Clinical and Research Fellowships

The Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto offers a large number of Clinical and Research Fellowships through its Divisions.  For information about available Fellowship programs, see the divisional websites or contact the Postgraduate Fellowship Director for the appropriate specialty, or the Department Residency & Fellowship Postgraduate Education office.

• Eligibility requirements for Clinical Fellowship training
• Eligibility requirements for Research Fellowship training
• Application Process
• Application Deadlines

Eligibility Requirements for Clinical Fellowship Training

Clinical Fellows need to meet the minimum eligibility requirements for licensure with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario to take up training at the University of Toronto.  The Postgraduate Dean, Faculty of Medicine, at the University of Toronto does not support acceptance of the MCCEE as an alternative to specialist recognition.

Specialist Status
Applicants to Clinical Fellowship training programs in the Department of Medicine must have completed residency training in either the base specialty, base subspecialty, or a complementary specialty (including Family Medicine if acceptable and if so indicated in the Fellowship eligibility criteria for a given Fellowship) prior to commencing fellowship training in the Department of Medicine.  The individual need not be certified in any specialty prior to commencing the fellowship.

For more information and verification of eligibility for licensing purposes, contact the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO).

Work Permit (Visa)
Trainees who are neither Canadian citizens nor Permanent Residents require a work permit to train at the University of Toronto. The Faculty of Medicine Postgraduate Medical Education Office provides the necessary document(s) in support of the work permit for the Canadian government office (Canadian Embassy, Consulate, High Commission, etc.) in the applicant's country of origin: there is a non-refundable visa processing fee payable to the University of Toronto at the time of application.

Medical Practice Licence
Applicants to Clinical Fellowship programs, which involve patient care, must have a valid Certificate of Registration for Postgraduate Education from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO), or a valid CPSO Independent Practice Licence. Applicants who do not have a licence to practice medicine in Ontario should contact the CPSO for an application package and apply directly to the College at the same time as applying to the University of Toronto.

Application to the CPSO must be submitted sufficiently in advance of the Fellowship start date to allow time for processing. Applicants should consult the CPSO website for current time frames

TOEFL iBT  (TOEFL, TSE)
Applicants to Clinical Fellowship training programs whose first language and language of medical school and patient care was neither English nor French are required to take the TOEFL iBT.  Minimum acceptable scores are an overall score of 93 with a minimum score of 24 on the Speaking section.  Test results must be submitted at the time of application to the training program. 

Applicants who have taken both the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Test of Spoken English (TSE), may submit results for these tests as an alternative to the TOEFL iBT provided that scores meet or exceed the minimum of TOEFL 237 and TSE 50.  The Educational Testing Service (ETS) has phased out the Test of Spoken English (TSE) as of March 2010. Applicants who have not taken the TSE along with the TOEFL must take the TOEFL iBT.

MCCEE
Though not a requirement, applicants to Clinical Fellowship training programs are advised to take the Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Examination (MCCEE) and provide a copy of the pass letter from the Medical Council when applying to the University.

Pre-Entry Assessment Program
International Medical School Graduates must complete the Pre-Entry Assessment Program (PEAP) prior to commencing a Clinical Fellowship training program. The program is from 4 to 12 weeks in duration and is administered by Department of Medicine faculty. Details about the program.

Funding
Clinical Fellows must be remunerated annually at a rate at least equal to that of a PGY1 trainee (see www.pairo.org/Content/Default.aspx?pg=1094 for salary scale).  Fellowships can be funded by a variety of sources including, for example, sponsorship by an applicant's hospital or University, pharmaceutical grants, etc.  Some of the Divisions provide a limited number of funded positions, and Fellowship training can also be self-funded.

The University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine has sponsorship agreements with various governments regarding training at the University.  Applicants from these countries must have the approval of the sponsor involved.  Applicants must have the sponsor contact the Faculty of Medicine Postgraduate Medical Education Office (PGMEO) with approval before formally applying to a training program.  Further detail regarding sponsorship requirements and the countries involved is available under Internationally Funded Trainees.
 

Eligibility Requirements for Research Fellowship Training

Medical Degree
The minimum requirement for a Research Fellowship is a medical degree from a recognized medical school.  Research Fellows do not need an educational licence - Certificate of Registration for Postgraduate Education – from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO), nor malpractice insurance from the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA).

Funding
Research Fellowships can be funded by a variety of sources including hospital funds, pharmaceutical firms, agencies and institutions, etc. Some Divisions provide a limited number of funded positions. Fellowship training can also be self-funded. 

Application Process

Applications must be submitted through the appropriate Department of Medicine divisional Postgraduate Fellowship Director's office. Applicants must contact the appropriate office for information and assistance. Eligible applicants will then be referred to the Medicine Portal (password protected) to obtain an application package which will include: forms, a list of required documents, and information regarding licensure, malpractice insurance, work permit application for non-citizens, and registration with the University of Toronto. As a minimum, the following documents will be required; applicants should anticipate that further documentation will be needed based on individual circumstances and that some of the documents must be submitted in duplicate or quadruplicate.

Minimum required documentation (Complete only AFTER consultation with the program and accessing the Medicine Portal):

• An up-to-date curriculum vitae, to include contact information, DOB, country of birth, citizenship, education and medical training, employment history, publications
• Copies of credentials, to include medical degree, specialist certificates and royal college or medical board membership certificates: applicants who are enrolled in their final year of postgraduate residency training are asked to provide a letter from the home university program director, or the authority that oversees higher medical training, providing specific information. Instructions are given in the application package. Documents must be translated if they are in neither English nor French according to directions provided in the application package
• TOEFL and TSE, or TOEFL iBT score results from applicants whose first language and/or language of medical school and patient care was neither English nor French. (Minimum acceptable scores are TOEFL 237, TSE 50, or TOEFL iBT 93 with a minimum score of 24 on the Speaking section.)
• Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Examination results from applicants who have taken the exam
• Reference letters (minimum 3)
• A current photo of the applicant (passport sized)
• Written evidence of funding if sponsorship is provided by an external agency such as the applicant’s home university or hospital, a pharmaceutical company, or a grant secured by the applicant, and so on. No evidence is required if funding has been arranged by the University of Toronto supervisor from his/her funding resources
• Various forms, including a departmental application, statement of agreement form, and so on, that are provided in the application package
• A Statement of Educational Goals will be developed and submitted to the Fellowship Director’s office by applicant’s University of Toronto supervising physician

Fellowship training start dates are scheduled by each program. To ensure that training can begin on time, candidates who have been accepted for a Fellowship must obtain the appropriate application from the Medicine Portal (password and link to be sent by the program administrator after review of initial request for application) and must submit their applications far enough in advance to accommodate the time required for processing (can be up to six months). Submission guidelines are provided below and can be used to calculate a range of training start dates. Applications that are not submitted far enough in advance (or that are incomplete) may be subject to delayed start dates.

Application Submission Guidelines

Applicants requiring a work permit: Complete applications must be received by the Fellowship program 6 months in advance of the training start date. For example, application paperwork must be received by January 1^st for fellowship training that is scheduled to begin on July 1^st of the same year. Other examples of submission target dates are

Submissions target date:     January 1 for a July 1^st start date of the same year
Submissions target date:     March 1 for a September 1^st start date of the same year
Submissions target date:     July 1 for a January 1^st start date of the following year

Submissions target date:     April 1 for a July 1^st start date of the same year
Submissions target date:     June 1 for a September 1^st start date of the same year
Submissions target date:     October 1 for a January 1^st start date of the following year

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