Program Overview

Public Health Sciences - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The PhD in Public Health Sciences program is designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to tackle some of the biggest health concerns of today's world. The program is trans-disciplinary in nature, aiming to address population and public health challenges on both a national and global scale with tangible, impactful solutions.

Program Overview

• Department/School: School of Public Health Sciences
• Faculty: Faculty of Health
• Admit term(s): Fall (September - December)
• Delivery mode: On-campus
• Program type: Doctoral, Research
• Length of program: 48 months (full-time)
• Registration option(s): Full-time, Part-time
• Study option(s): Thesis

Research Fields

• Epidemiology and Biostatistics
• Global Health
• Health and Environment
• Health Evaluation
• Health Informatics
• Work and Health

Research Project Opportunities

• Human Biomonitoring of Environmental Chemicals in Northern First Nations: A research project analyzing the levels and determinants of environmental chemicals among participating communities.
• Exploring the Impact of Finite Sample Size and Missing Data on Statistical Modeling Decisions: A project examining the effects of sample size and missing data on statistical modeling decisions.

Admission Requirements

• Students applying to the program should have completed a master's degree (or its equivalent) with content related to ongoing faculty research in areas such as health, public health, health systems, gerontology, health informatics, global health, occupational health, and evaluation.
• A minimum 75% average in master's level coursework.
• Completion of a master's degree and evidence of prior research achievements (e.g., Master's thesis, first author peer-reviewed publication, adjudicated research report).
• Students may be allowed to transfer into the PhD program directly from the School of Public Health Sciences (SPHS) Master's programs under certain conditions.
• Direct admission to the PhD program from an Honours Bachelor of Science degree or the equivalent is possible for exceptional candidates with evidence of prior research achievements.

Degree Requirements

• Review the degree requirements on the Graduate Studies Academic Calendar, including the courses that you can anticipate taking as part of completing the degree.
• Check out Waterloo's institutional thesis repository - UWspace to see recent submissions from the School of Public Health Sciences graduate students.

Application Materials

• Resume/Curriculum vitae
• Program-specific questions (PSQ)
• Transcript(s)
• Writing sample: A copy of previous academic work, such as copies of preprints, reprints, or master's thesis, or other evidence of written scholarly work.
• References: Three academic references are required.
• Proof of English language proficiency, if applicable: TOEFL 100 (writing 26, speaking 26), IELTS 7.5 (writing 7.0, speaking 7.0)

Tuition and Fees

• Visit the graduate program tuition page on the Finance website to determine the tuition and incidental fees per term for your program.
• Review living costs and housing.
• Learn about the PhD housing guarantee program for admitted students.

Supervisors

• Review finding a supervisor resources to learn how to reach out to potential supervisors.
• It is strongly recommended to ensure that the faculty member you are interested in working with is accepting new students and your research interests align.