The Academies
The MD Program operates on two of the University of Toronto's three campuses. On admission to the MD Program, students are assigned either to the Mississauga campus or to the St. George campus. Admitted students are then assigned to an academy associated with their campus. All campus and academy assignments are normally for the entire four years of medical school.
The academies are a unique feature of the University of Toronto MD Program. Each of our four academies – FitzGerald Academy, Mississauga Academy of Medicine (MAM), Peters-Boyd Academy, and Wightman-Berris Academy – is comprised of clusters of the University’s affiliated hospitals and health care sites. They offer a unique combination of educational settings based on the strengths of their member hospitals while at the same time maintaining a consistent high standard of curriculum delivery. The Mississauga Academy of Medicine (MAM) is based at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) campus while the University of Toronto’s other three Academies (FitzGerald, PetersBoyd, and Wightman Berris) are associated with the St. George campus.
At the academies, students learn clinical skills, participate in problem-based learning, interprofessional education and conduct research in community-based partner agencies. The academies foster a smaller learning environment within a larger program and provide the hospital-based portions of the curriculum in a supportive, student-focused learning environment.
The academy model allows students to become well integrated into their clinical community. Opportunities exist, however, for all students in core clerkship rotations as well as electives and selectives to experience hospitals and ambulatory sites outside their academy.
For more information see the Academies webpage on the MD Program website.
On-Campus Teaching
A significant amount of in-class teaching in the program’s Foundations (years 1 and 2) curriculum is conducted at the University of Toronto, on both the St. George and UTM campuses. Lectures and many seminars take place in the Medical Sciences Building in Toronto and the Terrence Donnelly Health Sciences Complex in Mississauga, and problem-based learning tutorials as well as some clinical skills teaching sessions also take place at UTM. Whole-class lectures which originate on the St. George campus are videoconferenced to the UTM campus, and vice-versa.
In Clerkship (years 3 and 4), students come together for on-campus teaching at the start of Year 3 (Transition to Clerkship) and at the end of Year 4 (Transition to Residency), again for both large and small group teaching.
Clinical Teaching
Thanks to the variety of hospitals and other clinical sites that are affiliated with the University of Toronto, the MD Program is able to provide its students with rich and diverse medical training experiences. For the most part, these clinical teaching sites are located in Toronto or Mississauga, but some are elsewhere in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Students also have the opportunity to complete selectives, electives, and the Family & Community Medicine clerkship rotation outside of the GTA.
Most clinical teaching is provided in the academic health science centres (sometimes called ‘teaching hospitals’), but community hospitals – including Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga – are hosting an increasing proportion of students in all four years of study. The number and breadth of community sites is a strength of the MD Program, as they offer students a different perspective on patient care and often a different patient mix. Learning experiences take place in a variety of settings ranging from small, rural, or underserved communities to large, tertiary care health centres.
For further information regarding our partner hospitals and health care sites, see the University-Affiliated Hospitals webpage on the Faculty of Medicine website.
Academy or Campus Transfers
Academy Transfer Application
The MD program is committed to a strong Academy system. Academies provide an academic home for students with the intent of developing a supportive learning community for students and preceptors. On occasion an exceptional situation arises when a student may be better served at another academy. In these instances, the student may submit an Academy Transfer Application for consideration.
Eligibility for consideration of Academy Transfers
The following criteria are eligible for consideration of Academy Transfer:
- Accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code
- Personal safety issues
- Conflict of Interest/Privacy issues
- Proximity to specialized health care resources
Operational Considerations
Transfer applications will be dependent on Academy capacity, resources, and ability to meet students’ requested needs.
Process
Students requesting an Academy Transfer should submit an Academy Transfer Application by March 1st to the Associate Dean, Learner Affairs via ola.assocdean@utoronto.ca. As outlined in the application, students must include a personal statement that addresses the specific criteria for consideration of transfer, and additional supporting documents which may include letters of support from:
- A physician or therapist
- A faculty advisor or advocate
Applications will be reviewed by a combination of the following faculty:
- Academy Directors
- The Associate Dean, Learner Affairs
- The Associate Dean, MD Program
- Either the Foundations or Clerkship Directors
All written material submitted will be taken into consideration. If the transfer request is granted, the Director of the Academy that the learner will be transferring to will inform the learner. If the request is denied, the learner’s current Academy Director will inform the learner. The UME Enrolment Services office should be informed of the outcome.
Recommendations for learners:
- If you are considering an academy transfer, please reach out to your local Academy Director to explore all available supports/solutions within your current Academy
- To ensure the committee can best evaluate your circumstance and rationale for transfer request, please disclose all relevant at the time of submitting your transfer request. Insufficient information and/or documentation may result in denial of a transfer request. If there is relevant information that you are not comfortable to disclose to the committee, you may wish to discuss this with OLA for their guidance.
- When submitting a transfer request, you should list in order of preference all Academies that you would be willing to transfer to.