Occupational and Public Health (MSc)

Master's Thesis

In the Master's Thesis, students conduct an advanced examination of a topic in occupational and public health. Students propose and carry out the research under the direction of a faculty supervisor and a thesis supervisory committee. On completion, the research is submitted in a thesis format to the supervisor and defended by the student before a thesis examination committee. This is a "Milestone." Pass/Fail.

Four Required Courses

OH8001 Research Methodology and Study Design for Occupational and Public Health

This course will provide the methodological foundation for interdisciplinary research in occupational and public health. Students will learn to select appropriate study designs for their topic of interest. Both experimental and observational study designs will be discussed, with particular attention to minimizing biases and confounding in occupational and public health research. Rigorous designs for data collection instruments, including questionnaires, will be emphasized. Additional topics will involve research ethics and a framework for reporting research findings.

OH8002 Evidence-based Prevention in Occupational and Public Health

This course will introduce students to a range of occupational and public health problems, with particular emphasis on problems that intersect both domains. The course will explore ways in which scientific analysis and management concepts and approaches can be applied to developing effective and collaborative evidence-based prevention approaches. Academic and professional experts will present research and case studies on current and emerging topics. Students will develop and apply a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to solving an occupational or public health issue.

OH8003 Data Analysis for Research in Occupational and Public Health

This course will build on standard undergraduate coursework in statistics to provide a foundation for advanced data analysis methods used in occupational and public health research. Topics will include ANOVA methods for complex experimental designs, multiple linear regression, logistic regression, and survival analysis. Students will be provided hands-on experiential learning using statistical software packages and publicly available occupational and public health datasets.

OH8004 Knowledge Synthesis in Occupational and Public Health

This course will cover structured methods of comprehensively synthesizing and reviewing research evidence. Detailed guidance will be provided on the design and conduct of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in occupational and public health. Students will be required to identify an individual occupational or public health review topic of key relevance to their thesis and will conduct a structured literature review on this topic.

A seminar series

OH8005 Seminar Series in Occupational and Public Health

This course will include seminar presentations and group discussions on key thesis and graduate research milestones, including research question development, thesis research and writing, and conference and networking skills. Each student will present on their thesis topic and research progress.

Two elective courses

OH8210 Epidemiology for Public and Population Health

This course will provide foundations of epidemiological methods for the analysis of population and public health data. Students will use example data from case-control, longitudinal and cross-sectional studies to develop and test hypotheses. Methods unique to injury, chronic disease and infectious disease epidemiology will be explored.

OH8211 Hazard Assessment for Occupational Health and Safety

This course will explore the methods used in assessing occupational and environmental health and safety hazards. Approaches used to assess physical agents, chemicals and biological hazards for research purposes will be explored.

In consultation with your supervisor, you may also enroll in electives from other graduate programs at the university, depending on course availability and instructor permission. Please note that not all electives listed will be offered in an academic year. Related electives include: 

• SA8901 Geospatial Data Analytics
• SA8903 Applied Spatial Statistics
• ES8911 Ecotoxicology
• ES8920 Environmental Policy and Management
• ES8925 Decision Making/Strategic Planning in Management
• ES8927 Risk Assessment in Environmental Management
• ES8929 Responding to Climate Change
• ME8103 Advanced Human Factors
• MN8920 Health Policy: A Comparative Analysis
• MN8911 Population Health & Health Promotion
• MN8910 Individuals and Families Experience with Health and Illness: Theoretical Perspectives
• MN8931 Diversity and Globalization: Promoting Urban Health
• MN8932 Issues of Informatics, Knowledge Transfer and Exchange
• MN8935 Theory and Practice of Program Planning and Evaluation
• NC8102 Nutrition and Health Behaviour
• NC8201 Food and Nutrition Policy
• PS8503 Special Topics in Health Psychology
• PS8529 Qualitative Research Methods
• PS8506 Perceptual and Cognitive Ergonomics
• SS8001 Advanced Qualitative Methods