Health Science – Public Health specialization

The Bachelor of Health Science (Honours) program has been designed to meet the needs of undergraduates aspiring to enter a variety of health-related careers or wishing to pursue postgraduate and professional studies.

The Bachelor of Health Science (Honours) is a multi-focused undergraduate degree that enables students to explore diverse aspects of healthcare delivery, health research and promoting human wellness while pursuing studies that build on their particular interests.

This degree is designed to deliver a broad-based curriculum for students to discover exciting areas of impact on human health. The program has a strong interdisciplinary focus weaving together physiological, sociological, and epidemiological perspectives on major health issues.

Successful first year students will progress within the specializations: Human Health Science Specialization or Public Health Specialization. Students interested in exercise for rehabilitation and health improvement who were admitted to the Kinesiology major, will continue on in one of three options in that major - Exercise Science, Health and Wellness or Rehabilitation. Each option offers upper year electives that extend knowledge in core areas while also promoting critical thinking skills related to healthcare and major health issues in Canada.

Graduates are positioned to formulate questions related to human health, address technical and theoretical problems, and excel at analytical thinking.

Effective 2013-2014, students are not being admitted to the Comprehensive specialization. It is anticipated that students currently in progress in the Comprehensive specialization will continue in their current program map until completion of their degree.  Program maps for the Comprehensive specialization can be found online at healthsciences.uoit.ca. Students will be allowed to take courses from the new specialization maps that are developed as electives in their current program map, where prerequisites and sequencing will allow.  Special permission of the instructor will be considered in cases where exact prerequisite matches may not occur.

Public health is a discipline that considers health from the perspective of communities, from the neighbourhood level up to national and international communities. The Public Health specialization focuses on maintaining and improving health from the perspective of disease prevention and health promotion. It will provide students with knowledge surrounding the health status of populations, inequities in health, the determinants of health and illness, strategies for health promotion, disease and injury prevention and health protection, as well as the factors that influence the delivery and use of health services. Career opportunities in Public Health include health promotion program co-ordinator, policy analyst, injury prevention specialist, occupational health and safety, environmental health, rehabilitation, public and non-profit sector administration and/or policy development.

Students may apply to the Public Health specialization at the end of their first year of studies.

Although reasonable efforts will be made to adhere to the following program map, course requirements and term offerings may change. For the most up-to-date list of course offerings, please visit the faculty website at healthsciences.uoit.ca.

Admission is competitive. The specific average or standing required for admission varies from year to year. Students are selected by taking into consideration a wide range of criteria including school marks, distribution of subjects taken, and performance in subjects relevant to the academic program. Possession of the minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance. Preference will be given to applicants with the best qualifications.

Current Ontario secondary school students must complete the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) with six 4U or 4M credits including English (ENG4U) with a minimum grade of 60 per cent, Biology (SBI4U), and one of Advanced Functions (MHF4U) or Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U) or Mathematics of Data Management (MDM4U). It is recommended for students applying to the Human Health Science specialization or the Kinesiology major: Exercise Science option, that Chemistry (SCH4U) is also taken. All other applicants should refer to admissions for the requirements for their specific category of admission.

To be eligible for a Bachelor of Health Science (Honours) degree, students must successfully complete 120 credit hours. Degree and program requirements are subject to change without notice. The following program maps are only a guide and are to be used in combination with proper advising. Students wishing to make changes to their program of study should consult their academic advisor.