Since the inception of the original curriculum in 1969, there have been two major curriculum revisions, the most recent of which was in 2005. The three-year PBL curriculum, which emphasized small-group tutorials, self-directed learning, a minimal number of didactic presentations, and student evaluation that was based almost entirely on performance in the tutorial, represented a radical departure from traditional curricula. When the undergraduate MD program of McMaster University admitted its first cohort of 20 students in 1969, it heralded a major change in medical school pedagogy that has influenced the education of medical students around the world.
