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Vancouver - Psychiatry - Research Track

University of British ColumbiaVancouver, British ColumbiaCMG stream

At a glance

Approx. quota
2 positions
Length
5 years
Applications per year
51–200
Offered interviews
51–75%

CMG stream · open to Canadian medical graduates

Interviews

3 dates, 19–27 Jan 2027virtual

Vancouver, 20 teaching sites · optional rural rotation

Program website(opens in a new tab)X(opens in a new tab)CANPREPP profile(opens in a new tab)CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab)

What stands out about this program

  • Dedicated research time integrated in all residency years, rising to up to four days weekly in PGY5.

    From “Program highlights” on the CaRMS page

  • Option to enroll in a Master's or, exceptionally, a PhD program from PGY3 onward.

    From “Program highlights” on the CaRMS page

  • The UBC Psychiatry Research Track is a 5-year residency with 2 positions per year, matched separately from the general track.
  • Residents train clinically mainly at St. Paul's Hospital in PGY1 and Vancouver General Hospital/UBC Hospital in PGY2.
  • Research time is one day per week in PGY2-4 and up to four days per week in PGY5, under a Scientific Supervisor.

The summary is written by CdnMD from the program’s CaRMS description.

What training looks like

Setting
  • Academic / tertiary hospital
Rural exposure
Optional rural rotation
Research
Required · research project · protected time

By year

PGY-1
  • research electivesone month duration
PGY-2
  • Adult Inpatient6 months
  • Adult Outpatient6 months
PGY-3
  • Child & Adolescent Psychiatry6 months
  • Geriatric Psychiatry6 months
PGY-4
  • Consultation-Liaison3 months
  • Chronic Care6 months, minimum 2 days per week
  • Addiction Psychiatry6 weeks, sometimes longitudinally
  • Emergency Psychiatry6 weeks
PGY-5
  • Selectives6 months, no less than 3 months per rotation
  • Electives6 months, no less than 2 months per rotation

Other rotations

Listed by the program without a single PGY year.

  • Transition to Discipline (Transition to Discipline · First month of PGY1)
  • General Medical and required Psychiatry Rotations (Foundations · remainder of PGY1)

✓ = the CaRMS page states it; – = not stated. From the program description and its rotation list.

Where you train

Vancouver, British Columbia: 20 teaching sites; optional rural rotation.

  • St. Paul's Hospital (SPH)
  • Vancouver Hospital (VGH)
  • University of British Columbia Hospital (UBCH)
  • Richmond Hospital (RH) (Richmond)
  • Peace Arch Hospital (PAH)
  • BC Children's Hospital (BCCH)
  • Lion's Gate Hospital (LGH)
  • Mount St. Joseph's Hospital (MSJH)
  • Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH)
  • Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH) (Surrey)
  • Burnaby Hospital (BH) (Burnaby)
  • Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria (RJH) (Victoria · rural or distributed site)
Show all 20 sites
  • Victoria General Hospital, Victoria (VGH) (Victoria · rural or distributed site)
  • University Hospital of Northern BC, Prince George (UHNBC) (Prince George · rural or distributed site)
  • Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) (Kelowna · rural or distributed site)
  • Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) (rural or distributed site)
  • Penticton Regional Hospital (PRH) (Penticton · rural or distributed site)
  • Abbotsford Regional Hospital (ARH) (Abbotsford)
  • Hillside Centre (Kamloops · rural or distributed site)
  • Homewood Ravensview

Record systems at the listed sites: MEDITECH at 4 of 20, Oracle Health (Cerner) at 9; no published record for 7.

Hospital facts

18 sites · public figures and clinical record systems where they are published

Public figures for hospitals named above, each with its source and reference period. They describe the hospital, not the program. We match names to the sources by name, so check each source before you rely on it.

Clinical record
CST Cerner, fully electronic record since Nov 2019 As of 31 Oct 2026. At St. Paul's Hospital (SPH), Mount St. Joseph's Hospital (MSJH).
Clinical record
CST Cerner, fully electronic record since Nov 2022 As of 31 Oct 2026. At Vancouver Hospital (VGH), University of British Columbia Hospital (UBCH), Victoria General Hospital, Victoria (VGH).
Clinical record
MEDITECH Expanse, system named (how far it goes is not stated) As of 31 Oct 2026. At Kelowna General Hospital (KGH), Royal Inland Hospital (RIH), Penticton Regional Hospital (PRH).

How to read the figures

  • Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26. All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
  • Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1. One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

St. Paul's Hospital (SPH)

Matched to St. Paul's Hospital (Vancouver) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
8,691
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
2,240

Vancouver Hospital (VGH)

Matched to Vancouver General Hospital in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
13,790
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
3,855

University of British Columbia Hospital (UBCH)

Matched to UBC Health Sciences Centre Hospital in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
7,983
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
2,043
Show facts for 15 more sites

Richmond Hospital (RH)

Clinical record
CST Cerner, fully electronic record since Jun 2024 As of 31 Oct 2026

Matched to Richmond Hospital (Richmond) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
6,446
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
1,680

Peace Arch Hospital (PAH)

Matched to Peace Arch Hospital (White Rock) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
8,039
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
2,036

BC Children's Hospital (BCCH)

Clinical record
CST Cerner, fully electronic record since Feb 2022 As of 31 Oct 2026

Matched to BC Children's Hospital (Vancouver) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
7,396
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
1,910

Lion's Gate Hospital (LGH)

Clinical record
CST Cerner, fully electronic record since Apr 2018 As of 31 Oct 2026

Matched to Lions Gate Hospital (North Vancouver) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
10,660
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
2,762

Mount St. Joseph's Hospital (MSJH)

Matched to Mount Saint Joseph Hospital (Vancouver) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
15,711
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
4,233

Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH)

Clinical record
MEDITECH: Fraser Health electronic health record (Advance), fully electronic record since Sep 2024 As of 31 Oct 2026

Matched to Royal Columbian Hospital (New Westminster) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
4,798
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
1,447

Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH)

Matched to Surrey Memorial Hospital (Surrey) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
11,911
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
2,849

Burnaby Hospital (BH)

Matched to Burnaby Hospital (Burnaby) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
8,388
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
2,058

Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria (RJH)

Clinical record
IHealth (Cerner electronic health record), fully electronic record since 2021 As of 31 Oct 2026

Matched to Royal Jubilee Hospital (Victoria) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
14,532
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
3,973

Victoria General Hospital, Victoria (VGH)

Matched to Vancouver General Hospital in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
13,790
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
3,855

University Hospital of Northern BC, Prince George (UHNBC)

Matched to University Hospital of Northern British Columbia (Prince George) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
4,520
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
1,127

Kelowna General Hospital (KGH)

Matched to Kelowna General Hospital (Kelowna) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
15,707
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
4,090

Royal Inland Hospital (RIH)

Matched to Royal Inland Hospital (Kamloops) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
10,812
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
2,914

Penticton Regional Hospital (PRH)

Matched to Penticton Regional Hospital (Penticton) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
3,482
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
837

Abbotsford Regional Hospital (ARH)

Matched to Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre (Abbotsford) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
6,232
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
1,667

Fraser Health's new electronic health record is live at 4 sites (Royal Columbian Hospital, Eagle Ridge Hospital, Fraser Canyon Hospital, Mission Memorial Hospital). Its other sites are still on its current clinical information system. As of 31 Oct 2026

Verify with the official source: each source button opens the publisher’s own page.

Sources and licences

  • Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia.

About Vancouver

  • People

    662,248residents, 2021 Census

    Municipality of Vancouver

  • Housing

    3.7%rental vacancy rate

    October 2025 survey, Vancouver, British Columbia (census metropolitan area)

  • Winter and summer

    5.3 °CJanuary mean19.0 °CJuly mean

    1991–2020 normals, Vancouver (Harbour), 5.7 km away

  • Job outlook

    Moderatefor the specialty here, 2025–2027

More about Vancouver (its page: housing, getting around, weather, things to do, and every program that names it)

Sites as the program’s CaRMS page lists them. City figures are public statistics for the place named by the location; they describe the place, not the program.

How they choose

Application file components
  • CV
  • Electives
  • Examinations
  • Extra-curricular
  • Leadership skills
  • MSPRs
  • Personal letters
  • Reference documents
  • Research/Publications
  • Transcripts
Return of service
Not stated on CaRMS page. Check the provincial return-of-service rules.

Application file components as the program describes them.

Interviews and info sessions

Interview dates (2027 match)
19, 26 and 27 Jan 2027
Format
Virtual
  • Traditional (one on one/two on one)
  • Panel
  • MMI or rotating station

Info sessions

None listed on the program’s CaRMS page (opens in a new tab) (read 20 Oct 2026) or on CANPREPP’s events calendar (read 24 Oct 2026). Programs add sessions through the fall.

1 Psychiatry - Research Track info session at other programsAll info sessions

Pay and call

Provincial scale, last updated 2 Sep 2026 · check the current agreement(opens in a new tab). Salaries from April 2027. One provincial scale for British Columbia, set by the resident agreement, so every program there pays the same. Showing the 5 levels this program covers.

Annual salary by PGY level, British Columbia
LevelAnnual salary
PGY-1
$71,390 / year
PGY-2
$79,571 / year
PGY-3
$86,655 / year
PGY-4
$93,230 / year
PGY-5
$100,215 / year

How provincial pay and rent compare

Call

Call (provincial max)
1 in 4 in-house
Post-call rule (provincial)
Relieved within 2 hours of the call ending, or by 10:00 if earlier, when a resident on a 24-hour or longer shift could not get 6 uninterrupted hours of rest

The union agreement’s limits and rules for all residents in the province; your program’s actual call schedule may be lighter. RDBC agreement, 1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2029. Read as of 1 Oct 2026.

Benefits

13 lines as listed by CaRMS in 2022–2024: Annual vacation, CMPA dues paid, Dental plan, and more
Annual vacation
4 weeks
CMPA dues paid
Yes. Mandatory
Dental plan
100% Premiums Paid
Educational leave
Yes
Extended health insurance
100% Premiums Paid
Life insurance
100% Premium Paid
Long-term disability insurance
Yes 100% Premiums Paid
Maternity leave
17 weeks, plus up to 78 weeks Parental Leave
Meal allowance
No
Provincial dues (% of salary)
1.5%
Provincial health insurance
100% Premiums Paid
Sick leave
Yes
Statutory holidays
2 x pay plus extra day with pay

Past matches

No repeated vacancies in CaRMS’s lists of open positions, 2019–2026.

Positions at this site, all streams.

What this means

  • A position can go unfilled because of where the site is, because it is open to IMGs only or to another restricted stream, or because the quota changed late.
  • It says nothing about the quality of the training or how heavy the workload is.
  • A site’s numbers are shown when it had positions open after round 1 in at least 2 of 8 years or at least 3 in one year.

Source: CaRMS’s lists of positions open after round 1 and after round 2, as read in October 2026 (latest: 2026 round 1 (CaRMS PDF, opens in a new tab), 2026 round 2 (CaRMS PDF, opens in a new tab)).

Year by year

2027 match

The 2027 match, one row per stream (scrolls sideways on narrow screens)
StreamPositionsLengthInterviewsWhat changed
CMG stream25 years3 dates, 19–27 Jan 2027VirtualNothing noted

2026 match

The 2026 match, one row per stream (scrolls sideways on narrow screens)
StreamPositionsLengthInterviews
CMG streamResearch Track - Psychiatry25 years3 dates, 20–28 Jan 2026
The 2026 page of the CMG stream: our summary of its CaRMS description
  • The UBC Department of Psychiatry offers a Research Track with 2 CaRMS matched positions that provide dedicated research time integrated with comprehensive clinical training.
  • This track is designed for candidates with research experience who are interested in pursuing an academic career in psychiatry, offering protected research time and mentorship throughout the five-year program.
Research
Extensive research opportunities across clinical and basic science, including epidemiology, clinical trials, psychopharmacology, neuroimaging, neuromodulation, genetics/genomics, and preclinical brain research.
Training setting
Urban academic medical centers in Vancouver, including Vancouver General Hospital, UBC Hospital, St. Paul's Hospital, and BC Children's Hospital, with a diverse range of clinical and research settings.
Teaching approach
Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) with a focus on developing clinician-scientists through integrated clinical training and dedicated research time, emphasizing scholarly activity and academic career development.
Enhanced skills
Not stated on CaRMS page
What the program looked at
  • Diversity of experience
  • Academic track record
  • Research potential
  • Motivation to become a psychiatrist
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Scholarly activities

Positions, length and interviews as each match’s CaRMS pages stated them; what changed from our comparison of the two matches and our readings of the 2027 pages.

Contacts and links

Program director

  • Dr. Kenneth Heng

CaRMS lists no email for the director.

Program office

Per CaRMS. Staff change during the cycle, so check the CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab) before emailing. Site staff and other contacts are listed there too.

Program websiteWebsiteXCANPREPPCANPREPPThis program on CaRMS(opens in a new tab)

Videos and podcasts

From the program

Public podcast episodes and videos where the program presents itself. The short descriptions are ours; each link goes to the original.

These are public recordings, reviewed by hand and linked here, not endorsed. They may be out of date. Confirm with the program.

All videos, podcasts and discussions →

Psychiatry - Research Track elsewhere

Nearest to Vancouver

Source

The program’s CaRMS page (opens in a new tab) · 2027 match · last approved 27 Aug 2026 · not final until file review opens 26 November; as of 19 Oct 2026, re-checked every two weeks.

Accredited · CaRMS program ID 35419 · How these pages are made › · See the 2026 match under Year by year

The Applications per year and Offered interviews figures are 5-year averages the program reports to CaRMS: past cycles, not your odds.

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 CdnMD 24 Oct 2026.

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