Graduate Supervisors are noted below but faculty from other programs listed in the Calendar may co-supervise students as well.
Henry Harder, Professor and Chair
Martha MacLeod, Professor (Nursing)
Han Li, Professor (Psychology)
Kenneth Prkachin, Professor (Psychology)
Neil Hanlon, Associate Professor (Geography)
Cindy Hardy, Associate Professor (Psychology)
Dawn Hemingway, Associate Professor (Social Work)
Josée Lavoie, Associate Professor
Shannon Wagner, Associate Professor (Disability Management)
Sarah deLeeuw, Assistant Professor (Northern Medical Program)
R. Luke Harris, Assistant Professor
Margot Parkes, Assistant Professor and Canadian Research Chair, Health, Ecosystem and Society
Mamdouh Shubair, Assistant Professor
Website:http://www.unbc.ca/health-sciences/community-health
This program listing is for students currently enrolled
in the MSc Community Health prior to September 2015
Effective September 2015 this program has changed to MSc Health Sciences.
The aim of this Program is to provide opportunity for health professionals and others interested in working in the health fields with the knowledge and skills to conduct community-based research, and to develop an enhanced understanding of health care systems and policy. The program provides students with relevant health research and critical appraisal skills, and opportunities to engage in a variety of health-related topics.
Current students in the Program come from a wide variety of backgrounds. These include health professionals such as nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, and physicians, as well as graduates from Science and other related programs.
Admission
Application deadlines can be found in the Graduate Programs Admissions and Regulations section of the Graduate Calendar.
The Community Health Science MSc Program accepts students for the September Semester.
In addition to meeting the admission application requirements outlines in Section 1.0 of the Graduate Admissions and Regulations, all applicants to the Community Health Science 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 policy 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
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.
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
Seven courses (21 credit hours) at the graduate level, and a thesis (nine credit hours) are required.
The following courses must be completed by ALL students as part of their program.
One (1) course in Epidemiology:
| HHSC 601-3 | Principles of Epidemiology |
One (1) Canadian Health Care Course:
| HHSC 602-3 | Organization and Financing of Canadian Health Care | |
| or POLS 603-3* | Social and Health Policy and Administration |
*Note: POLS 603-3 is precluded if the student already has credit for POLS 403-3.
One (1) Research Methods Course:
| HHSC 700-3 | Advanced Techniques in Epidemiology | |
| or HHSC 703-3 | Qualitative Research Approaches in Health and Human Sciences |
One (1) Graduate Statistics Course:
| EDUC 602-4 | Educational Research Data and Analysis | |
| or PSYC 600-4 | Quantitative Methods I | |
| or another graduate level statistics course approved by the Program. | ||
Additional Course Requirements
Three courses (9 credit hours), chosen in consultation with the advisor.
Examples of courses taken by our students are:
| ECON 610-3 | Health Economics | |
| EDUC 603-4 | Advanced Educational Research Data Analysis | |
| GEOG 628-3 | Medical Geography | |
| HHSC 603-3 | Community Research Methods | |
| NURS 701-6 | Advanced Clinical Practice in Community Health Nursing | |
| NURS 702-6 | Continuing Community Care | |
| NURS 703-3 | Health Program Development and Evaluation | |
| PSYC 605-4 | Quantitative Methods II | |
| PSYC 620-3 | Health Psychology | |
| PSYC 720-3 | Cross-Cultural Communication in Health Care Settings | |
| SOCW 610-3 | Addictions and Mental Health |
Thesis
The thesis (HHSC 799-9) shall be assigned nine credit hours.
Transfer Credit
A maximum of two courses (six 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.