phd digital health canada

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Welcome to the Centre

The International Centre for Translational Digital Health is a joint collaboration between the University of Toronto, the University of Manchester and the University of Melbourne. The mission of the Centre is to advance the field of Digital Health in Canada, the UK, and Australia through the development , implementation , and translation of new technologies, policies, and service delivery models. The Centre brings together experts from a broad range of disciplines from each institution to share and develop knowledge, engage in collaborative activity, and leverage each other’s distinct national research environments. Its impact is the creation and commercialization of new technologies, the translation of theory into more effective public policy, and the strengthening of health services delivery.

The Centre offers numerous opportunities to support and promote members, create collaborations, and provide value to industry partners:

• Joint Canada-UK-Australia research projects
• Funding opportunities
• Researcher and industry network exchange
• Lectures, workshops, and symposia

Our hubs allow for members to connect on important topics in digital health.

Digital health technologies

Data science and AI

Health services research and implementation

Digital health equity

A unique global partnership.

Three cities and three universities perfectly positioned to impact digital health technologies.

The Centre is part of a larger collaboration between the Universities of Toronto, Manchester and Melbourne, with each university bringing unique expertise and experience. The Centre is supported by the Office of the Vice-President, International (OVPI), the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, by the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health at the University of Manchester and by the Faculty of Medicine Denistry and Health Sciences, the School of Computing and Information Systems, and the Centre for the Digital transformation of Health at the University of Melbourne.

This partnership allows the Centre to build upon shared experiences and expertise in public health systems and digital health technologies between three world-leaders in healthcare delivery innovation. The similarities of our cities allow for immediate cross-pollination of ideas and implementation.

Centre Directors

The Centre is lead by digital health, health policy, and engineering experts from the Universities of Toronto, Manchester and Melbourne.

Dr. Dionne Aleman

Department of mechanical & industrial engineering, faculty of applied science & engineering, university of toronto.

Dr. Emily Seto

Institute for health policy, management & evaluation, dalla lana school of public health.

Prof. Niels Peek

Christabel pankhurst institute for health technology research and innovation, university of manchester.

Prof. William Dixon

Centre for epidemiology versus arthritis, faculty of biology, medicine and health.

Mrs. Charlotte Stockton-Powdrell

Division of informatics, imaging and data sciences.

Prof. Wendy Chapman

Centre for digital transformation of health, medicine, dentistry and health sciences, university of melbourne.

Dr. Daniel Capurro

Computing and information systems, engineering and it, thank you for visiting.

Please contact us for more information on how to join the Centre or participate in Centre activities.

To subscribe to our mailing list, please follow this link .

Contact us:

digital.health@utoronto.ca

Contact: International Centre for Translational Digital Health Email: [email protected]

© 2024 University of Toronto |  University of Manchester  | University of Melbourne

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PhD in Health Informatics

We are no longer accepting applications for the MSc or PhD programs for September 2024 entry. The next application entry term is  September 2025  with an  application deadline of January 15, 2025 . 

We offer a PhD in Health Informatics program which will prepare scholars to discover and extend their scientific knowledge and advance the science and practice of health informatics. Many of our PhD graduates:

• Assume leadership roles in health informatics and health care systems
• Generate new knowledge through research and testing of theory and contribute to feasible solutions to advance health care in a culturally diverse society
• Translate research findings into practice and policy at multiple levels
• Reflect an interdisciplinary perspective in research and scholarly endeavours

The program is built around our core interdisciplinary specializations:

• Design and structure of digital information systems
• Implementation and evaluation of digital health information systems
• Health information systems applications
• Health data science and analytics
• Patient and equity-focused health technology interventions
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• Full-Time (Thesis)
• Full-Time or Part-Time (Course Based)
• Program Requirements

Interdisciplinary

Business of healthcare, your network, learning approach.

• eHealth in the GTHA
• eHealth Research at McMaster
• External Recognition

Fees and Funding

Program options.

• Choose McMaster

The eHealth MSc

Create the healthcare system only you can imagine.

McMaster’s eHealth MSc program is a unique healthcare graduate program that immerses you in the world of digital health informatics. Offered through a collaboration by three prestigious McMaster Faculties and Schools – the Faculty of Health Sciences, the Faculty of Engineering, and the DeGroote School of Business – the eHealth MSc builds on theoretical foundations in healthcare, information technology and business. An 8-month internship offers firsthand perspective on how these fields intersect in the transformation of modern healthcare delivery and management.

You do not need an information technology degree to enroll in the eHealth MSc. Our interdisciplinary approach to learning lets you identify your area of study and pursue this through elective coursework and research. The program’s flexibility means that your academic experience can be as broad or as focused as you like. Modes of study include full time course-based, full time thesis-based, and part-time options.

Why Choose McMaster?

Explore the use of modern information and communication technology to meet the needs of the healthcare world.

Our program’s unique take on eHealth is enhanced by McMaster’s international reputation for research excellence and integrated learning.

The internship experience is central to your learning process, providing contact time well beyond most probationary periods for full-time work.

McMaster’s eHealth MSc will expose you to classmates from diverse professional, academic and international backgrounds.

This student-centred approach encourages you to ask the questions that lead to discovery and problem solving, rather than presenting you with established facts and certainties.

You can earn your degree full-time (thesis or course-based) or part-time (course-based).

Admission Requirements

Is the eHealth program right for you? Learn about the admission requirements.

Information about tuition, fees, and financial support for students in the program.

The application portal for Fall 2024 cohort will open September 15, 2023

Please note:  we do not offer a January or May start to the program.

Please review the material on the How to Apply website before you begin your application.

Read about the application process and admission requirements on the eHealth website.

Start your application

Contact [email protected] if you have any questions along the way. We’re here to help.

Start Your Application

Application Cycle:  September 15, 2023 – January 14, 2024

Admissions Webinars:

Sheila Richardson and Margaret Leyland will share information about the program, the internship, and the application process.

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PhD in Health Information Science (PhD HIS)

Graduate studies in Health Information Science

Western’s Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS) and Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) offer three joint degrees: a PhD in Health Information Science, a one year, course-based Master of Health Information Science and a two year, thesis-based Master of Health Information Science. The PhD program is a research-intensive program designed for students who want to do independent, original research in health information science. The master's options are geared to either continued academic study, or entry into the job field.

Find out more about each program

Gain skills & knowledge in a rapidly expanding area of research

All three degree options provide students with fundamental knowledge in health and health care, including:

• Public health
• Health informatics and digital health
• Health policy and clinical health care
• Knowledge organization and management
• Knowledge translation
• Patient and professional information seeking behaviour
• Information ethics and policy

Meet our HIS students

Eliasu Yakubu

PhD HIS candidate.

Emily Porchak

MHIS candidate.

Danica Facca

Sandeep Dhaliwal

Tanaz Javan

Niharika Khanal

Amundeep Chaggar

Faculty of Information & Media Studies FIMS & Nursing Building, Room 2050 London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5B9 Tel: 519-661-3720 Privacy | Web Standards | Terms of Use | Accessibility

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Health Sciences (Doctoral program)

Program details.

Faculty Health Sciences

Degree Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Delivery method Hybrid online/in-class

Location Ontario Tech University, North Oshawa

Start dates September

Length Approximately 48 months, based on full-time study

Program load Full-time

Program format Courses with a PhD research thesis

The doctoral program in Health Sciences focuses on providing students with opportunities to develop the knowledge and skills required to conduct high-quality research that culminates into a   PhD   research thesis.

DOWNLOAD PROGRAM POSTCARD

• Admission requirements
• Application deadlines
• How to apply

Academic requirements:

• Completion of a research project or thesis-based master's-level degree in Health Sciences, Health Informatics, Kinesiology or equivalent from a recognized institution.
• Minimum B+ average (GPA: 3.3 on a 4.3 scale or 77 to 79 per cent).

Required supporting documents:

Please see the   checklist of required documents  for a list of supporting documentation that must be submitted with your application.

Additional requirements:

Admission depends on the identification of a supervisor who will provide significant support (faculty member has agreed to supervise) and the applicant’s exceptional academic qualities. It is recommended that applicants contact a potential supervisor and/or the graduate program director before formally applying.

Required test scores for English language proficiency:

Applications for admission to all graduate studies programs are submitted online. There are five steps you must go through to complete the application process. See   application process and requirements   for step-by-step instructions.

Many of our graduate programs are extremely competitive; the number of qualified applicants normally exceeds the number of seats available for each intake. Satisfaction of minimum entry requirements does not ensure admission.

Graduate training focuses on research conducted in one of three key areas in the Health Sciences:

• Community, Public and Population Health
• Health Informatics
• Community, Public and Population Health Students in the Community, Public and Population Health stream will develop a broad understanding of how the physical and social context shapes health, illness and health care. In particular, this includes research and analysis of cultural and economic differences and their implications for health and health care for diverse populations. Students will learn strategies to engage communities in efforts to reduce illness and promote health.
• Health Informatics Students in the Health Informatics stream will develop strategies to actively participate in multidisciplinary collaborations with diverse groups (e.g., patients, clinicians, health care managers, computer scientists, engineers) and will learn to assess and deploy the latest in computing and informatics systems to support efficient health care delivery. The Health Informatics stream prepares students to identify, develop and manage health care information systems that support health care administration, management, policy, training, clinical management and clinical research.
• Kinesiology Students in the Kinesiology stream will synthesize current research and integrate practical and theoretical knowledge to understand how and why exercise and physical activity can be used as an intervention to promote health and well-being in a range of populations, including those with developmental delays; children and adolescents; adults with chronic pain, cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic, psychiatric and neurological disease; as well as recreational and high-performance athletes. Students will have the option of diverse research experiences in the kinesiology area ranging from intensive laboratory-based studies with human populations to interventional studies with special populations.

Faculty website

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Research areas

Community, Public and Population Health:

• Chronic disease management
• Environmental health
• Health promotion
• Health and wellness of vulnerable populations
• Health policy
• Infectious disease
• Inequalities in health
• Mental health
• Social determinants of health

Health Informatics:

• Cloud computing in health care
• Health-care simulation
• Knowledge discovery in health care
• Mobility in health care
• Serious games in health care

Kinesiology:

• Exercise physiology
• Motor control
• Motor development
• Movement and neural plasticity
• Multidisciplinary influences on participation in physical activity
• Multidisciplinary influences on development of high-performance athletes
• Occupational biomechanics and ergonomics
• Pedagogy and physical eduation
• Physical activity promotion and diverse populations
• Physical activity and youth development
• Role of exercise in promoting health and function
• Skill acquisition in sport

Learn more about the research areas within this program and find research experts by visiting the  faculty’s website  and  the university's Expert Centre .

Additional information

Internal awards and funding.

Applicants to research-based graduate programs who are studying full-time are automatically considered for some types of funding at the time of admission.

Types of funding that do not require an application:

• Entrance scholarships
• Minimum funding packages
• Teaching assistantships, research assistantships and graduate research assistantships

For more details on the above funding opportunities, see   graduate student awards and funding .

Please note:   Part-time students are not eligible for the above funding opportunities.

External awards and funding

Graduate program applicants are encouraged to apply for   external awards   to help finance their education. The application process differs for each competition, so review the information carefully to determine where and when you must apply.   Please note:   The majority of these awards are for domestic or permanent residents only.

Tuition fees for graduate programs are charged on a flat-fee or fee-per-credit basis and vary by program and student status.

For current, specific fees and details on flat-fee versus fee-per-credit programs, please see   tuition and fees .

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School of Advanced Technology

It's not too late to apply. start in september..

Digital Health

Are you ready to transform health care.

• Complement previous post-secondary or work experience by blending information technology with additional digital health industry-accepted standards and practices.
• Students gain exposure to a range of information and technology contexts in healthcare, including rural and remote settings, hospitals and large healthcare organizations, and community-based healthcare.
• Employment opportunities include working in large healthcare institutions, data analysis, government, private sector healthcare providers, consulting firms, and data analysis.

Apply your computer programming talent to launch a career creating games of strategy and skill.

Program Information

Program availability and schedule, availability, international availability, competitive, program summary.

College Approved Certificate

Program Delivery

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Program Code

Area of Interest

Work Integrated Learning

Field projects

• Scheduled or unscheduled hours of activities intended to give student hands-on workplace experience for which the students do not typically receive a wage from the employer; this instructional project is characterized by:
• Activities that are an integral component of the curriculum of the program and are necessary for the completion of the program.
• Activities in which college staff guide students and undertake one or more of the following activities:
• Ensure that assignments given to students and the work being done by students are suitable for the program.
• Monitor the students’ progress in the field project activity.
• Help address problems encountered by students in the field project activity.
• Evaluate student’s performance in the field project activity.

Field placement/work placement

• Scheduled hours of activities intended to give student hands- on experience in the workplace and for which the students do not typically receive a regular salary or wage from the employer; this instructional setting is characterized by:
• Activities in which college staff do not directly supervise students and for which college staff undertake one or more of the following activities:
• Make periodic site visits.
• Monitor the students’ progress in the field placement activity.
• Help address problems encountered by students in the field or work placement activity.
• Evaluate student’s performance in the field or work placement activity.

The Digital Health Ontario College Graduate Certificate program helps you understand the ever-changing realities of the healthcare system, shifting towards a digital health ecosystem. This program provides you with the skills to lead and implement projects and contribute to their effectiveness and ultimately, to patient safety.

Through online, in-class and simulation activities, you gain both theoretical and practical knowledge. Your experience is also enhanced through exposure to broad information technology contexts in health care. These may include First Nations and Inuit, rural and remote settings, hospitals and other large healthcare organizations, as well as community-based health care and consumer health. This program provides you with opportunities to access research and development experiences in collaboration with digital health community partners by applying your skills in a hands-on, technology and research-rich learning environment.... (read more)

Programs at Algonquin College are delivered using a variety of instruction modes. Courses may be offered in the classroom or lab, entirely online, or in a hybrid mode which combines classroom sessions with virtual learning activities. Upon registration, each full-time student is provided an Algonquin email account which is used to communicate important information about program or course events.

Course Name:

Communication for Digital Health

Course Description:

Effective communication is essential for professionals working in digital health. Students use various communication strategies and tools fo... + Read More

Digital Health Information Technology I

Leaders in digital health require comprehensive knowledge of the fundamental concepts and components that make up the digital health ecosyst... + Read More

The Canadian Healthcare System

The Canadian healthcare system is complex and multi-faceted, raising unique information technology requirements. Emphasis is on examining ho... + Read More

Values and the Interprofessional Team

As key members of the healthcare team, digital health professionals must function as competent interprofessional collaborators. Students are... + Read More

Leadership and Management of Change in Digital Health

Successfully integrating digital health solutions into a healthcare setting requires knowledge and skills in health management. Students eng... + Read More

Project Management in Digital Health

A solid foundation in project management is essential for individuals interested in leading innovative projects within and across discipline... + Read More

Health Data Standards

Maintaining health data standards is critical in the digital health ecosystem in order to support the meaningful collection, storage and use... + Read More

Digital Health Information Technology II

Leaders and managers in digital health, who wish to be on the cutting-edge of the rapidly evolving technology curve, benefit from the explor... + Read More

Workflow, Human Factors and Patient Safety

Clinical processes and workflows are an important aspect of maintaining best practices and improving quality and patient safety. The introdu... + Read More

Health Ethics and Privacy

For healthcare to be delivered effectively individuals must often divulge sensitive personal information and agree to invasive procedures. T... + Read More

Digital Health Project I

Projects bring students together to apply practical skills and theory in an interprofessional team based setting. Students draw from theory ... + Read More

Education for Digital Health Implementation

Successfully implementing digital health solutions in an organization requires designing and delivering educational programs for management,... + Read More

Health Informatics - Project II

Projects bring students together to apply practical skills and theory in an interprofessional team based project setting. Students draw from... + Read More

Digital Health Practicum

The practicum is an opportunity for students to practise the breadth and depth of knowledge and skills gained throughout the program in a cl... + Read More

Digital Health Seminar

The seminar is an opportunity for students to discuss and provide feedback to their colleagues on the projects they are working on in placem... + Read More

Digital Health Systems Design and Analysis

Sound reasoning should support all decisions regarding the introduction of digital health solutions into an organization. With focus on stra... + Read More

COM0009 Communication for Digital Health

Cst0003 digital health information technology i, cst0004 health data standards, cst0005 digital health information technology ii, hlt0232 the canadian healthcare system, hlt0233 workflow, human factors and patient safety, hlt0234 health ethics and privacy, hlt0235 digital health project i, hlt0361 values and the interprofessional team, mgt0097 leadership and management of change in digital health, mgt0098 project management in digital health, careers & pathways.

Please use our Pathways tool to search for pathway options.

Learning Outcomes

Tuition & fees.

Get an idea of how much each semester will cost with our Tuition and Fee Estimator .

2024/2025 Academic Year

Admissions requirements, application information, additional information, program resources, program coordinator.

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Do you fit this Program ?

• Do you enjoy learning about, and working with current technology in the rapidly changing environment of digital health? Yes No
• Are you comfortable communicating with and leading groups of peers in professional settings? Yes No
• Do you seek opportunities to work with groups of individuals with diverse professional backgrounds? Yes No
• Are you comfortable making and executing decisions? Yes No
• Do you value lifelong learning? Yes No

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Programs and courses

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Doctorate in Philosophy Digital Transformation and Innovation

* Please note that the former title of this program was: Doctorate in Philosophy Electronic Business.

• Degree offered: Doctorate in Philosophy (PhD)
• Registration status options: Full-time
• Language of instruction: English
• within four years of full-time study
• Academic units:  Telfer School of Management ,  Faculty of Arts ,  Faculty of Engineering ,  School of Electrical and Computer Science

Program Description

The Digital Transformation and Innovation program is a multi-faculty collaboration between the Telfer School of Management, the Faculty of Arts, and the Faculty of Engineering to train highly qualified professionals to create, manage and research the profound change to our world that is happening as a result of electronic digital technology. At its heart, the technology enables the collection and communication of huge amounts of data that transforms how business and society works. It also creates a new online environment where the experience of business and social interactions by individuals is being reinvented. Innovation is an important aspect of the program to emphasize the re-invention and creative design of user experiences in business and social interactions. 

For more information please see the DTI Student Association webpage.

Main Areas of Research

Research in the Digital Transformation and Innovation program is multi-disciplinary and involves collaboration between professors and students in Telfer School of Management, Faculty of Arts, and Faculty of Engineering. Design is a significant aspect of research in Digital Transformation and Innovation. This includes: design and implementation of applications, information design, visual literacy, user experience, and audience research. 

Telfer School of Management

• Digital Marketing, Consumer Behavior, Customer Experience Design and Relationship Management
• Business Analytics and Business Intelligence
• Health Systems Innovation and Management
• Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Strategic Management
• Business Technology Management (including IT Diffusion, Adoption and Consumerization)
• Globalization, Governance, and Sustainability

Faculty of Arts

• Algorithmic culture, platformatization, and datafication
• Information and communication regulation and policy
• Privacy and surveillance
• Cultural, economic, political, and social impacts of innovation in digital networks and applications
• Information governance and ethics

Faculty of Engineering

• Applied Data Science
• User Experience
• Digital Health
• Cloud Computing
• Internet of Things

Other Programs Offered Within the Same Discipline or in a Related Area

• Master of Science Digital Transformation and Innovation
• Master of Digital Transformation and Innovation 
• Master of Digital Transformation and Innovation with Concentration in UX Design
• Master of Digital Transformation and Innovation with Concentration in Applied Data Science

Fees and Funding

• Program fees

The estimated amount for  university fees  associated with this program are available under the section  Finance your studies .

International students enrolled in a French-language program of study may be eligible for a  differential tuition fee exemption .

• To learn about possibilities for financing your graduate studies, consult the  Awards and financial support  section.
• Programs are governed by the  general regulations  in effect for graduate studies at the University of Ottawa.
• In accordance with the University of Ottawa regulation, students have the right to complete their assignments, examinations, research papers, and theses in French or in English.

Program Contact Information

Graduate Studies Office, Faculty of Engineering STE 1024 800 King Edward Ave. Ottawa ON Canada K1N 6N5

Tel.: 613-562-5347 Fax.: 613-562-5129 Email:  [email protected]

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For the most accurate and up to date information on application deadlines, language tests and other admission requirements, please visit the  specific requirements  webpage.

To be eligible, candidates must:

• MSc in Digital Transformation and Innovation, in Management, in Health Systems, or in Systems Science;
• MASc in Electrical and Computer Engineering;
• Master of Computer Science;
• Master of Information Studies;
• MA in Communication;
• A master's in a related, relevant discipline.
• International candidates must check the admission equivalences for the diploma they received in their country of origin.
• Exceptionally, applicants holding a master's degree without thesis may be considered provided their file includes scholarly publications or equivalent evidence of their capacity for advanced research.
• Identify at least one professor in the program whose research interests correspond to yours and who is willing to supervise your research and thesis. We recommend that you contact potential thesis supervisors as soon as possible. 
• DTI 7100, or an equivalent course.
• At least one course (3 units) in a field other than the candidate's chosen field of research, to be chosen from the list of optional courses in the program. 
• The additional coursework is defined by the Admissions Committee, in consultation with the potential supervisor and the Graduate Studies Committee, and is specified in the student's letter of admission. 

Language Requirements

Most courses are delivered in English as the international language for advanced information technology. However, the program will provide an appropriately supportive environment for francophone students to develop professional competence in technical English at their own pace. Students have the right, as stipulated in the University's bilingualism regulations (Academic Regulations I-2), to complete all their work, including their thesis, in the official language of their choice (French or English). There are fully bilingual professors and advisors who can support students in French.

Applicants whose first language is neither French nor English must provide proof of proficiency in the language of instruction through one of the following two requirements or one of the language tests below.

• Proof of completion within the last five years, of a previous degree program in an English language university.
• Proof of recent prolonged residence and exercise of a profession in an English speaking country (normally at least four years over the last six years).

Language tests recognized by the University of Ottawa:

• TOEFL minimum score of 600 (paper-based) with a minimum score of 50 on the written and 50 on the spoken or a minimum score of 100 (internet-based).
• IELTS minimum score of 7 for 3 of the 4 tests (Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking) and a minimum score of 6 in the fourth test.
• A score of at least 14 on the CANTEST, with no individual test score below 4.0, along with a minimum score of 4.5 on the oral component of the test.
• Candidates are responsible for any fees associated with the language tests.
• Test scores cannot be more than two-years-old as of September 1 of the year of potential entry into the program. 
• The admission requirements listed above are minimum requirements and do not guarantee admission to the program.
• Admissions are governed by the  general regulations  in effect for graduate studies.

Fast-Track from Master's to PhD

Students enrolled in the MSc program in Digital Transformation and Innovation at the University of Ottawa may be eligible to fast-track directly into the doctoral program without writing a master's thesis, provided the following conditions are met:

• Completion of 12 units of MSc courses with a minimum average pf 8.5;
• Written recommendation from the proposed PhD thesis supervisor;
• Written recommendation from the Graduate Program Committee.

Requirements for this program have been modified. Please consult the  2023-2024 calendars  for the previous requirements.

Students must meet the following requirements: 1

The requirements outlined above are minimum. For information about additional courses, please see the Admissions Requirement section.

The optional course must be selected from the list of courses in the student's chosen field and must be preapproved by the Thesis Advisory Committee

The comprehensive examination is a two-part examination (written and oral) this is overseen by the Advisory Committee. Once the written exam has been passed, the student proceeds to the oral. A student who fails either component of the exam is allowed to repeat it the following term. A second failure in either component leads to withdrawal from the program. The comprehensive examination must normally be completed within 4 terms of commencing the program and, at the latest, by the end of the fifth term. Failure to sit and pass the examination by the deadline counts as a failure. Further details about the comprehensive exam are posted on the program's website. 

The thesis proposal, prepared under the direction of the thesis supervisor, must be defended to the satisfaction of the Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC). The proposal must normally be successfully completed by the end of the fifth term. In the event of failure, the proposal can be resubmitted and defended the following session at the latest. A second failure leads to withdrawal from the program. The proposal must be successfully defended before submitting it to the research Ethics Board (if required) and before undertaking and independent data collection. Further details about the thesis proposal are posted on the program's website. 

Students are responsible for ensuring they have met all of the thesis requirements .

Lists of Optional Courses 

Research Fields & Facilities 

Located in the heart of Canada’s capital, a few steps away from Parliament Hill, the University of Ottawa is among Canada’s top 10 research universities.

uOttawa focuses research strengths and efforts in four Strategic Areas of Development in Research (SADRs):

• Canada and the World
• Molecular and Environmental Sciences

With cutting-edge research, our graduate students, researchers and educators strongly influence national and international priorities.

DTI 5100 Introductory Seminar (1.5 unit)

Course Component: Seminar

DTI 5115 Communication Ethics (3 units)

Emphasis on the significance of ethical principles and responsibilities of public communicators, as well as sanctions faced when communicators fail to uphold these principles. Critique of self-regulation of the media. Analysis of argumentation. Study of legal precedents with respect to defamation.

DTI 5124 Internet Technologies and Mobile Commerce (3 units)

An examination of current Internet technologies, protocols and wired and wireless infrastructures. Analysis of current Internet-based businesses and consumer applications and services. Discussion of mobile commerce business models and strategies and their relevant technologies. Hands-on experience with discussed technologies and applications. Students will complete a project demonstrating and analyzing how an Internet-based application or service could be applied in their field of graduate study.

Course Component: Lecture

The courses DTI 5124 , GNG 5124 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 5125 Data Science Applications (3 units)

Analysis and design of various data cleaning, wrangling, blending, and visualization, statistical inference, classification, clustering, regression, and content analysis methods. Use of machine learning algorithms to extract meaningful information from data to make decisions. Formulating analytics problems for business and developing, evaluating, and maintaining machine learning models. Analyzing, generating, and communicating insights on the models. Hands-on experience with an integrated set of current data analytics, data mining, and machine learning tools.

Courses CSI 5155 , CSI 5387 , DTI 5125 , DTI 5126 , DTO 5120 , GNG 5125 , MIA 5126 , SYS 5170 cannot be combined for units

DTI 5126 Fundamentals for Applied Data Science (3 units)

Essential data science concepts relevant to practical applications are covered including: problem formulation; data acquisition; data pre-preprocessing, modeling and statistical analysis. Hands on experience with data science tools and techniques including: supervised and unsupervised machine learning; presentation of results; applications in areas such as accounting, finance, marketing and supply chain management.

Courses DTI 5126 , DTI 5125 , DTO 5120 , IAI 5120 , MIA 5126 , SYS 5170 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 5175 Mobile Commerce Technologies (3 units)

Wireless and mobile electronic commerce architecture and applications. Electronic banking, digital cash. Wireless exchanges, business models. Fixed and mobile wireless networks. Routing techniques. Content presentation. Security issues and solutions. Satellite networks for electronic commerce. Overview of relevant standards, protocols and technologies. Case studies.

DTI 5310 Ethics for Design, AI, and Robotics (3 units)

Artificial Intelligence technologies are becoming ever more present in applications like: automated vehicles and mobility-as-a-service (e.g. driving and system-level control algorithms); business intelligence (e.g. predictive resource allocation); consumer electronics (e.g. social robots and smart speakers); healthcare (e.g. image classification in medical imaging); the justice system (e.g. recidivism prediction and sentencing); and weapons systems (e.g. targeting and kill decision-making). Many of these applications are raising significant ethical concerns. A range of topics in applied technology ethics are examined through the lens of contemporary philosophy and applied ethics texts and popular media articles. Practical frameworks, methodologies and tools for anticipating, and addressing, ethical issues are introduced through hands-on, group-based design thinking workshops and projects.

Courses CSI 5195 , DTI 5310 , DTO 5310 , SYS 5170 , SYS 5295 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 5380 Systems and Architectures for Electronic Commerce (3 units)

Content and transactions in e-commerce systems. System architecture with a focus on frameworks, tools and development process. Application frameworks. Information management. Security, standards, and regulatory compliance. Current research issues. Hands-on experience with an integrated set of current e-commerce tools. E-commerce development project.

DTI 5389 Electronic Commerce Technologies (3 units)

Introduction to business models and technologies. Search engines. Cryptography. Web services and agents. Secure electronic transactions. Value added e-commerce technologies. Advanced research questions.

The courses DTI 5389 , DTO 5389 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 5501 Fondements de gestion pour les affaires électroniques (3 crédits)

Théorie des organisations et modèles d'affaires. Cadres d'analyse de gestion. Modèles de l'avantage compétitif. Introduction aux modèles de marketing. Chaînes de valeur. La gestion par les processus. Gestion de la chaîne d'approvisionnement. Gestion de la qualité. Gestion des ressources humaines.

Volet : Cours magistral

DTI 5502 Fondements des technologies de l'information pour les affaires électroniques (3 crédits)

Technologies d'Internet. Développement d'applications Web. Fondements des réseaux. Gestion des données et résolution de problèmes. Gestion de bases de données et d'entrepôts de données. Outils logiciels.

DTI 5503 Fondements des statistiques pour les affaires électroniques (3 crédits)

Théorie élémentaire des probabilités. Statistiques descriptives. Corrélations. Tables de fréquences. Tableaux croisés. Tests statistiques. Analyse multivariée.

DTI 5902 Projet de stage en entreprise / Industry Internship Project (6 crédits / 6 units)

Projet encadré par un expert de l'industrie et un professeur qui supervise le projet. Les projets internationaux (emplacement ou expert du secteur) sont autorisés. / Project mentored by an industry expert and a professor who co-supervise the project. International projects (location or industry expert) are permitted.

Volet / Course Component: Recherche / Research

Préalable : GNG 5301 . Les cours DTI 5902 , GNG 5902 ne peuvent être combinés pour l'obtention de crédits. / Prerequisite: GNG 5301 . Courses DTI 5902 , GNG 5902 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 5990 Études dirigées / Directed Readings I (1.5 crédit / 1.5 unit)

DTI 5991 Études dirigées / Directed Readings II (1.5 crédit / 1.5 unit)

DTI 6102 User Experience Principles and Practices (1.5 unit)

User experience (UX) facets including functionality, usability and desirability as key success factors for technology adoption and acceptance; Human-computer interaction (HCI) theories; UX frameworks and patterns for interaction design, information design, and visual design; UX management best practices; UX design methods and tools; UX evaluation and usability engineering.

The courses DTI 6102 , DTI 6103 , DTO 6106 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 6103 User Research (1.5 unit)

Understanding users’ behaviours, needs, motivations and challenges in user experience (UX); Common user research methods including interviews, surveys, focus groups, contextual inquiries; Principles and guidelines for generative & evaluative research; methods in qualitative and quantitative user research; Tools and techniques for in-person and remote research, and moderated vs automated approaches; heuristic evaluations and usability testing.

The courses DTI 6103 , DTI 6102 , DTO 6106 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 6104 Interaction Design (1.5 unit)

Principles of interaction design (IxD); Usability heuristics for user interface (UI) design; IxD tools and techniques including sketching, wireframing, and prototyping; UI design patterns for navigation, landing pages, search, and e-commerce; IxD best practices for mobile application design.

The courses DTI 6104 , DTI 6105 , DTO 6107 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 6105 Design Thinking (1.5 unit)

Design thinking as a collaborative creative process for problem-solving and designing human-centered solutions. Design thinking for driving business innovation, new product development, and customer experience. Best practices for design inspiration, ideation and implementation; essential design research skills for empathy, listening, collaboration, observation, critical analysis, and experimentation. Design Thinking tools and techniques including visualization, mapping, storytelling, rapid prototyping, and testing.

The courses DTI 6105 , DTI 6104 , DTO 6107 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 6130 Web Services (1.5 unit)

Web services business models and strategies. Enterprise Application Integration and Service Oriented Architectures. Web services technology standards. Consumer and enterprise adoption of web service technologies and platforms such as Mashups and Cloud Computing.

DTI 6160 Cyber Security Systems and Strategies (3 units)

User, data and network security principles. Information systems security standards. Security risk analysis frameworks. Overview of cyber security mechanisms including authentication, access control, data encryption and integrity, and Public Key Infrastructure. Cyber security including security in the wireless, cloud and IoT environments. Payment card industry security standards and compliance.

The courses DTI 6160 , MIA 6160 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 6180 Strategic Knowledge Management (1.5 unit)

Leveraging a firm’s intellectual capital to enhance organizational performance. Business analysis frameworks, strategy roadmaps and enterprise architectures relevant to the planning and execution of knowledge management initiatives in organizations. Using the web to maximize knowledge acquisition and sharing among employees.

The courses DTI 6180 , MIA 6180 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 6210 Electronic Commerce Architecture (1.5 unit)

Three-tier Architecture. Building an e-Commerce Site. Client and Server side Scripting. Interactivity. E-Commerce Data bases. E-CRM. Wireless Internet and m-Business. Intermediaries and Software Agents. XML applications.

DTI 6220 Data Analytics and Business Intelligence (1.5 unit)

Introduction to business data collection, data pre-processing, data warehouses, data marts, and online analytical processing. Data mining tasks including classification, clustering and association rules. Data mining model building, tools and techniques including decision trees, neural networks, and regression analysis. Application of these techniques in business including CRM, target marketing, credit scoring, churn, survival analysis, and fraud detection.

DTI 6230 Business Process Management and Performance Measurement (3 units)

Hands on introduction to Business Process Management Technologies. Review of the latest concepts for using technology to improve performance of business processes. Analysis of advances in Internet-enabled B2B and enterprise business models with emphasis on service-oriented and event-driven architecture. Introduction to current performance measurement tools and the role of data science in business process management. Example applications such as supply chain management, order processing, and health care process management will be studied.

Course Component: Laboratory, Lecture

DTI 6240 Mobile Commerce (1.5 unit)

M-Commerce business models and strategies, Wireless technology standards and evolution. Industry analysis and value creation frameworks. Diffusion and adoption of M-Commerce technologies. Demand-side and supply-side enterprise applications of M-Commerce.

DTI 6250 Document Engineering for Digital Transf. and Innovation (1.5 unit)

Digital Transf. and Innovation from a Document Engineering Perspective. E-documents as the basis for DTI relationships. Modelling DTI documents and Processes. XML as a vehicle to defining a formal structural and semantic definition for electronic documents. XML syntax, styles and transformations, Document Type Definitions, and schema languages. XML Vocabularies for DTI. XML standards, specifications, and software architectures for DTI. E-documents within the enterprise. E-document exchanges for multi-company business activities.

DTI 6260 Integrated Networks for the Enterprise (1.5 unit)

OSI reference model. LAN characteristics. Interconnecting LAN. Interconnecting with TCP/IP. Routing protocols. IPv6. WAN options. Security protocols. VPN. Enterprise-Wide Solutions.

DTI 6287 Business Intelligence Technologies & Big Data Analytics (1.5 unit)

Business Intelligence (BI) as a concept; review of major BI tools and methods; identification of the right types of BI for different types of decision making environments; introduction to Big Data; business applications of Big Data; review of the supporting technologies such as data bases and data warehouses and Big Data Platforms for integrating structured and unstructured data including Hadoop, sandbox analytics; Streaming Analytics, and advances in data warehousing appliances that accelerate analytics.

Courses DTI 6287 , ADM 6287 and ADM 6275 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 6300 Topics in Digital Transformation and Innovation (3 units)

Recent and advanced topics in the field of Digital Transformation and Innovation and its related areas. Topics vary from year to year.

DTI 6301 Topics in Digital Transformation and Innovation (1.5 unit)

DTI 6302 Topics in Applied Data Science (3 units)

Recent and advanced topics in the field of Applied Data Science and its related areas. Topics vary from year to year.

DTI 6303 Topics in Applied Data Science (1.5 unit)

DTI 6304 Topics in User Experience Design (3 units)

Recent and advanced topics in the field of User Experience Design and its related areas. Topics vary from year to year.

DTI 6305 Topics in User Experience Design (1.5 unit)

DTI 6402 Affective and Persuasive Computing (3 units)

Overview of human affective models and affect modalities. Design and development of affect estimation algorithms using artificial intelligence. Modality fusion and multimodal affect estimation. Persuasive technology and its applications. Persuasion design and persuasive strategies. Application of persuasive strategies in serious gaming. Current challenges in the fields of affective computing and persuasive technology.

DTI 6700 Thèmes choisis en affaires électroniques (3 crédits)

Sujets actuels et avancés en affaires électroniques et disciplines connexes. Les sujets varient d'une année à l'autre.

DTI 6701 Thèmes choisis en affaires électroniques (3 crédits)

DTI 6900 Stage international / International Work Term (3 crédits / 3 units)

Expérience pratique dans un milieu de travail international. Noté S (satisfaisant) / NS (non satisfaisant) selon les résultats de rapport écrit et l'évaluation de l'employeur. / Practical international experience.

Volet / Course Component: Cours magistral / Lecture

DTI 6950 Lectures dirigées / Directed Readings (1.5 crédit / 1.5 unit)

DTI 6997 Projet de recherche / Research project (6 crédits / 6 units)

Le sujet de recherche, ainsi que le professeur qui va le diriger, doivent être approuvés par la direction du programme avant l'inscription à la troisième session. Le sujet peut être de nature théorique (par exemple, une évaluation de la documentation ou une étude de la littérature scientifique) ou appliquée (par exemple, des études de cas). Un mémoire, d'une cinquantaine de pages, doit être rédigé et approuvé par le professeur qui le dirige ainsi qu'un autre professeur. / The research topic and the professor who will direct it must be approved by the program director prior to registration in the third session. The topic can be theoretical (for instance, based on a documentation assessment or a review of the scientific literature) or applied (based on case studies). A research paper, about 50 pages long, must be written and approved by the project director and another professor.

DTI 7100 Research Methods in Digital Transf. and Innovation (3 units)

Philosophy of Science. Research problem definition. Research Designs. Experimental Research. Modeling principles: analytical modeling and simulation. Measurement and scaling. Sampling. Hypotheses testing and statistical significance. Multivariate Analysis. Mathematical properties of computational problems: decidability and computability. Qualitative methods. Writing a Research Manuscript. Presentation of research results.

DTI 7101 Research Workshop in Digital Transf. and Innovation (1.5 unit)

Writing a Research Project proposal including problem formulation and work plan. Essentials of graduate report writing, information management, literature search techniques and reference management. Research ethics including academic integrity and avoiding academic fraud.

DTI 7102 Interdisciplinary Research Methods in Digital Transf. and Innovation (1.5 unit)

Writing a Thesis Proposal. Research design. Introduction to positivist and interpretive approaches, behavioral and design science research, qualitative and quantitative research methods, and sampling strategies and techniques.

DTI 7103 Visual Literacy and User Experience Design Principles (3 units)

Fundamentals of visual, interaction and motion design theories and principles as they relate to User Experience Design (UXD). A series of hands-on workshops and assignments focus on building visual literacy through guided observations, visual design critiques, and visual redesigns of existing screen-based digital products (i.e. website, interactive kiosk interface, mobile app etc.). Students will complete a design project. Students will conduct research and scholarship in visual literacy, and UXD and justify their design decisions in writing.

The courses DTI 7103 , DTO 7103 cannot be combined for units.

DTI 7990 Proposition de thèse / Thesis Proposal

DTI 8101 Interdisciplinary Doctoral Seminar in Digital Transformation and Innovation I (3 units)

Recent developments in Digital Transformation and Innovation research. Critical analysis of theories, models, and methods. Critical synthesis of the field literature from different perspectives. Students will write a systematic survey paper of the literature relevant to their research in one of the three fields of the program. The paper must be in a different field from that selected for the paper in DTI 8102 . Course reserved for students in the Digital Transformation and Innovation PhD program.

DTI 8102 Interdisciplinary Doctoral Seminar in Digital Transformation and Innovation II (3 units)

Recent developments in Digital Transformation and Innovation research. Critical analysis of theories, models, and methods. Critical synthesis of the field literature from different perspectives. Students will write a systematic survey paper of the literature relevant to their research in one of the three fields of the program. The paper must be in a different field from that selected for the paper in DTI 8101 . Course reserved for students in the Digital Transformation and Innovation PhD program.

DTI 9997 Projet de thèse doctoral / Doctorate Thesis Proposal

DTI 9998 Examen général de doctorat / Comprehensive Exam

Undergraduate Studies

For more information about undergraduate studies at the University of Ottawa, please refer to your faculty .

Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

For more information about graduate studies at the University of Ottawa, please refer to your academic unit .

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Digital Health Canada Volunteer Faculty

Digital Health Canada education and certification programs are the first cross-disciplinary programs to be developed with volunteer health informatics experts and leaders operating in a variety of professional settings: healthcare organizations, provincial/national government agencies, vendors, consultants, and academia. These volunteer experts populate the Digital Health Canada Faculty and are the backbone of the Core HI Education program.

Benefits of volunteering as a Digital Health Canada Faculty include:

• Personal and professional development opportunities as a speaker and industry thought leader committed to knowledge transfer and domain expertise
• Facilitating best practices and improving staff knowledge by fostering collaboration
• Fostering a learning environment that promotes mentorship internally and enhances relationships between staff members
• Providing tools that nurture unique viewpoints and promote innovation
• Deploying a common learning and development approach that will contribute to accelerated program launches (internal and external) based on organizational knowledge
• Receive continuing education hours for the maintenance of your CPHIMS-CA credential

Digital Health Canada actively recruits industry leaders from across Canada to contribute both expert content and experienced instruction of Core HI principals.

• Volunteers interested in Education Development focus on creating content for the Canadian Supplemental (CA) Exam, the CA Exam Guide, or for Digital Health Canada’s Core HI courses—HI professional education and certification is vital to the evolution of a dynamic healthcare system, and Digital Health Canada Faculty continuously update course and exam content to reflect changes in the digital health industry.
• Those interested in Education Instruction teach—either in-person or online—the material they know best a minimum of two times within a six month period.

Apply to become a Digital Health Canada Faculty Member

Start by completing the online application form at the link below. You must be a Digital Health Canada member and CPHIMS-CA credential holder to be considered for a Faculty volunteer role.

PhD Public Health Sciences

Creating a healthier future at the university of waterloo.

As part of the School of Public Health Sciences, you will be immersed in leading research, and gain the skills to tackle some of the biggest health concerns of today.

Besides our leading researchers, you will learn how to integrate perspectives from multiple disciplines as well as discover how to use research to design, implement, and evaluate health programs, policies and services.

Program overview 

• Transdisciplinary approach to addressing public and population health challenges in Canada and around the world
• You'll learn how to use research to improve the management and accountability of health promotion programs, and health or healthcare systems.
• PhD students in the School of Public Health Sciences can pursue a designated field to exemplify an area of expertise within their broader program. Fields include  epidemiology and biostatistics, health evaluation, health informatics, health and environment, global health, aging and health and work and health . 
• The University of Waterloo's unique Intellectual Property (IP) Rights Policy #73 grants ownership to the inventor.
• The Faculty of Health is committed to providing guaranteed funding over four years to support new domestic doctoral students as part of its PhD funding initiative. Students may also be eligible for additional scholarship and funding opportunities.
• Our alumni lead careers in research (industry, government and academia), health promotion, health planning, policy and health information analysis, research management, healthcare coordination, epidemiology, program evaluation, and other professions.
• Research-based, on campus
• 12 terms | 4 years (Full-time from Master's level)
• 24 terms | 8 years (Part-time from Master's level)
• Doctoral thesis
• Collaborative water specialization also available

Faculty research and expertise

Our research investigates and aims to solve significant local, provincial/state, national and international challenges in various areas of public health and health systems.

Learn more about our experts and their research areas →

Finding a supervisor

• A supervisor must be secured before an applicant is eligible to receive an offer of admission. Students are strongly advised to secure a confirmed supervisor before applying. Please review the  profiles of faculty members  in your areas of interest.
• Indicate your confirmed supervisor in the "requested supervisor" section of your application.
• If you do not have a confirmed supervisor, then use the "requested supervisor" section to name a supervisor with whom you would like to work.
• Before approaching a potential supervisor, check their profile and see if they are accepting new students to supervise.   Review other key topics for discussion with potential supervisors .
• Please avoid sending generic inquiries to supervisors. Students are more likely to successfully match with supervisors who share similar research interests and experiences.

Water specialization

Full- or part-time | On campus | Thesis based

Global water issues are becoming increasingly complex and often require a collaborative approach across the breadth of disciplines. The MSc Public Health and Health Systems offers a water specialization.

Facilitated by the University of Waterloo's   Water Institute , this collaborative approach provides access to more than 140 faculty members involved in water research across Waterloo's campus. The program allows you to develop   specialist expertise in public health and health systems, while matching the knowledge and skills required to communicate across disciplines and within interdisciplinary teams in the water sector. 

Find out more about graduate studies in the Collaborative Water Program →

Degree requirements →

Admission requirements

How to apply

Tuition costs

Living costs

Application deadline: feb 1.

For admission in September 

Apply today.

Our research graduate programs are highly competitive and receive far more applicants than we can accommodate. As such, we are not able to consider late or incomplete applications. For an application to be considered complete, all required documents, including academic references, must be submitted on or before the date above. You must also indicate an interested supervisor in the "requested supervisor" section of your application. We strongly recommend submitting your application no later than January 1 to allow time for document uploads and for references to be submitted by the January 15 deadline.

Considerations for international students before submitting an application:

• While the Faculty of Health at the University of Waterloo values international students in our graduate programs, we can only accept a small proportion of these students. 
• Guaranteed funding packages may not be able to cover all tuition and living expenses incurred during a graduate program and students are encouraged to understand more about the cost of completing their graduate program before applying.
• Your requested supervisor may also be required to fund your studies for your application to be successful.

Graduate student resources

• Graduate Student Handbook
• Policies and procedures
• Funding and awards
• Study and living costs
• Centre for Teaching Excellence
• Research Groups/Labs
• Graduate Students' Association
• Graduate student housing

Student stories

As part of her doctoral research,   Lesley Johnston  is investigating ways in which community well-being in Mongolia and Zambia are affected by Canadian-sponsored mining operations.

Learn more about Lesley and other students in the School of Public Health Sciences on our graduate student profile page . 

• Operational Excellence
• Lab Services
• Lectureships
• Collaborations
• Outlook.com
• PHRI Intranet
• McMaster Intranet
• HHS COVID-19 self assessment
• DFexplore/ iDataFax

Digital Health

The science of virtual care and remote automated monitoring (RAM) is a burgeoning field of study in which PHRI leads, starting prior to and continuing during the COVID pandemic – exploring the great promise that digital transformation of healthcare holds for patient outcomes and our healthcare systems.

We continue to expand our work in this field with the ongoing PVC-RAM program, as well as integrating our work into international efforts in smart, mobile integrated technologies such as ageing-in-place, and more.

PJ Devereaux

Senior scientist.

PJ Devereaux is Senior Scientific Lead, Perioperative and Surgery, PHRI, Professor and University Scholar in the Departments of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI) and Medicine at McMaster University, and Director of the Division of Cardiology at McMaster.

The focus of his clinic research is vascular complications around the time of surgery, leading several large, international RCTs and observational studies addressing this issue. He has published more than 250 peer-reviewed papers and more than 50 book chapters and editorials. He is supported by a Tier 1 Canadian Research Chair in Perioperative Medicine, and holds the Yusuf Chair in Cardiology at McMaster University.

Michael McGillion

Michael McGillion is Associate Professor, and Assistant Dean, Research, at the School of Nursing, McMaster University. He is the Heart and Stroke Foundation/Michael G. DeGroote Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Nursing Research, and the International Visiting Professor of Digital Health, at Coventry University in the UK.

He is an internationally-recognized researcher in the area of persistent forms of cardiac pain such as refractory angina and unrelieved chest pain following successful revascularization procedures. He was Chair of the Joint Canadian Cardiovascular Society – Canadian Pain Society guidelines for the management of refractory angina, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). He is Principal Investigator of the largest CIHR-funded, international prospective cohort study to examine social and psychological predictors of chronic post-surgical pain following cardiac surgery. His research focuses on remote automated monitoring and virtual recovery support for people recovering from cardiac and vascular surgery, decision support for people living with RFA, and global-scale, web-based dissemination of new evidence on persistent forms of cardiac pain.

Mike has been recognized for his research and advocacy by receiving the Canadian Pain Society Early Career Award and the McMaster University Arch Award for outstanding contributions to society; and was the first University Scholar (2019) from the McMaster School of Nursing.

Sandra Ofori

Investigator.

Sandra Ofori is an Investigator in the Perioperative and Surgery research group at PHRI, an Assistant Professor in McMaster University’s Department of Medicine (cardiology), and a PhD candidate in the Health Research Methodology program under the supervision of PJ Devereaux. Her research interests are in the areas of perioperative care and cardiovascular disease prevention.

Her current research program is focused on perioperative smoking cessation and strategies to improve long-term health in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. Ofori is actively involved in the conduct of large international perioperative clinical trials coordinated from PHRI and was the project officer of the Post Discharge after Surgery Virtual Care with Remote Automated Monitoring Technology (PVC-RAM) Trial.

Ofori completed her residency training in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, where she was an Assistant Professor and Consultant Cardiologist in the College of Health Sciences and its affiliated teaching hospital. She also has a Master’s degree in Preventive Cardiology from the Imperial College, London UK, and was in the third cohort of the World Heart Federation Salim Yusuf Emerging Leaders Program that was focused on the reduction of the global burden of hypertension.

Jeremy Petch

Associate investigator.

Jeremy Petch is Director, Digital Health Innovation, Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS), where his team employs machine learning to data streaming from continuous remote monitoring devices to develop improved early-warning systems for patients recovering from surgery. They are also developing a range of patient and clinician-facing applications in the areas of virtual care and improving clinical workflow.

He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, and has a PhD in Philosophy (Health Policy Ethics) from York University.

Associate Collaborator

Ted Scott is Chief Innovation Officer, and Acting Vice-President, Research, Hamilton Health Sciences. He is Chair of the Synapse Life Sciences Consortium in Hamilton, and was previously Chief Innovation Officer and Dean of Applied Research at Mohawk College, where he studied Radiography and Sonography.

He is an expert digital health strategist and has a wealth of experience in industry relations and procurement, as well as innovation policy. He returned to HHS where he started his career as a sonographer after working at The Hospital for Sick Children and Huntsville District Memorial Hospital. Ted is a lifelong learner who earned his Masters of Applied Science in Medical Ultrasound and his PhD in Diagnostic Imaging from Charles Sturt University of Australia.

Valerie Harvey

Associate program manager.

Valerie Harvey is an Associate Program Manager with more than 12 years’ experience in clinical research at PHRI. She currently coordinates and manages interventional trials and observational studies in Digital Health in the areas of perioperative medicine and cardiac surgery. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree (Honours) in Biological Sciences from Brock University.

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U of T launches new digital health technologies specialization

Published: May 22, 2018

By Sarah Jane Silva

The University of Toronto's master of biotechnology program has approved a graduate field of specialization in digital health technologies.

“We are creating a new breed of professional who is equipped with the ability to code and apply data science in the context of emerging opportunities in digital health technology,” says  Jayson Parker , associate professor, teaching stream in the department of biology, about digital health technologies at U of T Mississauga.

“Part of the toolkit for our students will be the ability to apply advanced tools in artificial intelligence to problems in biology and in health-related industries,” he says.

This diverse digital health field includes mobile medical apps, health information technology, general wellness, electronic medical records, software and cybersecurity, health information technology, wearable technology and more.

The focus of the graduate field in digital health technology is data science, including advanced training in machine learning tools.

“This new field will run in parallel with the long-running MBiotech Program at UTM, which will continue to concentrate on biotherapeutics,” says  Leigh Revers , associate professor, teaching stream, and director of the master of biotechnology program at U of T Mississauga.

“Both streams of students will earn the same degree,” says Revers.

The two-year professional master’s degree in digital health technologies involves eight to 12 months of industry placement in paid student internships where students will learn about basic business, health, regulation and data science.

“The addition of the DHT [digital health technology] stream will allow what is a very successful graduate program to expand its frontiers,” says Revers.

Students in the first cohort of the field begin classes in May.

Read more about the digital health technologies specialization

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Digital Health at Mohawk

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• Design and Develop Healthcare Solutions Start in September

Start in September

We have now rolled out our first stand-alone degree along with a postgraduate certificate in Digital Health. Bachelor of Digital Health (Honours) Degree Digital Health Graduate Certificate  

Digital health combines digital technologies with health care to improve the efficiency and precision in the health care industry. Since 2007, Mohawk has been changing health care around the world with MEDIC - mHealth and eHealth Development and Innovation Centre .

“The digital health field is rapidly growing and it’s a well-established area of excellence at Mohawk College. It makes sense to develop a degree to provide synergies in research, faculty teaching and student learning that really builds on our strengths.”  – Joe Varrasso, Program Coordinator of Bachelor of Digital Health (Honours) Degree

Future career options in digital health

• Application Developer  
• Business Processes Analyst
• Clinical Systems Analyst
• Data Integrity Analyst
• Database Architect
• Health Informatics Specialist
• Health IT Consultant
• Health Records Technician
• Health Systems Specialist 
• Information Privacy Coordinator
• Information Systems Analyst

“As digital and sensor technology expands, the number of health care applications will continue to increase. Remote digital monitoring will provide medical professionals with faster, better information to improve the patient experience. And wearable technology will improve workplace health and safety. Our Digital Health students will be at the forefront of those developments, as they support Canada’s health care sector during this period of revolutionary change.”

– David Santi , Dean of Engineering Technology at Mohawk.

I was given the opportunity to do a co-op placement at MEDIC during my time in the Computer Systems Technician – Network Engineering and Security Analyst program at Mohawk College. After graduation, I was hired full-time and remain employed at MEDIC as a Network Engineering System Analyst. MEDIC provides training for students in areas of digital health and applied research through web development and device integration. Getting the opportunity to work on projects that mesh my former skillset in health care and new in technology has been a perfect marriage for me.

Thanks to the help and support of MEDIC I was able to create two applied research projects focusing on Internet of Things (IoTs) and how they can improve the quality of life in senior citizens as well as focusing on the security for the devices. I believe that MEDIC is opening doors for students to start their careers in digital health and so grateful that I get to be part of that going forward.

- Dawn Myers '19, Network Engineering System Analyst, MEDIC

“The postgraduate certificate program will welcome students with a prior credential in a wide variety of fields such as health, business and technology. It will allow them to apply their current skills and deepen their knowledge of the rapidly growing field of digital health. The power and reach of digital health research centre MEDIC are foundational to the new degree and offer a new way to think about partnerships with industry.” – Jeff McIsaac, Dean of Applied Research

Choose your program

Both the Bachelor of Digital Health (Honours) Degree and the Digital Health Graduate Certificate are focused on digital health and provide the opportunity to learn from, and collaborate on, projects with our mHealth & eHealth Development and Innovation Centre (MEDIC) group.

The four-year degree program includes a four-month work placement and provides in-depth knowledge, skills and qualifications to deliver IT services in various health care settings. The graduate certificate program is designed for students with a prior credential in the fields of health, business or technology.

Contact us to learn more

Joe Varrasso Email:  [email protected] Phone: 905-575-1212 ext. 3030

MEDIC Information: Visit the  mHealth & eHealth Development and Innovation Centre (MEDIC)  website.

Find information for...

How to support our students

Health Informatics Program (Postgraduate) (T402)

Program Description

Tuition & fees.

• Admission Requirements
• Program Outcomes

Program Overview

Health Informatics  is a one-year graduate certificate program for healthcare and information systems professionals currently employed or with experience in healthcare or technology, or who have an interest in advancing IT in healthcare.   

We aim to accommodate busy schedules with evening and weekend classes; however, some courses are scheduled during daytime hours. See the Full Description section for more details. 

Full Description

The landscape of healthcare is undergoing a remarkable transformation thanks to the evolution of information and communication technologies. This shift is revolutionizing the way we access and share information, all aimed at enhancing patient care. 

Our Health Informatics one-year graduate certificate program brings together professionals from the health and IT sectors to prepare students to tackle the challenges of current and future healthcare systems. If you're an IT or healthcare professional  and aspire to become a health informatician, or if you're a practitioner who would like to enhance your career progression with formal education, this intensive program is for you.

Throughout the program, our team of health informatics/business system analyst pros and faculty will guide you through developing critical skills and competencies in these areas: 

• healthcare systems, technologies, and trends 
• electronic medical records (EMRs) 
• ethical, professional, legal, and policy implications of health information systems technologies and health information standards 
• problem identification and analysis 
• documenting and analyzing healthcare organization, health user, and solution requirements 
• process, workflow, and system/solution modelling 
• project management 
• technical writing 
• leadership and management 
• business and system analysis techniques and core professional competencies such as analytical thinking and problem solving, communication and facilitation, and collaborative skills 

The Health Informatics program is all about diving deep into the world of health informatics. What makes this graduate certificate program stand out? It's all about hands-on experience and application. You'll immerse yourself in health informatics and analysis through case studies, industry projects, and practical work experience. As you develop innovative solutions, you'll emerge from this program with skills that prepare you for the real-life demands of your career. 

Upon graduation, you'll have the essential skills and competencies needed for professional certification programs in Health Informatics and Project Management. 

Hands-On Experience With A Commercial EMR

We've partnered with Arya Health, the maker of AryaEHR, a commercially available EMR, to give you hands-on practical experience with an EMR that physicians use across Canada. This means you'll graduate with EMR experience on your resume, giving you a competitive edge in the marketplace.  George Brown College is the only College that offers this valuable experience. Find out more on AryaEHR's website .

IIBA Academic Membership

Academic membership in the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) offers colleges and universities that have Business Analyst curriculums and care about advancing the BA profession within their student population the opportunity to participate in IIBA membership and benefit from IIBA’s other products and services. The academic recognition programs offer the students of Business Analyst-related programs the opportunity to receive recognition from the IIBA. 

New - Graduates Prepared to Write the IIBA Entry Certification in Business Analysis (TIM) Designation (ECBA)

Graduates of this program will be prepared to write the exam for the IIBA Entry Certification of Business Analysis designation from the International Institute of Business Analysis. This professional designation recognizes the student’s theoretical understanding of the Business Analyst Body of Knowledge (BABOK), as well as the context of business analysis applied across industries. 

Learn more about the  Entry Certification in Business Analysis  ( www.iiba.org ).

Technology Requirements

This program requires you to have access to a personal laptop with the following specifications: 

• Screen 13-inch minimum 
• Webcam + mic 
• 8 GB RAM 
• 256 GB SSD Hard Drive (512 GB SSD is better) 
• Quad-core i7 2.4GHz or better  
• 2 TB (minimum) external hard drive  
• Consistent access to a reliable high-speed internet connection (minimum 10 Mbs download speed recommended)

Program Delivery

Note on program delivery: Most courses take place in the evening and on weekends; however, some courses may take place from 2 PM - 6 PM on weekdays.

Your Field Education Options

In semester 3, students complete a Work Integrated Project, or qualified students are eligible for co-op. Learn more about how to qualify, apply, and important dates for co-op on the  Centre for Arts, Design & Information Technology Experiential Learning  page.

Career & Postgraduate Study Opportunities

Career options.

Upon completion of the program, you'll have the skills needed for positions such as:

• project/program coordinator
• service desk analyst
• product analyst
• apps analyst
• testing analyst
• privacy co-ordinator
• training co-ordinator
• clinical informatics co-ordinator
• data co-ordinator
• junior business analyst

Alumni Impact

We are immensely proud of the contributions of our alumni in Toronto and around the globe.

From Michelin-starred restaurants to major construction, entertainment, community and financial organizations, our graduates are truly making an impact across a range of industries.

Latest Alumni Stories

Required Courses

PRINTABLE CURRICULUM PLANNER 2024-2025

Program Learning Outcomes

The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Assess organizational requirements for health information system technologies (HIST).
• Formulate strategies for the selection and implementation of HIST.
• Design and deliver educational/training strategies for end-users.
• Evaluate the impact of HIST on business/clinical processes, and on health services delivery.

Domestic Tuition

International tuition, additional costs.

* Amounts listed are the estimated total of tuition, materials, student service and ancillary fees for the first two semesters of programs starting in Fall 2023 . Fees are subject to change for programs starting in Fall 2024 and at later dates. This fee does not include books, which are to be purchased by the student separately.

** Amounts listed are the estimated total of tuition, materials, student service and ancillary fees for the first two semesters of programs starting in Fall  2024 . Tuition fees are subject to board approval. Material, student service and ancillary fees are estimated based on prior years. All fees are subject to change without notice. This fee does not include books, which are to be purchased by the student separately.

‡ Semester 3 fees will consist of a flat fee of $500 for co-op placement or for the work-integrated project, fees are to be paid separately, both of which are not included in the total above.

• International Students

Visit the  International Fees and Related Costs page  for more information. 

Financial Assistance

This program is approved for OSAP funding, provided the applicant meets OSAP eligibility criteria.

Each year we award over $2 million dollars in scholarships, awards and bursaries to first-year students. Check out our financial aid webpages for ways to pay for college and the full list of available scholarships, awards and bursaries.

• Financial Aid

Disclaimer: The information contained in this website is subject to change without notice. It should not be viewed as a representation, offer or warranty. Students are responsible for verifying George Brown College fee requirements.

• Minimum two-year diploma or bachelor's degree* in Health Sciences or related field from an accredited institution.
• Minimum three-year diploma in Information Technology* or related field from an accredited institution.
• Minimum one year of work experience as a health-care professional or an IT professional, or equivalent (resumé required).

Candidates will be accepted based on the combination of relevant education and work experience.

* Please note that domestic applicants who are submitting international transcripts require a Canadian equivalency evaluation. This can be obtained through ICAS (International Credential Assessment Service) at icascanada.ca or WES (World Education Services) at wes.org/ca .

English Language Proficiency

Applicants with international transcripts who do not provide English language proficiency test results must test at the college level in the George Brown College English assessment to be considered for admission.

Please visit English Proficiency for more details.

Course exemptions

College or university credits may qualify you for course exemptions. Please visit Transfer Guide for more information.

Visit the  International Admissions page  for more information regarding country specific admission requirements.  

• How to Apply

Domestic students should apply through Ontario Colleges.

Visit the  How to Apply page  for more information on how and when to apply. 

International students should apply through the  George Brown College Online Application System .

School of Computer Technology

Phone: 416-415-5000, ext. 4287 Email: [email protected]

The office hours are: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 9 – 6 p.m. Wednesday: 9 – 4 p.m.

Program Co-ordinator: Dr. Thérèse Bernier Email: [email protected] Phone: 416-415-5000 x 3744 Office hours: Monday, 2-5 P.M.

For more information about George Brown College, you may also call the Contact Centre at 416-415-2000 or long distance 1-800-265-2002.

Contact one of our international recruitment representatives specializing by country of origin by either booking a virtual meeting or submitting an inquiry. For more information visit the  International Contact Us page

Visit Our Campus

The Health Informatics program is offered through our School of Computer Technology from our Casa Loma Campus at 146 Kendal Avenue . Sign up for an information session or campus tour to learn more about George Brown College and the program. You can also explore our virtual tour.

This program is geared toward health care and information systems professionals currently employed or with experience in a health care or technology environment, or who have an interest in the advancement of information technologies in the health care delivery sector.

Efforts are made towards evening and weekend classes; however, some courses are scheduled during daytime hours. See Full Description section for further information.

The evolution of information and communication technologies is transforming the healthcare system and creating new ways of accessing and exchanging information. These changes endeavour to benefit patient care. These technological changes also impact the health care sector. Healthcare and information systems professionals currently employed or with experience in a healthcare or technology environment, or who have an interest in the advancement of information technologies in the healthcare delivery sector, will be interested in this program.

The Health Informatics graduate certificate program brings together professionals in health-related and information technology sectors to develop specialists in health informatics who can respond to the current and emerging needs of health care systems. This intensive program is designed for IT, health care or related professionals who aspire to enter into a health informatician/analyst role, or practitioners who wish to enhance their experience with formal education. As a student in this program, you will be engaged and supported by a team of health informatician/business system analyst professionals and faculty in developing critical skills and competencies in the areas of:

• health care systems, technologies and trends
• ethical, professional, legal and policy implications of health information systems technologies and health information standards
• problem identification and analysis
• documenting and analyzing health-care organization, health-user and solution requirements
• process, workflow and system/solution modelling
• project management
• technical writing
• leadership and management
• business and system analysis techniques and core professional competencies such as analytical thinking and problem solving, communication and facilitation, and collaborative skills

The Health Informatics program provides breadth and depth of applied knowledge in the field of health informatics. A key characteristic that sets this graduate certificate program apart is the applied nature of the curriculum. Students will be immersed in the process of health informatics/analysis through case studies, industry projects and practical work experience, and will be responsible for developing solutions. The uniqueness of this program is in creating graduates with work-ready skills built through applied, hands-on experience.

Graduates of the program will have acquired knowledge, skills and competencies relevant to professional certification programs in Health Informatics and Project Management.

Graduates will be able to:

• Formulate change strategies to implement appropriate health information systems technologies (HIST) within the health-care setting.
• Apply business and system analysis techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of health information systems technologies within a health-related setting.
• Design and protoype web and mobile health apps.
• Integrate relevant standards and professional, ethical and legislative requirements with the appropriate health information system technologies.
• Design training and education for the effective use of HIST.
• Configure all aspects of an EMR used by physicians in outpatient settings and multidisciplinary clinics.

Hands-On Experience With A Commercial Emr

Arya Health, the maker of AryaEHR, a commercially available EMR, has partnered with the George Brown College Health Informatics program to give students hands-on practical experience with an EMR in use by physicians across Canada. Students will graduate having EMR experience on their resume, giving them a competitive edge in the marketplace. George Brown College is the only College that offers this valuable experience. Find out more on  AryaEHR's website .

Academic Membership in the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) offers colleges and universities that have Business Analyst curriculums and care about advancing the BA profession within their student population the opportunity to participate in IIBA membership and benefit from IIBA’s other products and services. The Academic recognition programs offer the students of Business Analyst-related programs the opportunity to receive recognition from the IIBA.

New – Graduates Prepared To Write The IIBA Entry Certification In Business Analysis (TM) DESIGNATION (ECBA).

Students who successfully graduate from the program will be prepared to write the IIBA Entry Certification of Business Analysis designation from the International Institute of Business Analysis. This professional designation recognizes the student’s theoretical understanding of the Business Analyst Body of Knowledge (BABOK), as well as the context of business analysis applied across industries.

This program requires students to have access to a personal laptop with the following specifications: 

Note on program delivery: Most courses are offered in the evening and week-ends. Some courses may be scheduled 2pm-6pm on weekdays.

Upon completion of the program, graduates will be able to meet the requirements for positions such as:

PRINTABLE CURRICULUM PLANNER 2023-2024

* Amounts listed are the total of tuition, materials, student service and ancillary fees for the first two semesters of programs starting in Fall 2022 . Fees are subject to change for programs starting in Fall 2023 and at later dates.

** Amounts listed are the total of tuition, materials, student service and ancillary fees for the first two semesters of programs starting in Fall 2023. Fees are subject to change for programs starting in Fall 2024 and at later dates.

Program Co-ordinator: Dr. Thérèse Bernier Email: [email protected] Phone: 416-415-5000 x 3744 Office hours: Monday, 2 – 5 p.m.

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MSc Digital Health Innovation

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• Master of Science (Thesis) - Core Stream
• MSc Surgical Education - Concentration
• MSc Surgical Innovation - Concentration
• MSc Global Surgery - Concentration
• MSc-Non Thesis in Surgical and Interventional Sciences - Oncology
• Master of Science (Non-Thesis)
• Graduate Diploma in Surgical Innovation
• Graduate Certificate in Surgical Innovation
• Internships
• Making the Most of your Doctoral Experience

The Digital Health Innovation Masters provides training in applied data science, clinical epidemiology, medical artificial intelligence, innovation and design thinking and informatics. It includes a Masters thesis developing and evaluating new digital technologies under the supervision of professors in various specialties of digital health in the McGill Network. Examples include the development and assessment of digitalized health and social data using specialized software, analysis of high volume streams of clinical and health-related data from clinical systems, wearables and social media, and development of new digital tools. 

Please see  Master of Science (M.Sc.) Experimental Surgery (Thesis): Digital Health Innovation on the McGill eCalendar for more information.

For more information please see the flyer on Digital Health Innovation (PDF).

Department and University Information

Surgical and interventional sciences.

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

• PhD: Social and Behavioural Health Sciences
• Our Programs
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Overview

The PhD course of study includes a set of common requirements with flexibility to enable the student to pursue a unique learning experience tailored to his/her learning needs and research problem focus.  The program permits students to pursue their area of interest from different levels of understanding and theoretical perspectives.

The program enables students to take advantage of what the university/program faculty has to offer, and assists them in tailoring their studies according to their own experiences, scholarly interests, career direction and aspirations.  This program also participates and encourages participation in a variety of interdisciplinary graduate University of Toronto Collaborative Specializations .

Features of the program:

• Emphasizes the application of concepts, theories, models and methods concerned with the structures and processes that underlie health and health promotion, illness, premature mortality, injury and disability;
• Emphasizes research methodology (philosophy and design) and research methods (techniques);
• Seeks to develop substantive knowledge and critical analytic ability at multiple levels of analysis, from the “micro” individual level to the “macro” societal level;
• Fosters a reflexive and critical perspective on theory and methodology; and
• Adopts a model of independent student scholarship.

The requirements of the   PhD Program in Social & Behavioural Health Sciences (SBHS) include:

• Qualifying exam
• Thesis proposal defense
• Thesis defense: A) Departmental defense B) Final oral examination

Admission Requirements

The application deadline for the September 2024 start was on November 24th at 11:59pm EST .   See Application Process  for information about the admission process.  Click  here  to view minimum application requirements for a PhD Program. Click here for information on our  funding package  and for information on the university’s  funding policies . To identify potential supervisors, please visit our  faculty database  which is searchable by research interest. While you are not required to have a confirmed match with a supervisor at the time of your application, it is strongly recommended that you list one or more potential supervisors in your letter of intent to help demonstrate fit with our program. Prospective students are encouraged to contact potential supervisors in advance to determine their capacity to take on new doctoral students.

Additional Admission Requirements for the PhD

• A match between the student’s research area and potential supervisor’s expertise
• Background (course, experience) in social sciences and/or health sciences
• Graduate level quantitative or qualitative methods courses/background

Course Requirements

Coursework (reflects minimum requirements)

Course Requirements (3.0 FCE)

Required Courses:

• CHL5101H : Social and Behavioural Theory and Health
• CHL5102H : Social and Political Forces in Health Care
• To be selected according to the student’s interests and educational needs, in consultation with the supervisor.
• By the end of their degree, students should aim to have working knowledge of both qualitative and quantitative methods, and to achieve proficiency in one of these approaches.
• 2 electives

Please note that students can satisfy coursework requirements with courses from across the DLSPH and University of Toronto. We encourage students to seek out such courses.

Qualifying Examination

The purpose of the qualifying exam (QE) is to assess the student’s capacity to understand, apply, and compare theoretical perspectives that are taught in the Social and Behavioural Health Sciences (SBHS) core theory courses (CHL5101H and CHL5102H). Specifically, the QE process will assess the student’s ability to theorize a topic using two different theoretical approaches and to propose theoretically sophisticated research questions that would advance the student’s topic area of interest and may be used for the dissertation. The qualifying examination is written during the months of May and June of the student’s first year.

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILED QUALIFYING EXAM GUIDELINES

Thesis Proposal Defense

The thesis proposal defense is a requirement for candidacy and for full-time students, should be completed by April of the second year, or earlier if possible.

The purpose of the proposal defense is to:

• Ensure that the proposed research will result in a successful PhD dissertation.
• Strengthen the thesis question, theoretical framework, design, and methods through critical feedback.
• Assess the student’s ability to conduct independent and original research.
• Assess the student’s knowledge base relevant to their thesis topic.
• Provide a formal approval to proceed with the dissertation research.

DETAILED proposal defense GUIDELINES

Supervision

Successful applicants will have research interests congruent with those of one or more members of faculty. Thus, applicants are strongly encouraged to seek out potential supervisors, and discuss with them the possibility of studying under their supervision, prior to applying to the degree program. Applicants should note that identifying a potential supervisor does not guarantee admission. PhD students must be supervised by a faculty member who has an appointment in the Division of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences (SBHS) and Full Membership in the School of Graduate Studies (SGS).  A co-supervisor generally will be a faculty member with Associate Membership in the SGS. Other faculty in Public Health Sciences outside of SBHS  may be eligible to supervise with the approval of the Program Director.  The Program Director must approve the final selection of the primary supervisor and co-supervisor. The faculty supervisor may be confirmed prior to beginning the program, and should be in place by the end of the first term.  Students are encouraged to explore broadly and have wide-ranging discussions with potential supervisors.

Upon admission to the PhD Program, students and supervisors should review and complete the Graduate Department of Public Health Sciences PhD Student-Supervisor Conversation Checklist .

Students have the right to appropriate assistance and guidance from their supervisors. Supervisors and students are required to meet on a regular basis throughout the program to discuss academic, financial and personal matters related to the student’s progress. Students should assume responsibility for contacting the supervisor, arranging meetings, and setting agenda for committee meetings.

In rare circumstances, it may be necessary for students to change their area of research and/or their supervisor. In these cases, the first step would be for students to discuss the potential change with their supervisor and/or PhD Program Director.

Supervisor Role and Responsibilities

The supervisor is responsible for providing mentorship to the student through all phases of the PhD program. Thus; to the extent possible, the supervisor will guide the selection of courses, dissertation topic, supervisory committee membership, and supervisory committee meetings; will assist with applications for funding; will provide funding to the student directly when it is possible for them to do so; and will provide references for the student on a timely basis. The supervisor also will provide feedback on the student’s selection of theories and reading lists for the qualifying examination. The supervisor will guide the development of the student’s research proposal, and the implementation and conduct of all aspects of the research; advise on writing the dissertation; correct drafts and approve the final dissertation; and attend the defense.

For more information about student and supervisor roles and responsibilities, please see the School of Graduate Studies Graduate Supervision Guidelines .

Supervisory Committee

With the assistance of the supervisor, and with the approval of the Program Director, the student will assemble a Supervisory Committee no later than the end of their second term in the program (i.e., by May of their first year).

Composition of the Supervisory Committee

The Supervisory Committee generally will comprise the supervisor and at least two members who hold either Full or Associate Membership in the SGS and may or may not hold a primary appointment in SBHS. Between these individuals and the supervisor, there should be expertise in all substantive, theoretical and methodological areas relevant to the Student’s research focus and dissertation proposal.

Supervisory Committee meetings will be held at least every six (6) months throughout the student’s PhD program. More regular meetings should be held with the supervisor. Under certain circumstances (e.g., during times of very rapid progress), the student and the Supervisory Committee may decide there is a need for more frequent meetings.

At the end of every meeting of the Supervisory Committee, the student and the Committee will complete the Supervisory Committee Meeting Report . All present must sign the report; in case the meeting is held virtually, the supervisor and committee members can e-sign the report. A scanned or paper copy of the report should be e-mailed/delivered to the SBHS Admin Assistant at sbhs.dlsph@utoronto.ca .

The Graduate Department of Public Health Sciences will keep a copy of the report in the student’s progress file.

Progress Through the PhD

The phases of the PhD program are identified by a set of accomplishments which the student generally will attain in order, and within a satisfactory time. These phases, which will be monitored by the Program Director of the PhD program, are the identification of the Supervisor and the Supervisory Committee, completion of required and elective course work, completion of the qualifying examination, defense of the research proposal, and defense of the dissertation (both Departmental and SGS). Full-time students are expected to complete the PhD within four years. Flex-time students may take longer, but not more than eight years; they must submit a revised list of milestones, for approval by the Supervisor and the Program Director.

 view the SBHS PhD Timeline

Dissertation

The PhD dissertation must demonstrate an original contribution to scholarship. The nature of the dissertation is agreed upon by the supervisor and the student, in consultation with a Thesis Committee.  The Student should aim to defend the dissertation within four years of entry into the PhD program. The defense of the dissertation will take place in two stages: first, a Departmental defense, second, a formal defense (the Final Oral Examination) before a University committee according to procedures established by the School of Graduate Studies (SGS). The two defenses generally are separated by at least eight weeks.

a)  Departmental Defense:

The Departmental defense will be held after the completed dissertation has been approved by all members of the student’s Supervisory Committee, and the completion of the final Supervisory Committee meeting report. The purpose of this defense is to rehearse the oral presentation for the SGS defense and to determine whether the student is ready for the SGS defense.

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILED departmental defense procedureS

b)  School of Graduate Studies Final Oral Examination (FOE)

Arrangements for the PhD Final Oral Defense and for the preparation of the final thesis are given at length in the SGS calendar. The dissertation and the necessary documents must be submitted at least eight weeks prior to the oral exam. See the Graduate Department of Public Health Science  academic policies for forms and information for thesis preparation, including guidelines on multiple paper dissertations, and arranging the defense.

• Click here for Guidelines on Multiple Paper Dissertations
• Click here  for Producing Your Thesis guidelines on SGS website
• Click here  for Final Oral Exam Guidelines on SGS website

Student Profiles & Contact

Health P.E.I. plans rollout of electronic patient records, use of AI, in digital strategy

Access to e-records expected to be available by late 2024 or early 2025, province says.

Social Sharing

The P.E.I. government says all Islanders could have access to their medical records online by the end of this year or early in 2025.

The provincewide patient portal is partially outlined in a digital health strategy for 2024-29 that was released in mid-July by Health P.E.I. and the Department of Health and Wellness. It outlines how the province plans to incorporate emerging technology in the sector.  

Just over a year ago, Health P.E.I. said electronic medical records would be accessible for patients across the province within just a few months.

• More than 90% of P.E.I. family practitioners using electronic records, officials say

It now looks like it will come in late 2024 or early 2025, said Laurae Kloschinsky, assistant deputy minister with the Department of Health and Wellness. 

"One of the things we're really looking at is we want to create access that's meaningful, consistent and appropriate," she said.

"So we are working on the MyPEI portal, which we describe as the one-stop digital front door to government services."

The digital health document doesn't provide any timelines or tangible goals for how the strategy will work. But that was intentional, Kloschinsky said.

"There isn't necessarily a five-year plan because in those goals it could be multiple projects within it. Some may occur earlier on in strategy and some may occur [later]," she said.

Health P.E.I. says it consulted with the public, health-care providers, community partners, provincial information technology staff, Access P.E.I., other provincial health departments, and consultants over the past year to develop the strategy.

An 'all-encompassing view'

Health P.E.I. said last year that the move to the provincewide electronic medical records system had gone remarkably well. The system allows physicians to share information like prescription records and patient history, plus sends out automated appointment reminders and pre-visit questionnaires.

Kloschinsky said the province wanted to ensure all parts of the system could communicate effectively before rolling out the patient portal, and that's taken longer than expected to implement.

Islanders could use the portal to access everything from their pharmacy prescription information and health records to physiotherapy appointments and referrals to specialists.

Kloschinsky said more than 95 clinics, 200 primary care providers, and over 1,000 Islanders use some parts of the electronic health records system, including features like automatic appointment reminders.

She said even more features of the electronic medical records system will be available later in 2025.

"People are going to be able to upload their information from their Fitbits, from their Apple Watches. They're going to be able to input their own blood glucose," Kloschinsky said.

Eventually, people will be able to act as a proxy care providers to access the information of a patient they're caring for, such as an aging parent.

But the most important thing, Kloschinsky said, is that all the systems are talking to one another.

How AI will help physicians

As the technology improves, many doctors around the world are already using artificial intelligence in their day-to-day duties.

But before it's implemented on a wider scale in P.E.I., the public needs to be aware of how it's going to be used, Kloschinsky said.

"People need to understand what is artificial intelligence and how is my information going to be used?" she said. "And, more importantly, how is it going to be shared and accessed, and what control do I have?"

• Doctor peer support program helps prevent burnout, says P.E.I. medical society
• P.E.I. government to put more money into virtual health-care programs

Health P.E.I. has consulted with other provinces about how they use AI and what it's done to improve their systems.

"At the outset, the goal is can we reduce administrative burden in patient documentation," she said.

That means co-ordinating and scheduling appointments, and doing charting and coding on the doctors' behalf — essentially, AI will be helping with paperwork.

Medical transcription services could eventually be introduced into appointments, but patients have to be comfortable with it first, Kloschinsky said. 

Eventually, AI could even do diagnoses.

"In other jurisdictions, they have used it to do care scenarios, including reading of images and then making the most probable diagnosis based on the scans and intelligence," Kloschinsky said.

But all of that is a long way down the road, she said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Associate Producer

Victoria Walton is an associate producer at CBC Prince Edward Island. She previously worked at The Coast and spent nearly a decade in Halifax before moving to the Island. She has a bachelor of journalism from the University of King's College. You can reach her at [email protected].

With files from Jackie Sharkey

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Mark Casselman to leave Digital Health Canada

August 7, 2024

Carvalho continued, “Mark has been instrumental in driving the growth and success of Digital Health Canada. His dedication, vision, and hard work have left an indelible mark on the organization and its members, partners, and stakeholders across Canada and internationally. Under Mark’s guidance, Digital Health Canada has achieved many significant milestones, and we are grateful for his contributions.”

The Board Executive Committee will work closely with Mark and the National Office staff to execute a smooth leadership transition between now and August 29th, Mark’s last day with Digital Health Canada.

The transition and forward strategy are being coordinated by executive director Shannon Bott.

In the meantime, Carvalho noted, “Mark is committed to supporting Digital Health Canada through this period of change. Along with the Board of Directors, Mark and I share a deep confidence in the strength and vibrancy of Digital Health Canada and see a strong path forward towards continued growth and success for the association.”

For his part, Mark Casselman wrote on LinkedIn: “It has been an incredible honour and privilege to serve as CEO of Digital Health Canada for the past nine years. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have worked alongside so many outstanding people during this time – dedicated board members, exceptional staff, passionate volunteers, and dynamic members from across Canada and the world who all share a strong commitment to the Digital Health Canada mission.”

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Combining fashion and video games merges passions of new WSU graduate

Clothing is a mandatory part of life, whether for real people or video game characters. And if digital players must be covered, why not make them fashionable?

That was the general idea behind Colby Van Dyk’s master’s thesis project at Washington State University.

“My inspiration came from thinking about what I like besides fashion,” said the Enumclaw, Washington, native, who defended her thesis in July. “I love playing video games and thought, ‘Why not combine these interests?’.”

Van Dyk took the expertise gained while earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from WSU’s Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design, and Textiles (AMDT) and created virtual designs only to be worn by pixels.

“I wanted to explore the process of creating digital fashion for video games using design programs common in the fashion industry,” Van Dyk said.

She used 3D fashion design software called VStitcher and CLO, which she learned during her AMDT classes, then moved them into Unreal Engine, a video game design program. She also surveyed 50 individuals who were at least 18 years old and self-identified as playing video games at least weekly to get a feel for what people want in character fashions.

Those responses led her to design a line of three cyberpunk outfits. Cyber-punk, a genre of science fiction generally set in a futuristic time with advanced technology, is not something Van Dyk was familiar with.

“It was a fun challenge, and I’m really happy with how the collection turned out,” she said. “My senior design collection, which was part of the 2022 WSU AMDT Fashion Show, was princess-themed. It was cute and sweet, and this is dark and a big contrast to that. I enjoyed making something that I normally wouldn’t design.”

Van Dyk did notice several major differences between designing clothing that will physically be made versus designs that will only be digitally rendered on characters.

“In Unreal Engine, clothing isn’t supposed to have zippers or buttons,” she said. “You need to think about that a lot in real life, and it doesn’t matter in games. Same with pockets. I had to think about things like that completely differently.”

Van Dyk also didn’t make the designs with specific people in mind but designed characters to match the aesthetics of the clothing she created.

“I got to design the characters to look like they were a good match for the clothing I’d already produced,” she said. “I just said, ‘I want you to look like this,’ then made it happen.”

Van Dyk’s designs aren’t available in any games for now; they’re mostly a proof of concept.

She said that in researching the topic, she found that most clothing worn by characters is traditionally designed by video game developers. That’s changing as games become popular among wider groups of people, but she thinks there’s still an opportunity to expand.

“I think there’s room for more fashion design companies to get more involved in how characters appear in games,” Van Dyk said. “I think I had more fun doing this than the collection I did for the fashion show, which surprised me. This felt very personal.”

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