For potential supervisors, please visit our website: www.unbc.ca/health-sciences
The MSc in Health Science offers a combined student-centred and community-oriented approach. The MSc strengthens students' capacity to progress their research interests and equips a new generation of researchers to understand and respond to contemporary health challenges, especially those faced by northern, rural, remote and Indigenous communities. The interdisciplinary program provides opportunities for those interested in health within a changing health system to explore and research and to benefit from the diverse health research strengths in the School of Health Sciences and across UNBC.
Students pursue health research approaches that fit with their interests, learning from a range of research expertise spanning but not limited to biomedical, epidemiological, community health and ecohealth approaches. Our students also benefit from active research partnerships across and beyond the university that create opportunities for applied and community-oriented research, with direct experience working with and learning from a range of community partners.
The research-based Master's degree equips students for a thriving career in health research (including applications for PhD programs), and is well suited for established health professionals seeking a research oriented program that will build on existing practice and skills.
Admission
Application deadlines can be found online at www.unbc.ca/admissions/graduate.
The Health Sciences MSc program accepts students for the September Semester.
In addition to meeting the admission application requirements outline in General Admission of the Graduate Admissions and Regulations, all applicants to the Health Sciences MSc program are required to submit a Criminal Record Check search prior to the first day of classes in their entry semester.
Domestic applicants must supply a Criminal Record Check search result after receiving an offer of admission and before the first day of classes; the search result is not required with the application. International applicants must submit a Criminal Record Check search result completed by their local police authority upon application, and will also be required to submit a British Columbia Criminal Record Check if offered admission. The Office of the Registrar will provide instructions to domestic and international applicants who have accepted offers of admission on how to complete a British Columbia Criminal Record Check.
Prerequisites
Applicants must have completed an undergraduate course in statistics or biostatistics. In addition to courses taught in departments of Mathematics or Statistics, courses that are included in social sciences programs such as psychology or sociology, and in the curricula of undergraduate health professions, meet this requirement.
Applicants must have completed an undergraduate course in research methodology. Appropriate courses include those found in social science undergraduate programs, and in the curricula of undergraduate health professions.
Requirements
Six courses (18 credit hours) at the graduate level, a Health Research Seminar Series (1 credit), and a thesis (12 credit hours) are required.
The following courses must be completed by ALL students as part of their program.
| EDUC 602-4 | Quantitative Research Design and Data and Analysis |
| or PSYC 600-4 | Univariate Statistics |
| or another graduate-level statistics course approved by the Program | |
| HHSC 601-3 | Principles of Epidemiology |
| HHSC 700-3 | Advanced Techniques in Epidemiology |
| or HHSC 703-3 | Qualitative Research Approaches in Health and Human Sciences |
| or a course as chosen in consultation with the supervisory committee, and approved by the Chair of Health Sciences |
|
| HHSC 795-3 | Graduate Seminar in Health Sciences |
| HHSC 796-1 | Health Research Seminar Series |
Additional Course Requirements
Two courses (6 credit hours), chosen in consultation with the supervisor.
Examples of courses taken by Health Sciences MSc students are:
| BCMB 702-3 | Chemical Biology Theory and Techniques |
| BIOL 625-3 | Applied Genetics and Biotechnology |
| DISM 609-3 | Professional Ethics in Health Care Management |
| ECON 610-3 | Health Economics |
| HHSC 602-3 | Organization and Financing of Canadian Health Care |
| HHSC 603-3 | Community Research Methods |
| HHSC 606-3 | Health Promotion |
| NURS 604-3 | The Healing and Well-being of Indigenous Peoples |
| NURS 701-6 | Advanced Clinical Practice Nursing |
| POLS 603-3 | Social and Health Policy in the Context of Health and Health Care |
| PSYC 605-4 | Multivariate Statistics |
| PSYC 609-3 | Health Psychology |
| SOCW 610-3 | Wellness: Alternate Approaches |
Other courses may be substituted or added with the approval of the student’s supervisory committee.
Thesis
The thesis (HHSC 790-12) shall be assigned 12 credit hours.
Transfer Credit
A maximum of two courses (6 credit hours) completed with at least a B standing at a recognized University may be transferred with the approval of the advisor and the Chair of the School of Health Sciences.
Updated: July 2, 2024