Health Research Methodology, M.Sc.

M.Sc. Degree

The minimum admissions and general requirements for the M.Sc. Degree appear under the Regulations for the Master’s degrees near the beginning of this Calendar. Meeting the minimum admissions criteria does not guarantee admission to the program.

Detailed information regarding the application requirements are outlined on the HRM website at:
http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/hrm/msc_application.html

McMaster’s Postgraduate Medical Education Program allows Clinician Investigator Program trainees the opportunity to undertake a Master’s or Ph.D. degree as a full-time student (please refer to the Handbook for CIP trainees and the Health Sciences Graduate Programs Policy re CIP Applicants; separate applications are required for both).

A. M.Sc. by Thesis

Requirements

Requirements for the thesis-based M.Sc. degree include: i) successful completion of at least five half courses at the graduate level of which: a) one course must be HTH RS M 721 , b) one course must be HTH RS M 702 and c) the remaining required courses may be selected from among the courses offered by the HRM Program; ii) field-specific courses (if applicable); iii) successful completion of a research internship; and iv) submission and successful defence of a thesis. The required courses for the M.Sc. thesis are:

Field of Specialization	Common Courses	Field Specific Courses	Electives
HRM Classic	721 and 702	n/a	3
Clinical Epidemiology		743, 730 or *751	1
Health Technology Assessment		737, 741	1 (usually *706)

B. M.Sc. by Course Work

Requirements

Requirements for the course-based MSc degree include: i) successful completion of at least seven half courses at the graduate level of which: a) one course must be HTH RS M 721 , b) one course must be HTH RS M 702 and c) the remaining required courses may be selected from among the courses offered by the HRM Program; ii) field-specific courses; iii) successful completion of a research internship; and iv) a scholarly paper on a methodological issue, written at the completion of course work.

The required courses for the M.Sc. by coursework are as follows:

Field of Specialization	Common Courses	Field Specific Courses	Electives
HRM Classic	721 and 702	730 or 751, one of: 723, 727, 731, 733, 737, 743, *745	3
Clinical Epidemiology		743, 730 or *751	3
Health Technology Assessment		737, 743, *741	2 (usually *706)

Electives

All electives will be approved at the program level. All Health Research Methodology courses are approved as electives and fulfill the degree requirements. Courses outside of the HRM program may be eligible as electives but will require program approval.

Additional Information

A part-time student who receives permission for exemption from the formal research internship requirement must successfully complete an additional HRM graduate half course.

Students are expected to attend and participate in rounds and special events of the Department of Health, Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI) (formerly the Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics and HRM student rounds.

Transfer to Ph.D.

Students wishing to be transferred to the Ph.D. program prior to completion of the M.Sc. degree by Thesis option (see section 2.1.2 of the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies and the statement entitled “Policy and Procedure for Transfer from the M.Sc. to Ph.D. Health Research Methodology”) must have a minimum of an A- average in the M.Sc. curriculum with no grade less than a B, and must submit a critical Transfer Report, embodying a statement of progress and achievement in their research work to date and a proposal for Ph.D. research. The Transfer Report must be submitted within 18 months from entry at the M.Sc. level as a full-time student and 36 months from entry as a part-time student. The student must have successfully completed those courses required for the HRM M.Sc. Degree by Thesis as well as the formal research internship requirement before the Transfer Meeting. Part-time M.Sc. students would normally be expected to become full-time students when successfully transferring to the Ph.D. Approval to transfer will be determined at a meeting of the Transfer Committee at which the student will present his/her work and ideas for Ph.D. study orally.

C. Co-op Option

Admission

Full-time HRM thesis or course-based Master’s students who have successfully completed at least four half courses may be considered for the co-op option. The number of students selected will be subject to available placements.

Requirements

To complete the M.Sc. co-op option successfully, the student must work a total of eight months in either one or two work-study placements. Each placement must be approved by the HRM Coordinator. For M.Sc. by thesis students, a project undertaken during a work term may evolve into a thesis topic during the second work placement, subject to the appropriate approvals.

At the completion of each work-term placement, the student must write a report and append a letter of evaluation by the employer.

During the co-op placement, a student will be paid by the employer. A separate co-op fee must be paid prior to placement. A student completing the co-op option will be exempted from the research internship requirement. This option would normally require longer than 2 years to complete.