“There is no curriculum; there are no examinations; there are no lectures. What kind of an educational institution could this possibly be?”
–Dr. John Evans, founding dean, relating the initial reaction of McMaster’s Senate to the proposed educational approach at the new medical school in the 1960s.
The tale is well-known at McMaster: Frustrated by traditional forms of medical training, the founders of McMaster’s medical school developed a radical new approach that emphasized small group problem-based learning. Dubbed the “McMaster Approach”, the three-year program had no discipline-specific courses, peer and tutorial leader evaluations replaced exams, and students were not required to have a background in science. Since the first 20 students began 50 years ago, the school has become consistently ranked within the top 50 medical schools in the world and garnered international renown for both its educational innovations and high-impact research. This timeline highlights and celebrates some of the school’s many achievements and milestones.
