Electives provide students with the opportunity to explore career possibilities, gain experience in aspects of medicine beyond the core Clerkship rotations, and study disciplines in greater depth. In May or June of Year 3, students have the option to complete a two-week home school (U of T) elective that counts toward the MD Program elective requirements. At the beginning of Year 4, 14 weeks between September to December are allocated to completion of elective experiences. Students must register for electives in accordance with the program’s registration procedures and requirements.

An orientation to selecting electives is provided in Transition to Clerkship (TTC310) at the beginning of Year 3. Two additional electives presentations will be provided in Year 3 during Transition Education Days.

MD Program elective requirements:

• Students must successfully compete a minimum of 13 weeks in electives.
• All elective experiences must be at least two weeks in length.
• In accordance with the AFMC National Electives Policy, student electives cannot exceed a maximum of eight weeks in any single entry-level discipline or in research.
• A single entry-level discipline is defined as any CaRMS direct-entry program. Electives in subspecialties that are part of a PGY-3 (R3) match (such as the subspecialties in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics) do not count towards the eight week maximum in an entry-level discipline.
• Electives that involve clinical research count as research as long as all encounters with patients (e.g., history-taking, physical examinations, explanations regarding treatments) are purely related to research and are not part of the patient’s care. An elective that includes any clinical activities will count towards the eight week maximum in the clinical entry-level discipline.
• Selective experiences do not count towards the eight-week maximum in an entry-level discipline.
• Students must successfully complete elective experiences in a minimum of three entry-level disciplines. Selective experiences count toward fulfillment of this three discipline requirement.

International Electives

International electives were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic. More recently, international electives have been opened to placements in the United States exclusively through the AAMC Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO). Students are encouraged to contact the Electives Office should there be interest in pursuing electives outside Canada. 

Electives Catalogue and Registration System

For details on electives, refer to the Electives (ELV410) webpage: http://www.md.utoronto.ca/electives

Students can review home elective opportunities through the MD Program’s online catalogue on MedSIS: http://medsis.utoronto.ca/electives. Elective opportunities are not limited to this catalogue. However, students are strongly encouraged to contact the Electives Office before making placement arrangements outside this catalogue.  

Elective placements must officially be registered through MedSIS. Placements that are not processed through MedSIS are deemed to be unofficial electives and will not be credited toward the ELV410 course. All elective preceptors must hold a faculty appointment. The MD Program must have an active placement agreement with the elective site before students can attend an elective.   

Registration for electives with University of Toronto faculty is also conducted within MedSIS.

Registration for domestic electives outside of the University of Toronto but within Canada must be conducted through the AFMC National Portal: http://www.afmcstudentportal.ca

Questions regarding electives registration should be directed to the Electives course staff: http://www.md.utoronto.ca/clerkship-course-directors-and-administrators