Program

The application and all supporting documentation must be received by December 15 for September admission.

Program	Expected Length	Project and/or thesis	Course based
M.Sc.	2 years
Ph.D.	4 years

Population health research is concerned with understanding the individual and collective factors that determine health and applying this knowledge to maintain and improve the health status of the population and reduce inequities in health status between groups. We add the term 'community' to reflect the historic emphasis of our field on the creation, protection, and promotion of health within the context of communities, which may be geographic or based on shared identity and social ties.

As a student in this program, you will develop skills in project management, qualitative and quantitative research methods, and communication. You will create and manage an individualize research project and be able to work with our community partners and affiliated research units such as:

Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research Unit
Saskatchewan Cancer Control Research Program
Saskatoon HIV/AIDS Research Endeavour

Research supervisors

M.Sc. applicants do not need a supervisor in place before applying. However, as this program is very competitive, few students without supervisors are accepted yearly. Please send a brief transmittal email and CV to a potential supervisor or to chep.info@usask.ca. Use the list below to find a potential supervisor.

Ph.D. applicants must have a faculty supervisor confirmed before they apply. Use the list below to find a potential supervisor.

Name	Research areas
Sylvia Abonyi	Medical Anthropology, Population Research Ethics, Ethnographic Methodologies, Indigenous Health, Population Health, Community-based Research
Jacob Alhassan
Maureen Anderson	Population and public health, quantitative epidemiological research, field epidemiology, administrative health data, mental health and addictions
Lalita Bharadwaj	Engaged Scholarship, Indigenous Communities, Water and Health, Health Risk Assessment, Management, Communication, Arts-based Knowledge Mobilization
Allison Cammer	Nutrition and dementia, long-term care, end of life nutrition, aging
Rachel Engler-Stringer	Food systems and food security , Nutritional health inequities , Community-based and participatory research , Health promotion
Daniel Fuller
Gary Groot	Clinical Quality Improvement, Health Services Research, Implementation Science, Indigenous and Health Equity Research, Realist Research
Laurel Hanson	Global Health & Development , Transformative pedagogies , Activism & social movements , Sexual & reproductive health , Fair trade, gender & health
Bonnie Janzen	Social epidemiology , Gender and health , Work (paid and unpaid) and health , Socioeconomic circumstances and health , Rural population health
George Katselis	Functional and Structural Mass Spectrometry-based Clinical Proteomics, Metabolomics, and Lipidomics
Malcolm King	Determinants of Indigenous health and wellness, Health systems research in Indigenous populations, Indigenous wellness and resilience
Shelley Kirychuk	Epidemiology of rural and agricultural related exposures and respiratory health outcomes
Niels Koehncke	Occupational health screening and surveillance, industrial hygiene, occupational noise exposure aviation / aerospace medicine teaching
Joshua Lawson	Respiratory epidemiology, Asthma
Anne Leis	Integrative oncology , Cancer patients quality of life , Health services utilization & self-care , Community engagement, Chronic disease management
Hyun Lim	Survival Analysis, Design & Analysis/Clinical Trials , Statistical Methods / Longitudinal Data , HIV/AIDS & TB, Injury Studies , Epidemiologic Studies
Cari McIlduff
Debra Morgan	Rural health service delivery for individuals with dementia and their caregivers, Care of long-term care residents with dementia, Integrated knowledge
Nazeem Muhajarine	Child health research, social and economic status in use of health care services , Survey methodology and analysis, understanding factors on health,
Nnamdi Ndubuka
Cory Neudorf	Baseline measurements, Health equity audits, set health service delivery improvement targets, improve determinants of health & appropriateness of care
Punam Pahwa	Statistical Modeling of Survival Data, Modeling of Missing Observations , Costs of Farm Injuries
Juan-Nicolas Pena-Sanchez	Innovative health care models, Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), Health services research, Wellness and motivation of physicians
Kalyani Premkumar	Technology use in medical teaching/learning , Educational games , Curriculum design, Complementary & alternative medicine, Self-directed learning,
Vivian Ramsden	Primary health, health promotion, stroke and cardiovascular disease prevention, cross-cultural learning, clinical research methods
Ulrich Teucher	Aboriginal Health; Cross-Cultural Physical & Mental Health; Cross-Cultural Research; Human Developmenr; Human Development; Indigenous; Indigenous knowledge; aboriginal; children; cross-cultural research; food security; health; qualitative research in psychology; self
Lilian Thorpe	Epidemiology, Aging and developmental disabilities, Dementia and psychotic disorders in the elderly , Medical ethics
Hassanali Vatanparast	Nutritional Epidemiology, Nutrition and chronic diseases

Tuition and funding

Funding

The department DOES NOT guarantee student funding. A limited amount of money is available to support students and is allocated on a competitive basis according to students’ academic record. To be eligible for CH&E scholarship funding, students must have obtained at least 80% in the last two years of undergraduate or graduate study. In addition, students who receive funding may only work a maximum of 12/hours/week on activities not related to their graduate program of studies. Other funding may be available through faculty members’ research grants. All students are encouraged to apply for scholarships from local and national sources.

Graduate students at USask can receive funding from a variety of sources to support their graduate education.

Scholarships

Tuition

Thesis or project-based master's program

Graduate students in a thesis or project-based program pay tuition three times a year for as long as they are enrolled in their program.

Term	Canadian students	International students
September 1 - December 31, 2022	$1,566.00 CAD	$3,132.00 CAD
January 1 - April 30, 2023	$1,566.00 CAD	$3,132.00 CAD
May 1 - August 31, 2023	$1,566.00 CAD	$3,132.00 CAD
Total per academic year	$4,698.00 CAD	$9,396.00 CAD

Student fees

In addition to tuition above, students also pay fees for programs like health and dental insurance, a bus pass, and other campus services. The amount you need to pay depends on if you are taking classes full time or part time, and if you are on campus or not. The table below assumes you are on campus full-time.

	Fall 2022	Winter 2023	Spring 2023	Summer 2023
Student fees	$782.50 CAD	$323.47 CAD	$35.00 CAD	$35.00 CAD

Tuition information is accurate for the current academic year and does not include student fees. For detailed tuition and fees information, visit the official tuition website.

Admission requirements

Master of Science (M.Sc.)

Language Proficiency Requirements: Proof of English proficiency may be required for international applicants and for applicants whose first language is not English.
A cumulative weighted average of at least a 70% (USask grade system equivalent) in the last two years of study (e.g. 60 credit units)
A four-year degree, or equivalent, from a recognized college or university in an academic discipline relevant to the proposed field of study
Demonstrated ability for independent thought, advanced study, and research

A student qualified for admission to the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies but requiring additional undergraduate training in certain areas in order to proceed with graduate courses and research may be admitted as a conditionally-qualified student. One specific requirement is that applicants must have satisfactorily completed three credit units in statistics at the upper undergraduate level within the past five years. In addition, students are required to have an undergraduate course related to community health issues or relevant work experience.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) - Non-direct Entry

Language Proficiency Requirements: Proof of English proficiency may be required for international applicants and for applicants whose first language is not English.
Master's degree, or equivalent, from a recognized university in an academic discipline relevant to the proposed field of study
A cumulative weighted average of at least a 75% (USask grade system equivalent) in the last two years of full-time study (e.g. 60 credit units)
Demonstrated ability for independent thought, advanced study, and research

Applicants holding a master's degree in a related field (e.g., social work, nursing, health care administration, health psychology) may be required to take qualifying courses before being fully admitted to the program.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) - Direct Entry

With the recommendation of the unit, direct entry Ph.D. admission is available to exceptionally strong students, who show great promise in terms of academic accomplishments and potential for research.

Language Proficiency Requirements: Proof of English proficiency may be required for international applicants and for applicants whose first language is not English
A cumulative weighted average of at least 80% (USask grade system equivalent) in the last two years of undergraduate study (i.e. 60 credit units of course work)
A four‐year degree, or equivalent, from a recognized college or university in an academic discipline relevant to the proposed field of study

Application process

Find a supervisor

Ph.D. applicants

Using the list above, find a potential supervisor, read about the work they are currently doing and their past publications. If you think you'd like to work with them, contact them and describe your research interests and past academic experience. If they are accepting students, they will instruct you to begin a formal application.

M.Sc. applicants

You may apply online directly and are asked to indicate a potential supervisor. As this program is very competitive, few students without supervisors are accepted yearly and you are encouraged to have a potential supervisor interested in your application when you apply.

Tips for contacting supervisors

Submit an online application

Before beginning your online application, be sure that you have carefully reviewed all program information and admission requirements on this page.

During the application, you'll be asked for:

Personal information such as your name, address, etc.
Contact information of your three referees
- For your letters of recommendation, two of your referees must be academic contacts, and the third may be academic or professional
Your complete academic history from all previous post-secondary institutions

The application takes about 30 minutes to complete. You may save your application and return to it later.

At the end of the application, you will need to pay a non-refundable $120 application fee. Your application will not be processed until payment is received.

Submit required documents

Once you've submitted your online application, you will have access to upload your required documents, and provide the contact information for your references. To do this, go to the "Supplemental Items & Documents" tab in your application, and upload the documents outlined below.

Transcripts

Preliminary Statement of Marks

Once you have submitted your application for admission and paid the application fee, you will be required to upload unofficial PDF copies of your academic transcript(s) from each post-secondary institution attended. This requirement will appear as Preliminary Statement of Marks or Additional Prelim. Statement under admission requirements on your Application Summary when you check your application status.
The uploaded transcript can be an unofficial copy of the transcript issued by the university or college, and must include a grading key/legend.
All pages of a transcript must be uploaded as a single PDF document.
Uploaded transcripts will be considered unofficial or preliminary. Official copies of your transcripts will be required only for applicants offered admission. This requirement will appear as Post-secondary Transcript under admission requirements on your Application Summary when you check your application status.

Uploading documents

Post-secondary Transcripts

If you receive an offer of admission, you will then be required to have your official post-secondary transcripts sent (by mail in a sealed envelope directly from the institution) to the address below. Please do not send official documents until we request them.

College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
Room 116 Thorvaldson Building, 110 Science Place
Saskatoon, SK CANADA S7N 5C9

Transcripts usually indicate the institution’s name, grading scheme (typically on back of transcript), your name, course names, numbers, credits, and the grades you have received. Depending on the country or institution, some features may not be available.
Transcripts in languages other than English must be accompanied by a certified translation.
If you are a current University of Saskatchewan student completing your undergraduate program then a letter of completion of degree requirements will be required from your college.

Proof of English language proficiency (if required)

For students who are required to provide proof of English proficiency:

It is your responsibility to have completed a relevant test with the appropriate score before the application deadline.
Tests are valid for 24 months after the testing date and must be valid at the beginning of the student's first term of registration in the graduate program.
Applicants will be required to upload a PDF copy of any required language test score. Uploaded test scores will be considered unofficial or preliminary.

If you receive an Offer of Admission you may be required to have your official language test scores sent to the address below. Please do not send official documents until we request them.

College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
Room 116 Thorvaldson Building - 110 Science Place
Saskatoon, SK CANADA S7N 5C9

Submit additional documents

In addition to the above official documents, please upload the following documents: