Health Sciences (PhD) at University of Northern British Columbia

The PhD in Health Sciences offers students the opportunity to develop an advanced level of understanding and training in any one scientific discipline, or a combination of scientific disciplines, related to human health, the processes (E.g., sociological, biological, chemical, physical) that influence human health.  The PhD in Health Sciences promotes an integration of social, ethical, political, and cultural dimensions, and an understanding of basic biological, ecological and physical determinants of health. Students are expected to acquire a familiarity with the scope of disciplines that contribute to knowledge and practice in health sciences while developing expertise in a specific disciplinary area. Graduates from this program have an area of concentration, and a familiarity with other disciplines and are able to work constructively and show leadership within the increasingly complex multidisciplinary frameworks that are evolving across all parts of the health continuum.

Students must pass three separate assessments of their academic progress towards a PhD: a qualifying exam, a defense of the dissertation proposal, and a defense of the dissertation. The qualifying exam is tailored to ensure a cross-disciplinary aptitude, and tests the student's grasp of the core interdisciplinary materials presented in the seminar series as well as core concepts of their area of concentration derived from elective course work. The dissertation proposal defense ensures students have a grasp of their area of concentration and therefore examines the level of knowledge within that area of concentration. Upon successfully passing both the qualifying examination and the dissertation proposal defense, students are granted candidate status, and embark upon the dissertation work under the supervision of their faculty advisor. Following completion of the research, candidates must defend their dissertation before an examination committee.