A 12-week MCCQE study plan
A practical 12-week MCCQE study plan for international medical graduates: study time split across the disciplines, active practice every day, and full timed mocks in the final month.
Split your time across the disciplines
The MCC weights the exam by dimensions of care and physician activities, not by discipline (see the blueprint). Most candidates still study by discipline. With about 150 hours (roughly 12 hours a week for 12 weeks), PassMCCQE's study mix looks like this:
| Discipline | Study mix | Study time |
|---|---|---|
| Internal medicine | 30% | ≈45 h |
| Surgery & emergency | 17% | ≈26 h |
| Pediatrics | 14% | ≈21 h |
| Obstetrics & gynecology | 14% | ≈21 h |
| Psychiatry | 12% | ≈18 h |
| Population health & ethics | 13% | ≈20 h |
This mix is PassMCCQE's suggestion, not an MCC weighting. Shift hours toward your weakest areas once practice results show where you lose the most marks.
The 12 weeks
- Week 1 — baseline. Answer 60–80 mixed questions untimed to find your weak areas. Read the MCC's exam-day and multiple-choice pages, and download the MCC's examination objectives.
- Weeks 2–5 — the big disciplines. Internal medicine, then surgery and emergency care. Read by presentation (chest pain, dyspnea, abdominal pain, fever) and do 30–40 questions a day in that topic.
- Weeks 6–8 — the rest. Pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, and population health and ethics. Keep a daily mixed set of 15 questions from earlier weeks.
- Every day — spaced review. Re-answer questions you missed after 1, 3, 7 and 14 days. Misses you get right a week later are the ones that stick.
- Weeks 9–11 — timed mocks. One full-length timed mock a week at the real pace (two sections of 160 minutes, about 83 seconds a question), then a day reviewing every miss.
- Week 12 — taper. Short mixed sets and your error log only. Confirm your Prometric booking and ID, and sleep well the night before.
Habits that raise MCCQE scores
- Answer every question: the MCC says there is no penalty for wrong answers.
- Learn the Canadian specifics — screening guidance, vaccine schedules, drug names, consent and capacity, mandatory reporting and confidentiality — which often differ from where you trained.
- Practise the "next best step" question: most vignettes ask what to do now, not what the disease is.
- Never use exam "recalls": MCC exam content is confidential, and sharing or using it can cost you your result.
Start the plan today
Take the free demo exam as your baseline: questions from every discipline.
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Last reviewed 2026-09-30
Frequently asked questions
How long should I study for the MCCQE?
Many IMGs plan about three months of steady study — roughly 120–200 hours — adjusted to their background and how recently they trained. A baseline practice set shows where to focus.
What should IMGs focus on for the MCCQE?
Canadian-specific practice (screening, immunization, consent and capacity, confidentiality and reporting), the "next best step" in management, and timed practice at about 83 seconds per question.