The PhD in Health Sciences is designed to be a research-intensive program emphasizing the development of research skills with a particular focus on populations who historically have higher rates of poorer health (such as seniors and Indigenous populations). It is a high quality graduate program in which students faculty, and staff together engage in research and scholarly work, including creative and innovative endeavours.
The PhD program is housed in the Department of Health Sciences, whose mission is to create and mobilize knowledge, to protect and promote health, and to reduce health inequities. Through applied research, community engagement, and provision of diverse learning opportunities, we help to build capacity to understand and address the complexities of both current and emerging health issues. Our vision is to be a leader in applied health research and comprehensive health education that enables and supports individuals and communities to achieve optimal health. Applied health research is an integral part of the PhD in Health Sciences program. It includes a hands-on experience through an innovative Research Internship that provides students with the opportunity to apply program content in a real-world, applied health research setting.
The objectives of the PhD in Health Sciences program are to prepare graduates who are able to:
- Discuss and critique current and emerging issues and trends in the field of health sciences;
- Design, carry out, and defend research at an advanced level to create knowledge relevant to the field of health sciences;
- Conduct research and scholarly activities in a way that is consistent with expected guidelines, processes, and procedures in the field of health sciences.
Please note, you must have a potential supervisor or co-supervisor identified before you apply. This person should be a core faculty member in the Department of Health Sciences.
The PhD in Health Sciences program may be completed either over 4 years (12 terms) on a full-time basis, or over 8 years (24 terms) on a flexible full-time basis. Note that, once admitted to the PhD in Health Sciences program, students are not permitted to change from the full-time option to the flexible full-time option, and vice versa.
