Edmonton - Diagnostic and Molecular Pathology

University of AlbertaEdmonton, AlbertaCMG stream

Program websiteWebsite CANPREPPCANPREPP

Open on carms.ca

CaRMS program description, 2026 match, last approved 10 Sep 2025

From the 2026 match (R-1 2026). See the 2027 version

Positions (approx. quota): 2 positions
Length: 5 years
Stream: CMG
Discipline: Diagnostic and Molecular Pathology
Applications per year: 0–50
Applicants offered interviews: 76–100%
Accreditation: Accredited
CaRMS program ID: 30107

Bands are 5-year averages the program reports to CaRMS. They describe past cycles, not your odds.

Summary

The University of Alberta offers a comprehensive 5-year Diagnostic and Molecular Pathology residency program that provides extensive training across multiple hospital sites. The program aims to produce top-quality diagnostic pathologists through exposure to a large volume of cases, teaching opportunities, and research experiences in a collaborative environment.

Training

Research

Residents are required to complete a research project and are encouraged to participate in departmental research with opportunities in areas like renal, transplantation, pulmonary, GI, gynecologic, breast, and head and neck research.

Training setting

Urban academic medical centers in Edmonton, including University of Alberta Hospital, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Grey Nuns Community Hospital, Misericordia Community Hospital, and Alberta Precision Laboratories Base Lab.

Teaching approach

Competency-based medical education with progressive independence, focusing on developing medical experts who can integrate diagnostic techniques, collaborate effectively, and contribute to patient care through research and teaching.

Setting types

Academic medical center
Community hospital
Laboratory facility

Focus areas

Diagnostic Pathology
Molecular Pathology
Anatomical Pathology
Forensic Pathology
Subspecialty Pathology

Patient populations

Pediatric patients
Geriatric patients
Oncology patients
Surgical patients
Forensic cases

Highlights

Competence by Design (CBD) curriculum
Multiple hospital site rotations
Research project requirement
Interprovincial and international elective opportunities
Royal College exam preparation
Dedicated research opportunities

Strengths

Huge volume of diagnostic cases
Excellent teaching infrastructure
Expanding research opportunities
World-class molecular pathology laboratory
Strong Royal College exam preparation
Flexible training across multiple sites

Enhanced skills

Molecular diagnostics
Digital pathology
Research methodology

By year

PGY-1

Orientation to Histology, Anatomy, and Basic Pathology2 blocks
Anatomical Pathology Junior2 blocks
Emergency Medicine1 block
Internal Medicine1 block
Gynecologic Oncology1 block
Medical Oncology1 block
Surgery1 block
Vacation1 block
Re-Orientation to Pathology1 block

PGY-2

Medical Examiner/Junior AutopsyMEO/UAH/RAH1 block
Junior AutopsyUAH/RAH1 block
Elective1 block
Anatomical Pathology JuniorUAH, RAH, GNH, MCH, BLMultiple blocks

PGY-3

Cytology JuniorBL/UAH2 blocks
Neuropathology2 blocks
Electives2 blocks
DermatopathologyUAH1 block
Molecular Pathology1 block
Breast PathologyMCH1 block
Pediatric Pathology1 block
Anatomical Pathology SeniorMCH, RAHMultiple blocks

PGY-4

Forensic Pathology2 blocks
Senior AutopsyUAH/RAH1 block
Cytology SeniorUAH/BL1 block
Lymph Node Pathology1 block
Molecular Pathology1 block
Study Leave1 block
Elective1 block
Anatomical Pathology SeniorUAH, RAH, GNH, BLMultiple blocks

PGY-5

Electives8 blocks
Study Leave1 block
Anatomical Pathology SeniorUAH, RAH, BLMultiple blocks

From the program's rotation list.

Selection

What the program looks at

Medical school transcript
Medical Student Performance Record (MSPR)
Personal letter
CV/Résumé
Reference letters
Interview performance

Applications per year

0–50

Applicants offered interviews

76–100%

Interviews

Dates (2026 match): 22 and 23 Jan 2026

Programs can change interview dates. Confirm on carms.ca.

Pay

Provincial scale, last updated 22 Jul 2026 · check the current agreement(opens in a new tab)

Annual salary by PGY level, Alberta
Level	Annual salary
PGY-1	$67,440 / year
PGY-2	$74,153 / year
PGY-3	$80,058 / year
PGY-4	$86,281 / year
PGY-5	$92,698 / year

One provincial scale for Alberta, set by the resident agreement, so every program there pays the same. Showing the 5 levels this program covers.

Benefits

Benefits as listed by CaRMS in 2022–2024; check the current agreement(opens in a new tab)

Annual vacation: 4 weeks/yr
Call Stipends: weekday in-house – $118.02weekend in-house / holiday – $178.72weekday home call – $59.01weekend home call / holiday – $89.35
CMPA dues paid: $1,500
Dental plan: 75% premium paid
Educational leave: 14 days paid leave
Extended health insurance: 75% premium paid$1000 per year Flexible Spending Account*
Frequency of calls: In-house call: 7/28. 2/4 weekend call.Home call: 9/28. 2/4 weekend call**A Resident scheduled on Home call but who is required to work more than four hours in hospital during the call period, of which more than one full hour is past 12:00 a.m. and before 6:00 a.m., or more than six (6) hours in hospital during the call period, shall be remunerated at the rate for In-House call.$100 per day for each scheduled weekend day of patient rounds when not on-call
Life insurance: 100% towards $150,000 coverage
Life Support Course Costs (Program Approved: 100% paid
Long-term disability insurance: 100% paid for 75% gross income
Maternity Leave: 18 weeks total (17 weeks paid to match 90% of salary when combined with EI)
Parental Leave: 2 weeks leave with full pay and benefits;52 weeks (inclusive of Maternity/Paternity/Adoption Leaves) – unpaid leave
Practice Stipend: $1,500
Provincial dues (% of salary): .95%
Sick leave: Up to 3 months or to end contract paid leave, whichever occurs first
Statutory holidays: Paid days. Additional days off are given if resident works the day before and part of a named holiday.

Call

Call (provincial max): 1 in 4 in-house

The union agreement’s cap for all residents in the province; your program’s actual call schedule may be lighter. Check with the program.

PARA agreement, 1 Jul 2024 to 30 Jun 2028.

Teaching sites

University of Alberta Hospital
Royal Alexandra Hospital
Grey Nuns Community Hospital
Misericordia Community Hospital
Alberta Precision Laboratories Base Lab
Office of the Chief Medical Examiner

Hospital facts

Hospital size and activity: Alberta doesn't publish this as open data.

Contacts

Contacts weren't collected for the 2026 match.

The current program director and contacts are on the 2027 version of this program and on the CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab).

Location

Edmonton, Alberta

About the city

Public statistics for the place named by this program’s location label, each with its source and reference period. They describe the place, not the program, and are not a ranking. Check each source before you rely on it.

Climate

Canadian Climate Normals, 1991–2020. Each value comes from the nearest weather station that reports it, not from the city itself.

January average: −10.3 °C Edmonton (City), 4.5 km away
July average: 18.1 °C Edmonton (City), 4.5 km away
Snowfall: 123.9 cm a year Edmonton (City), 4.5 km away
Days below −20 °C: 23.8 days a year Edmonton (City), 4.5 km away

People

2021 Census. Figures are for the municipality of Edmonton, not the metropolitan area. Statistics Canada rounds counts, so small places are approximate.

Population: 1,010,899 people up 8.3% from 2016
Official languages: English only 91.0% · French only 0.1% · English and French 6.6% · neither 2.3% Share of residents who can conduct a conversation in each. This is not the language spoken at home.
Immigrants: 32.5% of residents arrived 2016–2021: 6.8% · non-permanent residents: 2.4%
Indigenous identity: 5.8% of residents
How people commute: car, truck or van 85.1% · public transit 8.1% · walking or cycling 4.4% · other 2.4% Average commute: 23.7 minutes. Shares are of people who commute.The way Canadians commute was altered in 2021 by the pandemic, with lockdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19 and changes in how and where Canadians worked leading to 2.8 million fewer commuters, compared with five years earlier. Statistics Canada, The Daily, 30 Nov 2022(opens in a new tab)
Median household income: $90,000 before tax $79,500 after tax · income year 2020, in 2020 dollars

Rural and remote

This describes the place named by the program’s location label. Programs can train in several towns, so it is not every site.

Population centre: Edmonton, a large urban population centre (100,000 or more people) 1,151,635 people in 2021
Remoteness index: 0.114 0 is least remote, 1 is most remote. Statistics Canada calls this index experimental.

Housing, cost and work

Each figure names the area it covers. A missing line means the source publishes nothing for this area.

Rental vacancy rate: 3.8% October 2025 survey, Edmonton, Alberta (census metropolitan area). The share of purpose-built rentals (three units and over) vacant, not a rent.
Basic cost of living: $58,876 a year Market Basket Measure 2025, Edmonton, Alberta, for two adults with two children. A modest, basic basket (the poverty line), not a resident’s budget. A size-class region is not the town itself.
Unemployment rate: 6.9% September 2026, three-month average, seasonally adjusted, Edmonton, Alberta (census metropolitan area); standard error 0.7 points. A survey estimate.

Job outlook

Employment and Social Development Canada’s rating for the occupation in the economic region. It is not a count of jobs, and says nothing about CaRMS positions or your match.

Outlook, 2025–2027: Good The employment outlook will be Good for specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine (NOC 31100) in the Edmonton region for the 2025-2027 period.
Canada-wide, to 2033: Strong risk of Shortage ESDC’s projection for specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine, 2024–2033. Recent conditions, 2021–2023: Strong signs of Shortage.

Sources and licences

Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Adapted from Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Cartographic Boundary Files.
Adapted from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Rental Market Survey, October 2025 (vacancy rates), and Statistics Canada, Table 34-10-0130-01. This does not constitute an endorsement by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation or Statistics Canada of this product.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada (Employment and Social Development Canada, Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS), 2024 to 2033 projections).
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada (Canadian Climate Normals 1991-2020).
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada (Employment and Social Development Canada, 3-Year Employment Outlooks).
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Index of Remoteness (17-26-0001), 2021. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 14-10-0459-01 Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area, three-month moving average, seasonally adjusted, reference month 2026-09. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 11-10-0066-01 Market Basket Measure (MBM) thresholds for the reference family by Market Basket Measure region, component and base year, 2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0011-01 Population and dwelling counts: Canada and population centres, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0002-01 Population and dwelling counts: Canada and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0057-01 Household income statistics by household type: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0173-01 Mother tongue by knowledge of official languages: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0266-01 Indigenous identity by Registered or Treaty Indian status: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0307-01 Immigrant status and period of immigration by place of birth: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0458-01 Main mode of commuting by commuting duration, time leaving for work, age and gender: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.

Independent. Not affiliated with CaRMS or the program. Programs edit their descriptions during the match; confirm on carms.ca (opens in a new tab) before you apply. Data last updated on residency.fyi 5 Oct 2026.