eHealth, M.Sc.

Areas of Specialization

Students may specialize in one of three fields in the program: Health Sciences, Computer Science, or Business. All students are required to complete the core courses, and a variety of elective courses in each field are available to cater to individual interests. Student specialization interest must be declared when applying for admission. Each student is assigned a supervisor from the student’s field of interest upon registration, and a second member of the supervisory committee from one of the other two fields is appointed to ensure that the student maintains a broadly focused view of the eHealth field. All students must participate in and contribute to a weekly seminar series during their on-campus semesters. These seminars are designed to acquaint students with recent advances in the eHealth field, build skills sets, supplement course content, and to introduce them to experts in industry, government and research.

Admission

Students entering the eHealth program may be admitted from a variety of suitable undergraduate degrees. They will belong to a community with a variety of backgrounds in related fields, with common interests in information technology to support health services delivery and research. The main requirements are a good background in computing and a strong interest in the use of computing support in health care applications. Students will not be admitted to the program unless they can present evidence that they have taken a minimum of two computer science-related courses at the undergraduate or community college level. One of these courses must be in any programming language, and the second course must be in either data base design or data structures and algorithms. A background in Health Sciences, Life Sciences, Business, or Computer Science is an asset, but not a requirement. The Admissions Committee will in each case judge the candidate’s suitability for the program. A minimum B+ average in the final year of a four-year undergraduate degree program is required for admission. Applicants for the full-time options must also pass a face-to-face interview that evaluates their suitability for an eight-month internship, a required component of the program.

Degree Options and Internship

A candidate for the M.Sc. eHealth degree may choose to take the program either full-time or part-time. The full-time program has two options: thesis or course-project. In the thesis option, students must complete the required courses plus one elective course from the field of specialization (a total of five courses). In addition, students must complete and defend a Master’s thesis successfully. The thesis option is not open to part-time students. Completion of the M.Sc. thesis option is the preferred route to a Ph.D. program in a similar field (e.g., Health Research Methodology, Computer Science, or Business). In the course-project option (which may be taken full or part-time), students take the required courses, two electives from the field of specialization, and two other electives selected from one or both of the other two fields (for a total of eight courses). All courses must be completed with at least a B- standing.

Students taking the thesis option are expected to complete their programs and submit their research theses within 24 months of registration. Full-time students taking the course-project option are expected to complete their programs within 20 months, including a project or academic review which will result in a scholarly paper arising from a relevant study in eHealth. Full time students are limited to a maximum of three years from initial registration. Part-time students are expected to complete their programs within four years of registration, but are limited to a maximum of five years. They are also required to complete a project that is a scholarly paper relevant to eHealth, often for their current employer if the employer is in a health care industry.

In addition to coursework, all full-time students must satisfactorily complete an eight-month internship with a company, healthcare institution, or government agency. In most, but not all cases, the internship will be a paid position.