The Queen’s Jews: Religion, Race, and Change in Twentieth-Century Canada

Admission practices of medical schools have long intrigued scholars. Restrictions on Jews and other minorities are known to have existed, but few studies explore these policies. Using statistics from one university, this paper addresses that gap, providing a methodological example for future exploration of educational discrimination. Queen’s University Archives holds the registration cards of all medical students admitted over 150 years. Until the class of 1980, students were required to state “religious denomination.” Information on 4,173 medical registrants was entered into a computerized database. Interviews with alumni brought findings into the present. Results were correlated with policies described in the Minutes of the Faculty and the University Senate and Board of Trustees. The study reveals at least three definite periods of restricted entry for blacks, Jews, women, and others that persisted into the 1990s. Results are situated within the dramatic conflicts and social change across the twentieth-century.