Occupational and Public Health (MSc): Thesis Option

As a graduate of the Occupational and Public Health (MSc): Thesis Option, you’ll have the advanced skills and knowledge needed to conduct applied research and propose evidence-based recommendations to address key occupational and public health challenges.

With this skill set, you’ll have diverse career opportunities.

Career Possibilities

• Policy advisor or analyst
• Research analyst or coordinator
• Scientist
• Manager
• Consultant

Employment Sectors

• Government (municipal, provincial, federal)
• Manufacturing 
• Healthcare
• Transportation
• Construction
• Non-profit

Further Education

• PhD programs in areas such as public health, occupational and environmental health, epidemiology and urban health

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.

Three Required Courses

• OH8001 Research Methods 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. Reviewing the literature to develop a research question as well as rigorous designs for data collection instruments, including questionnaires, will be emphasized. Additional topics will involve critical appraisal and research ethics. 1 Credit.
• OH8002 Occupational and Public Health Principles and Practices 
  This course will introduce students to the fields of occupational and public health. It will provide an overview of current and emerging occupational and public health problems and issues affecting communities, workplaces, and society. A particular emphasis will be placed on problems that intersect both domains, illustrated through case studies from the field. Students will develop and apply a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to solving an occupational or public health issue. 1 Credit.
• OH8003 Data Analysis for 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 for the assessment of environmental and occupational exposures and a range of health outcomes. Topics will include 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. 1 Credit.

Seminar Series

• OH8005 Seminar Series in Occupational and Public Health I (Fall) 
  This course will feature presentations by guest speakers, faculty, and students in the program. Presentations will cover research, writing skills, and presentation tips. All program students are required to participate in the seminar series. Pass/Fail
• OH8006 Seminar Series II (Winter) 
  This course will feature presentations by guest speakers, faculty, and students in the program. Presentations will cover research, career planning, and professional practice. All program students are required to participate in the seminar series. Pass/Fail

One Elective Course

Program courses include:

• OH8004 Knowledge Synthesis in Occupational and Public Health
  This course will cover structured methods of synthesizing and reviewing research evidence to support decision-making in occupational and public health. Detailed guidance will be provided on how to conduct and evaluate systematic reviews and meta-analysis, scoping reviews, and other types of evidence reviews. Students will gain experience practicing key stages of the review process throughout the course. 1 Credit.
• 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. 1 Credit.
• OH8211 Environmental and Occupational Exposures 
  This course will cover exposures that influence occupational and public health and how these can be measured to understand their human health impacts. Approaches used to assess chemical, physical, and biological exposures for research and surveillance purposes will be explored. 1 Credit.
• OH8220 Qualitative Methods in Occupational and Public Health
  This course will provide an introduction and overview of qualitative research methods in occupational and public health contexts. Topics will include foundations of qualitative inquiry, theoretical approaches, methods of data collection and analysis, ethical considerations, interpretation and presentation of results, and the application of qualitative methods to current and emerging issues and problems. 1 Credit.
• OH8230 Health Equity and Well-Being: Population Health Perspectives
  This course will provide students with an advanced understanding of the structural and social determinants of population health and well-being in an increasingly interconnected world. Students will examine the ways in which health systems, social policies, economic conditions, climate change, digital transformations, and community environments drive the inequitable distribution of power and resources and shape the experiences, health, and well-being of diverse populations. Students will learn how to apply an equity and intersectoral lens to analyze complex issues and challenges and develop collaborative solutions that promote health equity and well-being. 1 Credit.

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 below will be offered in an academic year. Related electives include: 

• DS8007 Advanced Data Visualization
• ES8911 Ecotoxicology
• ES8920 Environmental Policy and Management
• ES8922 GIS for Environmental Management
• ES8923 Environmental Assessment
• ES8927 Risk Assessment in Environmental Management
• ES8929 Responding to Climate Change
• ME8103 Advanced Human Factors
• MN8910 Individuals and Families Experience with Health and Illness: Theoretical Perspectives
• MN8911 Population Health & Health Promotion
• MN8920 Health Policy: A Comparative Analysis
• 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
• PL8315 Transportation Planning
• PS8503 Special Topics in Health Psychology
• PS8508 Critical Perspectives in Psychology
• SA8901 Geospatial Data Analytics
• SA8903 Applied Spatial Statistics

Grade Requirements

Credit towards program requirements will only be granted for a course where a student achieves a minimum grade of B- for master’s students. Failure to maintain an acceptable academic standing could result in students being asked to withdraw from the program.

• Injury prevention
• Environmental health
• Active transportation
• Ergonomics
• Occupational health and safety
• Epidemiology
• Risk and exposure assessment
• Toxicology
• Indigenous health
• Food safety
• Communicable diseases
• Built environments
• Water quality
• Public health policy
• Global health