NOSM University

Originally a partnership between Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and Laurentian University in Sudbury, NOSM University became Canada’s only fully independent medical school in 2022. Clinical training is offered in conjunction with health-care facilities across northern Ontario; students spend close to 40 per cent of their time at off-campus placements in Indigenous communities to learn the realities of living and working in the North, as well as culturally informed care practices. Though it started with only 56 students in the charter medical class, last year’s class had a record number of students—88—and the school plans to expand to 108 students per year in 2028. NOSM also offers an online, asynchronous master of medical studies program, designed to provide students with the research skills they need to tackle health-care questions head-on.

The NOSM University dietetic practicum program, offered in collaboration with communities and facilities across northern Ontario, provides practical, hands-on training to become a registered dietitian. A medical physics residency education program, a physician assistant program and a postgraduate residency program round out the offerings. More than half of NOSM’s 1,000-plus graduates have stayed in northern Ontario to practice. With campuses located in Sudbury and Thunder Bay, NOSM students enjoy the wilderness of northern Ontario at their doorstep. The school does not offer residence, but does assist students if they require housing when doing compulsory placements outside their home community.

Quick facts

Tuition $24,284 (MD program)  

Student Body 600