Master of Science Health Systems

Health systems worldwide are undergoing a profound transformation. The Telfer Master of Science in Health Systems (MSc HS) cultivates researchers and industry leaders who will lead this transformation. We have developed a multi-talented, multidisciplinary core group of faculty who specialize in applying both qualitative and quantitative methods to health systems. Students in our program have come from varied disciplines including sociology, psychology, engineering, business and a number of health-related fields. They have studied such diverse topics as wait time management, human resource planning, inter-professional team development, capacity planning, information technology adoption and impacts, quality of care and patient perceptions of illness. What they have in common is a strong desire to apply their knowledge to help improve the quality and timeliness of care in health systems in Canada and around the world.

As the only health systems program embedded in a business school in Canada, we offer a unique opportunity to those who wish to make an impact on how health systems are managed. Our students have gone on to a number of PhD programs (including our own) as well as to careers in industry with various health organizations, consulting companies and research institutes. To find out more visit our website at http://www.telfer.uOttawa.ca/mschs/en/.

The MSc in Health Systems is acceptable as a basis for admission to the PhD in management.

The program builds on the expertise of professors and researchers in health systems research from the Telfer School of Management and from the Faculties of Health Sciences, Medicine, Social Sciences, Engineering and the Institute of Population Health.

The program is governed by the general regulations in effect for graduate studies. It is offered in both English and French, primarily on a full-time basis.

For the most accurate and up to date information on application deadlines, language tests and other admission requirements, please visit the specific requirements webpage.

Applicants must hold a four-year bachelor’s (honours) degree in management (B. Com.), health sciences, life sciences, medicine, nursing, computer science, economics, social sciences, engineering, mathematics or a related field with at least a 75% (B+) cumulative grade point average (CGPA) calculated in accordance with graduate studies guidelines.

The academic profile of applicants must contain a background in analysis including the equivalent of at least 6 units of analysis courses. Analysis courses include undergraduate level courses in quantitative and qualitative research methods, micro and macro economics, calculus, probability and statistics, linear algebra, and information technology. These courses represent excellent preparatory material for the core courses of the MSc in HS program. Students lacking background in the quantitative analysis material may be required to complete prerequisite course work as a condition of admission. The specific requirements of the qualifying program will be determined by the admissions committee based on the academic and professional profile of the applicant.

Applicants to the program must have achieved at least a 50th percentile score on either the GMAT (General Management Admission Test) or GRE (Graduate Record Examinations), or TAGE-MAGE (Test d'Aptitude aux Études en Gestion), and submit at least two letters of recommendation and a statement of research interest of between 800-1000 words. The research statement is a letter of intent stating the applicant’s motivation for studying in the MSc in HS program, their commitment to conducting research, their preferred areas of research interest as well as identifying a possible research supervisor.

Applicants who have successfully completed compulsory units or their equivalents prior to admission will be granted an exemption, that is, they will be permitted, on the advice of their supervisor, to replace those units with elective units in the program. To be eligible for exemption, the units must have been completed with a grade of 70% (B) or better no more than five years prior to admission to the MSc. The maximum number of units for which an exemption can be granted is six. The general regulations in effect for graduate studies, section B 2.7, apply for transfer of units.

Students are normally admitted to the program on a full-time basis and are required to enroll full-time for three terms.

Applicants must be able to understand, speak and write either English or French fluently and they must indicate in their application the language in which they intend to take their courses. Those whose mother tongue is neither English nor French are required, at the time of application, to provide evidence of proficiency in one of these languages. Applicants whose mother tongue is not English and who intend to study in English are required to provide one of the following as evidence of proficiency in English (the test scores cannot be more than two years old as of September 1 of the year of potential entry into the program):