School of Public Health
Our Mission
To improve the health of individuals and communities through the creation, dissemination and
application of public health knowledge, the education of leaders, social change, partnerships with
service providers, and service to the broader community
Master of Public Health (MPH)
The Master of Public Health (MPH) program trains public health professionals to measure, assess and manage
increasingly complex population and public health issues. It offers graduate students integrated learning
opportunities in the five core disciplines of public health:
1. Biostatistics – Collection, storage, retrieval, analysis and interpretation of health data; design and analysis of
health-related surveys and experiments; and concepts and practice of statistical data analysis.
2. Epidemiology – Distributions and determinants of disease, disabilities and death in human and animal
populations; the characteristics and dynamics of populations; the natural history of disease; and the biological
basis of health.
3. Environmental Health Sciences – Environmental factors, including biological, physical and chemical factors that
affect the health of a community.
4. Health Services Administration – Development, organization, administration, management, evaluation and
policy analysis of health programs.
5. Social and Behavioural Sciences – Concepts and methods of social and behavioural sciences relevant to the
identification and the solution of public health problems.
MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH – THESIS OPTION
On completing the MPH-Thesis program, students will have both the
professional credentials to practice in public health and the research
experience necessary to pursue a PhD.
Students in the MPH program with a thesis option will acquire:
1. Training in the core competencies for public health outlined by the
Public Health Agency of Canada.
2. Applied training in public health study design, data collection, analysis
and interpretation of results, and the writing of a thesis/manuscript.
3. An in-depth understanding of important, current issues in public
health practice.
The students admitted to this program will have sufficient time to
complete the course load for the MPH program, in addition to a thesis that
is consistent with the expectations for an MSc at the University of
Saskatchewan. Students will not be accepted if they do not meet academic
performance requirements or have not identified a supervisor and a
clearly defined and appropriate project by the end of their first term of
study. The thesis-option students will complete a 16 week practicum in
place of the 12 week practicum course, and they will have 2 fewer 3 credit
unit elective courses during the second year of the program freeing up
time for research during the regular term. Finally, they will typically enroll
in the summer term following their second regular term to finish writing
and then defend their thesis. Students will not defend until their
committee is satisfied that the thesis meets the required standard for a
Master’s degree at the University of Saskatchewan.
www.usask.ca/sph
MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH (MPH)
MPH PROGRAM THESIS OPTION REQUIREMENTS
Students are required to complete a minimum of 42 credit units
(eight required classes - 24 credit units, a practicum - 9 credit units,
and three additional electives - 9 credit units), three non-credit
courses and a thesis. The program is designed for completion in 24
months of full time study. Students may also choose to study parttime over a maximum of five years.
REQUIRED COURSES
All MPH graduate students must enroll in the following courses:
• GSR 960 – Introduction to Ethics and Integrity (non-credit)
• GSR 961 – Ethics and Integrity in Human Research (non-credit)
• PUBH 800 – Epidemiology for Public Health
• PUBH 803 – Health Promotion
• PUBH 804 – Foundations of Public Health (Offered each
August)
• PUBH 805 – Biostatistics for Public Health
• PUBH 807 – Health Program Planning and Evaluation
• PUBH 810 – Environmental Public Health I
• PUBH 840 – Inter-disciplinary Public Health Practice
• PUBH 867 – Health Policy and Politics
• PUBH 990 – Public Health Seminar (non-credit)
• PUBH 992 – Public Health Practicum
Thesis students will also be required to register in
•
PUBH 994 – Public Health Thesis
ADDITIONAL COURSES
All MPH Thesis students must complete a minimum of 9 credit units of
elective courses in their area of interest.
APPLICATION FOR THE THESIS OPTION:
To be eligible for the MPH thesis option, the
student must:
1. Meet the prerequisites for the
practicum
2. Attain a minimum GPA of 80%
3. Establish an appropriate advisory
committee before beginning the thesis
project
4. Write and present a draft of their thesis
proposal that satisfies the advisory
committee that the student has both
the academic potential and a suitable
project to transfer to the thesis option.
Term 1 of the MPH program: a student
interested in pursuing the thesis option
identifies a supervisor. The supervisor and
student together identify a practicum
placement appropriate for the thesis
requirements.
Term 2: The MPH Thesis option application
deadline is February 26, 2016, with
conditional acceptance decided by March
11, 2016. A student conditionally admitted
to the thesis option and his or her supervisor
work together to form an advisory
committee and to write and defend the
thesis proposal.
PUBH 806 -- Knowledge of the basic principles of biology in health and
disease is fundamental to practice of public health, so students who do
not have a health sciences background (degrees in Medicine, Veterinary
Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy and Physical Therapy) MUST
complete PUBH 806 – Public Health Pathobiology. If taken, this class
counts as one of the 3 elective courses.
The supervisor and committee will assess
the thesis proposal to determine if the
student has the basic writing skills essential
to complete the MPH on schedule. The
thesis proposal defence date: on or before
May 31, 2016.
A list of other elective courses can be found at:
http://www.usask.ca/sph/graduate-programs/master-of-public-healthprogram/additional-courses.php. Students should remember that not
all courses are offered in any given year and are encouraged to review
the online University course calendar for available courses.
Formal notification of admission to the
thesis program is by June 1, 2016 and is
conditional on the student maintaining a
GPA of at least 80% and the committee’s
acceptance of the proposal draft.
MORE INFORMATION
For part-time students this time frame can
be modified to fit each student’s unique
circumstances.
For more information regarding our program, courses, prerequisites,
and tuition fees, please visit: Website: www.usask.ca/sph