We acknowledge that the UBC Vancouver campus is situated on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam).

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Program Overview

The MSc program includes both coursework and a thesis project. Most students complete the program in two years. In their first year, students focus on completing coursework to gain skills and knowledge. Coursework includes:

  • four required courses (10.5 credits),
  • one methods course (3 credits, students pick one of three options), and
  • two elective courses (4.5 credits minimum).

Students are encouraged to discuss elective courses with their faculty supervisor. Most students choose electives offered by SPPH, but students can take courses offered by other UBC departments. Students interested in Health Economics can choose to complete the Health Economics concentration (see the UBC Academic Calendar for the full requirements).

In their second year, students apply their learning to a thesis project with guidance from a faculty supervisor. Students earn 12 credits for their thesis work, allowing them to finish the minimum 30 required credits for the program overall. Please see the Thesis page for more information about thesis projects.

Applicants interested in part-time study are encouraged to contact the program because part-time study has implications for tuition, funding, awards, and loans. Part-time study options should also be discussed with potential supervisors.

Current students should refer to the MSc Canvas Site. Supervisors can find more information on the Supervisor Canvas Site. (Contact the program to request access.)

Coursework

Statistics for Health Research (Required)

SPPH 521 (or 400): Planned collection, numeric and graphic summarization, and elementary statistical analysis of data. Examples primarily from health sciences illustrate standard techniques for parametric and non-parametric hypothesis testing; regression and correlation; contingency tables. Also randomization, “blindfolding” and other specifically biomedical topics in statistics. (3 credits).

Epidemiological Methods 1 (Required)

SPPH 502: Sources and uses of epidemiologic data for health services planning and administration including methods of data collection and study design. (3 credits)

MSc Research Seminar (Required)

SPPH 507: Required course in the MSc program. Topics of current interest will be presented and discussed by students and various faculty. (1.5 credits)

MSc Thesis (Required)

SPPH 599: Continuing registration required; pass/fail on the basis of a completed thesis. (12 credits)

Analytical Methods in Epidemiological Research (Required)

SPPH 500: Basic epidemiological designs as a framework for commonly used biostatistical techniques such as the Mantel-Haenszel, chi-squared, linear and logistic regression, and survival analysis. Computer packages will be available for computation of assignments. (3 credits)

Epidemiological Methods 2 (Methods Option)

SPPH 503: Critical thinking in epidemiology; principles and methods of study design; context for epidemiological investigations of human health. (3 credits)

Quantitative Research Methods (Methods Option)

SPPH 506: Major quantitative research designs, measurement reliability and validity, common data sources used, internal and external validity, research proposals, and peer review. (3 credits)

Qualitative Methods in Health Research Design (Methods Option)

SPPH 519: Purposes, context, procedures, and relationships within qualitative health research and methologies. (3 credits)