Program/Course Requirements

Completion requirement

In addition to the Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements and Cumming School of Medicine requirements:

Complete ONE of the specialization requirement sets below:

Complete at least 1 of the following Requirement Sets:

PhD, Community Health Sciences, Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies

Complete ALL of the following Courses:

MDCH600 - Introduction to Community Health Sciences
AND MDCH635 - Foundations and Futures of Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies

Core Courses

All incoming PhD students are expected to have completed the core courses required at the Master's level. If they have not completed the core courses, they must either complete them during the PhD program, or request an exemption from the Graduate Program Director based on completing equivalent courses at another university.

Required Courses for Specialization

Community Health Sciences 600
Community Health Sciences 635
Minimum of 3 units in quantitative research methods
Minimum of 3 units in qualitative research methods Minimum of 6 units (two 3-unit specialization courses) determined with the Supervisor(s).

Courses appropriate to the advancement of the thesis research topic are required. These are selected in consultation with Supervisor/Committee, must be approved by the Graduate Program Director, and may include the Required Courses for Specialization at the Master's level if not previously completed.

Note: All course work must be completed prior to the PhD Candidacy Examination.

Additional Seminars

Students are required to attend the CHS-OIPH weekly seminar. Additional seminars may be recommended by the student's supervisor/committee.

Practicum/Internships

Arranged in conjunction with the student's supervisor/committee.

PhD, Community Health Sciences, Epidemiology

Core Courses

All incoming PhD students are expected to have completed the core courses required at the master's level. If they have not completed the core courses, they must either complete them during the PhD program, or request an exemption from the Graduate Program Director based on completing equivalent courses at another university.

Required Courses for Specialization

Other courses appropriate to the advancement of the thesis research topic. These are selected in consultation with Supervisor/Committee, require Graduate Program Director approval and must include the Required Courses for Specialization at the Master's level if not previously completed. Suggested courses for consideration include:

Community Health Sciences: 612, 641, 661, 664, 741, 742, a directed studies course, or other University of Calgary courses may be used to fulfill elective requirements with the approval of the student's supervisor(s) and home department Graduate Program Director. Note: All course work must be completed prior to the PhD Candidacy Examination.

Additional Seminars

Students are required to attend the CHS-OIPH weekly seminar. Additional seminars may be recommended by the student's supervisor/committee.

PhD, Community Health Sciences, Health Economics

Core Courses

All incoming PhD students are expected to have completed the core courses required at the master's level. If they have not completed the core courses, they must either complete them during the PhD program, or request an exemption from the Graduate Program Director based on completing equivalent courses at another university.

Courses will be selected with the supervisor and receive Graduate Program Director approval depending on the student's master's training and as appropriate to the advancement of the thesis research topic.

Required Courses for Specialization

Students are expected to have completed the required courses for the Health Economics specialization at the Master's level. If they have not completed the required courses, incoming students are expected to complete two of the three courses (6 units) as required for the specialization at the Master's level (Community Health Sciences 661, 662, or 663).

Electives

At least four electives (12 units), including advanced methods courses) appropriate to the advancement of the thesis research topic and agreed upon with the Supervisor. Note: All course work must be completed prior to the PhD Candidacy Examination.

Additional Seminars

Students are required to attend the monthly Health Economics and Health Technology Assessment seminars and the CHS-OIPH weekly seminar. Additional seminars may be recommended by the student's supervisor/committee.

PhD, Community Health Sciences, Health Services Research

Core Courses

All incoming PhD students are expected to have completed the core courses required at the master's level. If they have not completed the core courses, they must either complete them during the PhD program, or request an exemption from the Graduate Program Director based on completing equivalent courses at another university.

Courses will be selected with the supervisor and receive Graduate Program Director approval depending on the student's master's training and as appropriate to the advancement of the thesis research topic.

Required Courses for Specialization

Students are expected to have completed the required course for the Health Services Research specialization at the Master's level or request an exemption from the Graduate Program Director based on completing equivalent courses at another university.

In consultation with the supervisor, and with the Graduate Program Director's approval, students are expected to complete at least three (9 units) advanced methods courses (at the 600 or 700 level) from the following list (Community Health Sciences 611, 664, 683, 741, or 761).

Electives

Electives appropriate to the advancement of thesis research topic and agreed upon with the supervisor. Note: All course work must be completed prior to the PhD Candidacy Examination.

Additional Seminars

Students are required to attend the CHS-OIPH weekly seminar. Additional seminars may be recommended by the student's supervisor/committee.

PhD, Community Health Sciences, Medical Education

Complete ALL of the following Courses:

MDCH600 - Introduction to Community Health Sciences

Core Courses

Community Health Sciences 600

All incoming PhD students are expected to have completed the core course required at the master's level. If they have not completed the course, they must either complete it during the PhD program, or request an exemption from the Graduate Program Director based on completing equivalent courses at another university.

Required Courses for Specialization

All incoming PhD students are expected to have completed the specialization courses or equivalents required at the master's level.

Complete a minimum of 9 units of coursework, including: (i) Community Health Sciences 730 (6 units), and (ii) a graduate level methods course (3 units) appropriate to the student's dissertation work, available within the Cumming School of Medicine or elsewhere on campus, that has been agreed upon by the supervisor and/or supervisory committee.

Electives

Students may elect to take additional courses which benefit their needs and interests.

Note: All course work must be completed prior to the PhD Candidacy Examination.

Additional Seminars

Students are required to attend the weekly Medical Education Journal Series and the CHS-OIPH weekly seminar. Additional seminars may be recommended by the student's supervisor/committee.

PhD, Community Health Sciences, Population and Public Health

Complete ALL of the following Courses:

MDCH600 - Introduction to Community Health Sciences
AND MDCH680 - Foundations of Population/Public Health
AND MDCH681 - Health Research Methods

Core Courses

Community Health Sciences 600
All incoming PhD students are expected to have completed the core courses required at the master's level. If they have not completed them, they must either complete the core courses in the PhD program or request an exemption from the Graduate Program Director based on completing equivalent courses at another university.

Required Courses for Specialization

Community Health Sciences 680
Community Health Sciences 681 (or 3 units of relevant advanced research methods coursework as approved by the Graduate Program Director).

Additional Courses

Students will be advised in their offer of admission if any courses in addition to the 9 units of required coursework listed above are deemed necessary; the admissions evaluators will determine this in consideration of the student's prior learning (transcripts), experience, and their intended research focus.

Electives

Any electives are to be determined in consultation between the student and their Supervisor/Supervisory Committee.

Note: All course work must be completed prior to the PhD Candidacy Examination.

Additional Seminars

Students are required to attend the CHS-OIPH weekly seminar. Additional seminars may be recommended by the student's supervisor/committee.

For PhD, Community Health Sciences, Biostatistics, see Biostatistics Interdisciplinary Specialization.

Each student is expected to attend and participate in the regularly scheduled CHS-OIPH seminars.

Research Integrity Day

Research Integrity Day is a Research Ethics session offered several times each year. All graduate students in the Cumming School of Medicine are required to attend Research Integrity Day in the first year of their program as part of their course requirements. See the Graduate Science Education https://cumming.ucalgary.ca/gse/current-students/research-integrity-day for details and to register for the Research Integrity Day session.

Sex and Gender Training Module

The inclusion of Sex and Gender in Research programs is becoming more prominent. All graduate students in the Cumming School of Medicine are required to complete one of the CIHR sex and gender online training modules found at http://www.discoversexandgender.ca/ within the first year of their program.

Additional Program Information

Completion requirement

Advanced Credit

Open Studies Students may take courses before applying for admission to a graduate program. However, these students are not eligible to enrol in the Block Week course: Introduction to Community Health Sciences (MDCH600) or Health Research Methods (MDCH681). A maximum of 6 units, completed at a satisfactory level (minimum B+) and within three years of admission to the graduate program, may be credited toward a student's degree requirements. Completing courses does not guarantee admission into the program.

Flexible Grade Option (CG Grade)

The Graduate programs in the Cumming School Medicine will not permit the Flexible Grade Option (CG Grade) for any course offered by the Cumming School of Medicine.

Students may not choose the CG grade for a course taken extra to load.

The use of the CG grade will affect students' eligibility for internal awards.

Credit for Undergraduate Courses

The program does not normally give credit for undergraduate courses.

Time Limit

Completion times follow the Faculty of Graduate Studies regulations (see Time Limits):

Maximum completion time for a doctoral program is six years. Expected completion time is four years.

Supervisory Assignments, Research Proposal and Required Examinations

Completion requirement

Supervisory Assignments

The selection of a graduate supervisor must be by mutual agreement between the student and the faculty member concerned at the time of the application to the program and approved by the Graduate Program Director. Supervisors must commit to supporting the student for the duration of their graduate studies, before admission is recommended.

Supervisory committees, required for both master’s and doctoral students, are established based upon the needs of the student and the expertise of the committee members, following discussions between the student and the supervisor and approved by the Graduate Program Director. A supervisory committee, consisting of a supervisor and co-supervisor (if applicable), plus two additional members, must be in place no later than 3 months after the student's first registration in the program.

Research Proposal Requirements

The supervisory committee must approve the formal Thesis Proposal prior to students commencing their research. MSc research proposals should be submitted and approved within 12 months of the start of program.

For PhD students, approval takes place via a supervisory committee meeting, no later than 25 months from initial registration. Details about the thesis proposal requirements and approval meeting are provided in the CHS Candidacy Policy Effective September 2018, at https://cumming.ucalgary.ca/gse/current-students/student-forms.

After approval by the student’s supervisory committee and before commencement of data collection, all proposals are submitted to the Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board for ethical review, and some are submitted to the appropriate committee for impact review.

Required Examinations

In addition to the Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements, the program requires:

Candidacy

To enter candidacy, doctoral students must (1) successfully complete all required courses, (2) attend Research Integrity Day, (3) successfully complete the CIHR Sex and Gender in Research online training module(s), (4) have the written thesis research proposal approved at a thesis proposal evaluation meeting, and (5) successfully complete their written Field of Study examination and an Oral Field of Study Examination. For complete details of the candidacy requirements, see CHS Candidacy Policy Effective September 2018: https://cumming.ucalgary.ca/sites/default/files/teams/13/programs/mdch-candidacy-regulations_effective-sept-2018.pdf.

Thesis Examination

All students in thesis-based programs (MSc and PhD) must successfully pass the Final Thesis Oral Examination (see Thesis Examinations).

All PhD examinations in MDCH will consist of a 10-minute presentation by the candidate followed by an open oral examination. No public seminar is expected.

Scheduling of the Examination

All members of the supervisory committee must have reviewed the student’s draft thesis document before an examination can be scheduled.

Composition of the Examination Committee

For a doctoral thesis examination, the examination committee will consist of the supervisory committee, an internal/external examiner (who may be internal to the student’s home program), PLUS an external examiner who is external to the University of Calgary. The external examiner must be approved by the program director and the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

Financial Assistance

Completion requirement

Students will receive a graduate stipend as outlined in the Cumming School of Medicine Funding Policy found at https://cumming.ucalgary.ca/gse/current-students/student-payments.

Funding opportunities can be found at https://cumming.ucalgary.ca/gse/current-students/current-student-program-overview/community-health-sciences.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Community Health Sciences Medicine

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