Public Health Sciences: Public Health Sciences PhD (Field: Epidemiology)

Doctor of Philosophy

Field: Epidemiology

PhD Program (Full-Time and Flexible-Time)

Minimum Admission Requirements

  • Applicants are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. Applicants must also satisfy the Dalla Lana School's additional admission requirements stated below.

  • Master's degree in a public health science-related discipline from a recognized university, with a minimum A– standing.

  • Demonstrated educational and/or professional experience that indicates a capacity to undertake research-oriented doctoral studies.

Program Requirements

  • Coursework. Completion of 4.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs) as follows:

    • 0.5 FCE: CHL5005H Professional Skills for Doctoral Students in Public Health (Credit/No Credit)

    • 1.0 FCE: CHL5404H and CHL5408H Research Methods

    • 1.0 FCE: CHL5406H and CHL5424H Quantitative Methods

    • 0.5 FCE: CHL5423H0 Doctoral Seminar in Epidemiology

    • 0.5 FCE: CHL5428H Epidemiological Methods for Causal Mediation Analyses

    • 0.5 FCE: elective courses that relate to the student’s area of study

    • Students may elect to take up to 0.5 FCE on a Credit/No Credit (CR/NCR) basis. See the CR/NCR-eligible courses in the course list section.

  • Demonstrated proficiency in statistics or research methods.

  • A written qualifying examination in epidemiology.

  • A departmental defence of the dissertation proposal.

  • Writing of a PhD dissertation under the supervision of an approved dissertation committee (supervisor plus two additional faculty members).

  • A departmental defence of the dissertation prior to the SGS Final Oral Examination. On the recommendation of the supervisory committee and special approval from their departmental Graduate Chair or Coordinator, candidates have the opportunity to waive the departmental defence and proceed directly to the SGS Final Oral Exam.

  • A final oral defence of the dissertation before an examination committee approved by the School of Graduate Studies.

Program Length

4 years full-time; 6 years flexible-time

Time Limit

6 years full-time; 8 years flexible-time

0 Course that may continue over a program. The course is graded when completed.

 

Emphasis in the PhD Program

Students in the Epidemiology field of study have the option to complete an emphasis by completing appropriate coursework in a given area. The emphasis requirements will also count toward, but may exceed, the 4.0 full-course equivalent (FCE) field requirement.

Emphasis: Artificial Intelligence and Data Science

  • Students must complete 1.5 FCEs from the following list:

    • CHL5212H Predictive Modelling in the Health Sciences

    • CHL5213H Methods for Analysis of Microbiome Data

    • CHL5229H Modern Biostatistics and Statistical Learning

    • CHL5230H Applied Machine Learning for Health Data

    • CHL5429H Advanced Analytic Methods for Bias in Epidemiologic Studies

    • CHL3020H Ethics and Artificial Intelligence for Health

    • HAD5306H Introduction to Health Services Research and the Use of Health Administrative Data

    • MHI2012H Introduction to Big Data for Health: Foundations and Methodologies

    • Other course(s) approved by the Program Director.