CanMPH2014

Actually, Lakehead's MPH program is the first MPH program in Canada.

This really depends on what you want to get out of your education and what you want to do in the future. I believe Lakehead has a practicum component which allows you to (1) network outside of school; (2) experience what it is like to be in the field. I am not sure if U Vic offers a practicum component as well. In my opinion, I think thesis is great if you want to stay in academia, but I think the current trend for many employers is that they prefer people with work experience (and having the right network also helps). Also, I think it is important to look at what each school offers and what is the most suitable for you. Congrats on Lakehead

I completely agree with CaseyP02. Public Health is such a broad field and everyone has a different idea of what they want to get out of the program. So as long as you have a good LOI for Lakehead (along with your solid GPA and references), I'm sure you have a good chance!

Decent GPA (not as high as some of the people here), did my undergrad in a clinical health science program and a pure science program. A few years of working in clinical resarch (epidemiology) and hospital QI and some experience doing front line work. Also have a couple of published papers and poster acceptance under my belt. There are other minor public health-related work that I did but those are the main stuff. Hope that helps!

Your transcript should indicate that you have not obtained your degree yet. I'm sure they take that into consideration and send out conditional offers to those who are still in school.

Do you have anything unofficial that you can upload? I'm sure your school can provide you an electronic copy of your grades so far. I uploaded all of my unofficial documents on top of sending my official ones just in case. Best of luck!

Since so many people have received a "dept recommended" status on their U Sask application, has anyone seen a different status change on theirs? Just wondering what a rejection/waitlisted status would look like.

Congrats to all those who have received acceptances! Great to hear that more people are getting good news

Don't give up yet! Lakehead has a rolling admissions system so there's still a good chance that you'll get in

Those are some good points, IAmMPH. It still surprises me that the number of applicants for U Sask surpasses both UBC and U of T.

Congrats, IAmMPH! I wonder what is the major factor that makes U Sask so popular.

I agree! Their process is very unorganized compared to other universities! But at least you're one step closer to finding out. From what you posted, it looks like you got a green light from them If it's alphabetical, my application would be close to the bottom of the list Do you mind sharing your stats? For all those that applied to U Sask for their distance program, the application didn't provide an option for distance. I just emailed them as a reminder that I am interested in their distance program and they responded with "we will consider you as a distance student." I've also stressed my interest in the distance program in my LOI but I guess that wasn't enough... Maybe it's a good idea to email them about this if anyone is aiming for the distance program.

Congratulations, bstar! When did you apply/completed your application? I have to put down my deposit for another school soon and it's frustrating that I still haven't heard back from Usask

Thanks for sharing your stats, ShelbyH! It looks like they take long to go through the applications. I submitted my last piece of document on Feb 17 so I guess I will have to wait a little longer to hear back.

Congrats! This is making me nervous as mine still says "complete ready for review" Do you mind sharing your stats?

Congrats to those who received offers from UBC!

That's awesome, RunnerGrad! Congratulations!

I think U Sask goes through their documents manually. That's why it takes a long time. I submitted everything in early-mid Feb and it took them a week to change my status to "complete ready for review" and update my CV and LOI to received. I was in the same situation so I called U Sask up to ask if it would be alright for me to provide 1 academic reference instead of two. They told me that it is not recommended for anyone who has been out of school for less than 10 years to do that and insisted that I give two academic references. I contacted one of my undergrad profs and he seemed to remember me (I spent a year studying/working in his lab) so hopefully he didn't write anything negative.

I think they accept unofficial transcripts but I'm not sure if you have one since you haven't completed your degree. I would contact Graduate Studies about this if I were you. Best of luck!

I see. I guess it is always good to go to an accredited program. Who knows if I will be working in another country in the future I submitted my application in early-mid February so hopefully they will get to my application soon! I am still juggling between my choices and don't want to put any deposit down until I know for certain that I will be attending that school. I'll definitely be checking PAWS 50x a day! Thanks for the insight

Thanks for the info! Good to know that U Sask is accredited! What I don't understand is that there are so many different accreditation programs and does it really matter if one goes to an accredited school or not? There are quite a few of the Canadian programs that are not accredited, included popular ones like U of T. I understand that the CEPH would be useful if one plans to work in the US. But would employers, in Canada or outside of Canada, penalize someone for getting an MPH from a school that isn't accredited? Also, do you mind if I ask when were you accepted to U Sask last year?

I think it all depends on what you are interested in. Personally, I like the idea of going general because it opens up more job opportunities. However, if you are interested in something like epidemiology research, obviously going into a stream is better. But keep in mind that a major factor in getting a decent job is the job market. It also depends if you are currently employed in the field and whether or not you are interested in advancing in what you are doing.

I would personally do a resume. I have done some application screening before for my job and would roll my eyes when I see someone with a resume/CV longer than 2 pages. Most employers spend a minute or two max on each application anyway so it is best to just highlight the relevant information and keep everything condensed (also include keywords in case they use software for the initial screening). You can use your cover letter to mention anything that is not in the resume that you think is noteworthy.

Thanks so much! This is definitely very helpful! I do feel a lot more comfortable now hearing that Lakehead's graduates think positively of the program. I actually really like the courses that they offers (I am more interested in health policy, ethics, and promotion/access to care but I am considering putting some focus on epi and research) and was leaning towards this program at first (partly because U Sask requires students to take two in-class courses and this is definitely not ideal for a working professional in Ontario like myself!), but I started getting skeptical when I saw someone here rated his/her experience at Lakehead a 6/10. I guess there is no point of me pulling out my hair over this when I have yet to hear back from U Sask. I can do that later (or maybe not do it at all if I get rejected). Good luck with the other school! Thanks! Congrats on McMaster and hope you'll get into U of T!

I'm also doing flex-time! Still waiting to hear back from another school before I finalize my decision. Do you know of anyone who has done the program? I am unfamiliar with Lakehead and it does not seem like a popular school for MPH. I would really like to get more info on the program, if possible.