summary of language proficiency requirements.

SECOND ITERATION

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO ALL MEDICAL GRADUATES
N/A

ADDITIONAL CRITERIA FOR CANADIAN MEDICAL GRADUATES

MEDICAL COUNCIL OF CANADA EXAMS The MCCQE Part 1 and LMCC requirement is program specific. Please review individual program descriptions for additional information.

Applicants who have Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status and who are training in an ACGME-accredited Internal Medicine residency program in the United States must provide proof of passing the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Exam (MCCQE) Part 1 at the time of application. Medical Council of Canada (MCC) examination data and documents are only accepted as transfers from physiciansapply.ca.

RETURN OF SERVICE (ROS) REQUIREMENTS  

Applicants from other provinces must declare return of service obligations.

 

MEDICAL EDUCATION RCPSC Assessment: Applicants who have Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status and who are training in an ACGME-accredited Internal Medicine residency program in the United States must provide a ruling letter from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Failure to meet eligibility/licensing criteria or failure provide proof of any of the stated requirements may result in the applicant file being disqualified and removed at any point during the match.

ADDITIONAL CRITERIA FOR INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATES

MEDICAL COUNCIL OF CANADA EXAMS MCCQE Part I

  • Date/milestone assessment submission required: File review opening
  • Requirement: Mandatory

LMCC requirement may be required by some programs. Please review individual program descriptions for additional information.

Medical Council of Canada (MCC) examination data and documents are only accepted as transfers from physiciansapply.ca. Instructions on how to transfer documents from physiciansapply.ca to your CaRMS account can be found here.

RETURN OF SERVICE (ROS) REQUIREMENTS Applicants from other provinces must declare return of service obligations.
MEDICAL EDUCATION N/A
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Failure to meet eligibility/licensing criteria or failure provide proof of any of the stated requirements may result in the applicant file being disqualified and removed at any point during the match.

Start typing and press Enter to search

Our website uses cookies to enhance your online experience and to analyze website traffic. By clicking “Accept,“ you agree to our website’s cookie use as described in our Online Services – User Agreement.

Accept