Urban Health PhD

Urbanization, which began with industrialization, has intensified over the past few decades under the complex social, economic and political forces associated with globalization, neoliberalism and advanced capitalism. Neoliberal market-oriented policies, adopted by many nations around the world, have contributed to increased environmental degradation, economic inequities, social vulnerabilities and health disparities. Thus, to effectively define the evidence and research direction for urban health priorities, a theoretical frame of reference is needed to explain how the urban context may affect health; and to identify strategies for addressing health related issues1.  Urban health is the health and disease of a population that is a result of exposure to populations living in highly dense settings.  

Values are the fundamental guides and stimuli for action. They underpin the curriculum and are the standards, principles, and judgements in which the curriculum is rooted. The values that underpin the Urban Health PhD program include: equity, resilience, collaboration, and sustainability.  

Upon completion of this interdisciplinary program, graduates will be able to:  

1. Work collaboratively with team members from a variety of disciplines and professions to develop innovative, sustainable strategies and solutions to challenges pertaining to urban populations that can relate to health and well-being; safety and security; and/or migration, immigration and settlement. 
2. Engage in clear, effective and respectful collaborative interpersonal communication with professionals and other members of diverse and equity seeking teams and communities in urban health settings. 
3. Verbally present, discuss and defend information, reasoned arguments, sustainable strategies and solutions, as well as research findings; clearly and concisely for an audience from diverse disciplines and professions. 
4. Write clearly, concisely and effectively for research, policies, and urban community audiences on issues pertaining to equity, resilience, collaboration and sustainability within urban health. 
5. Plan, design and implement innovative and advanced research studies in response to complex challenges and issues relating to urban health. 
6. Reflect, discuss and apply critical reasoning to the generation, selection and application of theories, methodologies and empirical knowledge to address fundamental urban health questions in the primary area of study that can relate to health and well-being; safety and security; and/or migration, immigration and settlement. 
7. Lead research that is ethically sound, and demonstrates initiative, as well as personal and professional responsibility.

Expected duration: 4 years – The first student cohort will begin January 2021; the next intake will begin September 2022.

Courses

Courses – Required Courses – There are 4 required core courses:

UH9010 Theories and Concepts in Urban Health

This course will review theoretical issues relating to urban health that include: health equity, primary health care, and urban health systems. Specifically, principles pertaining to the development and testing of theories and concepts will be presented. Students will be expected to demonstrate a critical analysis of the relevance and applicability of urban health theories and concepts throughout their assignments. As well, the inter-relationship between major global trends, municipal level determinants, urban living conditions, urban health systems, and outcomes will be examined and applied to inter-disciplinary based case studies and small group activities.

UH9011 Research in Urban Health Settings: Methodological Issues, Strengths, and Opportunities

This course will examine the issues, strengths, and opportunities that arise through interdisciplinary team research, as well as specific methodological issues that commonly arise in urban health research (e.g., recruitment of hard-to-reach samples, obtaining consent, collecting data, measurement, strategies to enhance enrollment and completion of research among diverse populations).Students will engage in activities that include: creation of a report of a research study derived from existing datasets and/or qualitative data (e.g. faculty members own research or data available at the local, provincial or federal level), as well as evaluation of study quality and rigor using a defined framework reflective of the study methodology.

UH9012 Pathways to Becoming a Successful Scientist – Seminar 

Students will be required to attend a seminar every other week, during their first year. The goals are to 1) promote inter-professional collaboration in the understanding of urban health concerns and issues and in generating relevant solutions; and 2) socialize students and prepare them to assume the role of clinical scientist. The seminar will involve meaningful academic activities, including guest presentations on topics related to Issues pertaining to Urban Health and Interprofessional Collaboration; student presentations of their collaborative work in understanding and finding solutions to urban health concerns; and participating in class-based collaborative reviews of papers and proposals.

UH9013: Data Analysis in Urban Health Research

This course focuses on the theory, techniques and issues of data (quantitative and qualitative) analysis and interpretation. Topics addressed include points of focus in analyzing text data, tools for helping to analyze data (summaries, self-memos, and research diaries), and common qualitative (thematic content, narrative, and discourse analyses) and quantitative descriptive (chi-square and regression) and inferential (t-tests, analysis of variance, structural equation modelling) analyses. Students are expected to have their own data to work with, ideally from their own dissertation projects.

Elective(s) - Students will take a minimum of one elective course. The elective course can be selected from the list of existing graduate courses (see below).  The elective course must have a clear link to the theoretical, substantive or methodological component of the dissertation and will need to be approved by the dissertation committee prior to course enrolment. Even though the number of courses required for successful completion is five, students may be encouraged to take additional electives depending on their overall level of substantive, theoretical, and methodological knowledge as identified by their dissertation committee.

Candidacy Exam - Students will be required to pass a Candidacy Examination that includes the completion and successful oral examination of the dissertation proposal during their second year (5th term of enrolment) in the PhD Program.

Details about the exam procedures to be added in the future. 

Dissertation - Once the student has passed the Candidacy Exam, they will be required to undertake an original study. This research will culminate in the student writing a dissertation and defending it through a final PhD Oral Examination no later than their twelfth term of enrolment in the PhD Program. 

Details about the defense and exam procedures to be added in the future.