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Jun 05, 2026
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School of Graduate Studies Calendar, 2026-2027
Global Health, M.Sc.
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 Return to: Interdisciplinary
The Master of Science in Global Health is an innovative interdisciplinary program designed to prepare students for the diverse global health workforce and further professional and post-graduate education. Students will develop the necessary skills by participating in international collaboration, blended learning, and practical research and/or field experiences in global settings.
The program is offered in coordination with Maastricht University in The Netherlands and affiliated universities, and features collaborative blended-learning courses with students from Maastricht and the possibility of student exchanges in the Winter term. McMaster and Maastricht offer two core courses - Global Health Foundations I and II - with faculty members from both universities. Innovative technologies are used to promote transcontinental teaching/learning. Students from both universities all participate in the Global Health Learning Symposium/Field Orientation at the end of the Winter termwith local opportunities and global opportunities at Manipal University in India. More information can be found on the Global Health Website and will be provided while in the program. For students with disabilities or for whom travel to India might cause undue hardship, alternatives will be arranged in accordance with university policies on accessibility and accommodations.
The program is designed as a full-time three-semester program (Fall, Winter, Spring/Summer) on campus.
In the Fall term, students are introduced to current and emerging challenges in globalization and health. Through these required core courses, all students learn to critically investigate health policy; analyze research methods; and collaborate effectively with peers and tutors in virtual transcontinental learning teams.
In the Winter term, students choosing the thesis-stream stay at McMaster and take one course related to their thesis. Students in the course-based stream choose from a range of concentrations at McMaster or at our partner institutions details of which are included on the program webpage.
Graduates from the Global Health program will be eligible for positions with government agencies, with public and private industry, and with global health and development organizations.
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Fields in the Program
The fields of study, or concentrations, in the program are not mutually exclusive; students will choose from a wide spectrum of research interests that straddle traditional disciplinary boundaries. All students will take the core courses Global Health Foundations I and Global Health Foundations II that are interdisciplinary. In addition, they will choose scholarly projects (course-based or thesis stream) in areas of individual interest, to build upon and advance their knowledge of Global Health in a manner that will promote interdisciplinary thinking. The M.Sc. program is designed so that students will achieve these core competencies: - Develop an understanding of Global Health as a series of dynamic relationships and interrelated themes
- Gain a working knowledge of selected topics within one of the Global Health fields of study
- Develop a specialized working knowledge of one of these fields of study
- Be able to identify the macro-dynamics of globalization and their consequences for micro-level health outcomes
- Build an awareness of the new practices, instruments, insights, and perspectives needed to work in a global health setting
- Develop the tools to analyze critically and measure the relationships which define the global meaning of health
- Understand and appreciate the changing roles and responsibilities of old and new actors in the global health field (universities, citizens, governments, health professionals, international organizations, private foundations, etc.)
- Use reflective practice as a critical tool for knowledge acquisition, personal and professional growth, and effective intercultural exchange
The three fields of study in the program offered at the McMaster campus are as follows: a) Globalization and Equity
From international flows of capital, to the role of corporations, to global social movements, this field examines how the ebb and flow of globalizing processes affect politics and policies, economic development, trade, health, healthcare, and education around the globe. Students investigate and learn about the socio-economic and political moorings that inform and shape global health. They acquire career-relevant skills relating to policy analysis and formulation in a global context. b) Global Health Management
Global Health Management introduces students to management and policy skills, including a fundamental understanding of the capacities needed to manage projects related to health, healthcare, economic development, and education viewed through the disciplinary lenses of the business of health systems. Students acquire career-relevant skills ranging from healthcare marketing to strategic and financial decision-making at a macro level.. c) Global Health: Disease Burden, Challenges and Changes
Students study critical challenges within global health from a health sciences perspective. Learning from a network of leading professionals, students examine the threat to public health from existing, new and re-emerging diseases that spread through immigration, travel and global trade. Finally, all students will be required to attend GLOB HTH 710 Learning Symposium and Field Orientation with students from partner universities. The Symposium involves group work with students from partner institutions, seminars by experts in the field; student presentations on selected research topics, and fields visits to sites that involve research activities in global health. This will be followed by research and thesis writing for thesis option students and a field placement and scholarly paper writing for all others. For students in the course-based stream, there are additional fields available at partner universities. Details of these opportunities are available on the program webpage and will be shared with students while in the program. At Maastricht University students can choose to follow either:
d) Implementing Innovations on a Global Scale
e) Redesigning Policy Practices in Global Health
In Norway students focus on:
f) Global Health, Healthy Relationship
Admission
Admission to the M.Sc. Global Health program requires an honours bachelor’s degree with at least a B+ from an accredited university (equivalent to a McMaster 8.5 out of 12) based on a full year equivalent of final year courses (300 or 400 level) relevant to the program. Finally, applicants must have a strong interest in one of the fields offered in the program. Visit the program webpage for information on current opportunities. Admission requirements include:
- One official transcript of academic work completed to date at all post-secondary institutions attended, sent directly from the issuing institution(s). If the final transcript does not show that a completed degree has been conferred, an official copy of the diploma is also required.
- Two academic letters of recommendation from instructors most familiar with the applicant’s academic work, sent directly from the instructors.
- A personal curriculum vitae (résumé).
- A statement of interest (submitted online within the application). The statement should explain why the applicant is applying to the program with examples of past academic, professional, and lived experience; What the applicant’s expectations of the program are and how it will contribute to their future plans; How the applicant’s skills, knowledge, and experiences will contribute to the program; and outline the applicant’s preferred path in the program (no more than 750 words)
- Evidence of proficiency in the English language. The most common evidence is an official copy of the applicant’s TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score or IELTS score. A minimum TOEFL (iBT) score of 92 (580 on the paper-based TOEFL or 237 on the computer-based test) is required. For IELTS, a minimum overall score of 6.5 is required with at least 5.5 in each section.
M.Sc. Degree
The general requirements for the M.Sc. degree appear under the regulations for the Master’s degrees near the beginning of this Calendar. M.Sc. by Thesis
Students enrolled in the thesis stream should expect to spend 16 months on their research and theses, which may involve the collection and analysis of field data or developing major conceptual works based on the literature. Requirements
Requirements for thesis-based students include: Course Requirements
Completion of the program with at least a B- standing, a minimum of seven graduate half courses which must include: Thesis
Completion of a thesis on an approved global health issue and defend the thesis at a final oral examination. Requirements
Requirements for the course-based M.Sc. degree include: Course Requirements
Completion of the program with at least a B- standing, a minimum of eleven graduate half courses which must include the eight required courses: Transfer to Ph.D.
Following two terms after initial registration in the M.Sc. Global Health program, students may request to be transferred (reclassified) to the Ph.D. Global Health program (see sections, 2.1.3 Admission Requirements for Ph.D. Degree, and 2.1.4 Transfer to Ph.D. of the General Regulations of this Calendar). Students wishing to be transferred to the Ph.D. program prior to completion of the M.Sc. degree must be registered in the M.Sc. by Thesis stream and must submit a Transfer Report comprising a statement of progress and achievement in their course work and research work to date, and a proposal for their Ph.D. research. The candidate must present requests for transfer to the supervisor and the Supervisory Committee no later than 16 months from entry at the M.Sc. level as a full-time student and all must be in agreement to proceed with the transfer request. A recommendation to transfer will be determined at a meeting of the Transfer Committee at which the student will present their Transfer Report and proposed plans for Ph.D. study orally. A recommendation to transfer by the Transfer Committee does not guarantee admission to the Ph.D. program. Approval to transfer will be determined by the Ph.D. Program Director based on the recommendation of the Transfer Committee, and the availability of supervision and funding to support the student in their Ph.D. program. All students seeking to transfer to the Ph.D. program from the M.Sc. program must receive approval to transfer before going beyond 22 months following registration in the M.Sc. program. Approval to transfer must identify which if any courses taken as part of the M.Sc. in Global Health program can be credited toward the requirements for the Ph.D. program. |
Return to: Interdisciplinary
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