Francophone Admission Stream

Applicants applying through the Francophone Admission Stream must meet the admission and application requirements outlined on the Application Information & Admission Requirements page.

Applicants who apply through the Francophone Admission Stream are expected to participate in the Francophone Curriculum initiatives integrated throughout their 4 years of education. This may include but is not limited to clinical placements and structured clinical skills sessions.

Persons who identify as Francophone may choose one of the following options:

1. Self-identify as Francophone and apply to the General Admission Stream only or
2. Apply to the Francophone Admission Stream

If you apply through the Francophone Admission Stream and provide all the required documentation, your application will be reviewed by NOSM University’s Francophone Admissions Subcommittee.

If you apply through the Francophone Admission Stream and provide all the required documentation, you may receive a slightly higher context score.

If you do not meet the requirements or do not submit all required documentation to support your application to the Francophone Admission Stream, you will be considered through the General Stream.

Francophone Admission Stream Requirements

If you are applying to the Francophone Admission Stream, you must meet the following definition:

A Francophone applicant is a person who has:

a close connection to the Francophone community;
a desire to serve the French-speaking population in their mother tongue; and
either graduated from a French-language high school/French-language postsecondary program or uses French in their daily activities.

All applicants who apply to the Francophone Admission Stream must:

1. Submit an essay in French addressing the question provided.
2. Provide a letter of recommendation.
3. Interview at NOSM University, if invited.
4. Meet the requirements described in this section if they are offered admission via the Francophone Admission Stream.

Francophone Admission Stream Essay

You must submit an essay in French addressing the following:

Further to its Social Accountability Mandate, NOSM University is committed to training competent physicians able to meet the needs of the diverse populations of Northern Ontario, including Francophones. Your application as a Francophone student at NOSM University is a declaration of your commitment to serve French-speaking populations.

In 500 words (maximum), explain what it would mean to you to practice as a French-speaking physician. Additionally, outline how you are currently demonstrating your commitment to the Francophone community and how you foresee meeting NOSM University’s Mandate once you are a physician.

Recommendation Letter

You must provide a recommendation letter. The letter must be written in French and attest to your connection to the Francophone community. The author of this letter must not be a family member and should possess knowledge of your connection and/or contribution to the Francophone community.

The author of the letter must include their professional or personal letterhead information:

full name,
title,
address,
telephone number and
email address.

In their letter, they must answer the following questions:

What is your relationship to the applicant?
In what capacity do you know the applicant?
How many years have you known the applicant?
Describe the activity or activities that support the applicant’s connection and involvement with the Francophone community. Please include details such as the nature of the activity, the frequency (daily, weekly, etc.), as well as the duration of said activity/activities.

Applicants wishing to apply to the Francophone Admission Stream must submit both the Francophone Admission Stream Essay and the recommendation letter to OMSAS via Secure Applicant Messaging (SAM) by the application deadline.

Interview (If invited)

Applicants to the Francophone Admission Stream who are invited to interview at NOSM University will be required to demonstrate their proficiency in spoken French at the time of the interview by participating in a French-language fluency evaluation.

Requirements for Successful Francophone Admission Stream Applicants

Applicants admitted through the NOSM University Francophone Admission Stream will be expected to participate in the Francophone Curricular initiatives.

Successful Francophone applicants will be required to include NOSM University’s Francophone communities in the respective site selection processes for the Comprehensive Community Clerkship (CCC) that takes place in Year 3 of the Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) Program, as well as other site placements.

In addition, Francophone applicants will be expected to participate in various learning activities throughout the medical education program that are designed to enhance their clinical and communication skills and support their ability to provide linguistically and culturally appropriate French language health services.

NOTE: Generally, the language of instruction is English; however, some components relating to the Francophone Curricular Initiatives and other extracurricular initiatives will be provided in French.