MPH 2021 Canada

[moonjar]

On 9/23/2020 at 11:39 PM, Bahareh33 said:

I applied to mcgill and also Toronto. I’m interested in health policy. I don’t think mcgill has many promotion courses but I (and a few friends who have applied) did so because it’s has more statistics but also a policy stream. Some courses felt more practical than health promotion for me but not too epi research 

 

also reputation, and cheap cheap city looool (If it’s in person next year)

Thanks for your response! This might be a bit of a random question, but McGill requires your personal statement to be no more than 2 pages. Do you have any idea if this is 2 pages double spaced or single spaced?

[sachishrestha]

Hello, I am new in this website. I have been looking for people applying for fall 2021 for Masters in healthcare infomatics and MPH is the closest topic I came to here. Does any one know when the application will be open for U of T cus I emailed them and they replied with the link to the program website which I have already visited and I am also concerned about the experiences. If any one had any idea regarding this topic please reply to this comment/ discussion.
Thank you

[Bahareh33]

On 10/3/2020 at 4:34 PM, moonjar said:

Thanks for your response! This might be a bit of a random question, but McGill requires your personal statement to be no more than 2 pages. Do you have any idea if this is 2 pages double spaced or single spaced?

2 pages single spaced max for the Mscph, I emailed and asked the same thing

[Epi2021]

Hi everyone and anyone who got accepted into the MPH Epi stream at University of Toronto.

I'm very interested in applying to the MPH Epi stream at University of Toronto. My background is:

1) First degree in Biochemistry at the McMaster Univeristy in 2011, GPA: 3.2?. I was young and dumb.

2) Second degree in Dietetics at the University of Alberta in 2020, GPA: 4. I know better now.

3) I am currently a registered dietitian.

4) I am currently working as a research assistant for Public Health Ontario.

My only concern is the statistic course requirement. I took only ONE statistic course during my first undergrad at McMaster University which is like 10 years ago. Do you think that is ok and they accept that? or should I take a few more stat course before applying to the program at U of T?

Thank you everyone. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[Drewwerd]

Hi guys,

I am looking to apply to the UofT MPH in Occupational and Environmental Health (first choice) as well as the McGill MSc, too. I see that UofT MPH are quite competitive, but almost NO ONE is talking about Occupational and Environmental Health!! I have no idea what's competitive or what. The fact they only admit 15 students per year is really really bothersome, because while my grades are okay, I don't think overall I'd be in the top 15 applicants...

In terms of my grades I have 3.8 GPA in last two years, 3.9 in the last year (which UofT only looks at). So grade-wise I believe I'm sitting pretty. I have one undergraduate Statistics 1 course with an 80, so I meet that requirement as well.

The only thing is the experience. So I have two years of experience volunteering in a Physiotherapy clinic on campus, and I also have almost a year of work experience post-graduating at a food bank coordinating a community garden as well as doing property maintenance/accepting donations, etc. Would this role count as Public health experience? I was reading that UofT considers any sort of public-facing body that deals with inequity and vulnerable populations (like a food bank) as public health experience, what do you guys think?

Finally I'm applying for COVID-19 Contact Tracer with the Ontario Ministry of Health, which I think would definitely look good. How are my chances looking here?

[Jackson_wong]

Hi everybody 

I'm not quite sure this is the place to ask, but it's the closest forum I could find. 
Is anyone else a public health graduate or worker and looking at the new DrPH (doctor of public health) program at U of T?

I'm a graduate of McGill's MScPH, and I've worked for 3 years in infectious disease control with PHAC. I thought about an MD or a PhD ( some terminal degree ), but the introduction of this DrPH is intriguing.

Thanks all! Shoot me a message if you want any information on working in Public Health, McGill, or maybe the application process (its been a long time) 

 

 

 

[cryingstudent]

Hi guys!

I'm planning to apply to just UAlberta this year for financial reasons, but maybe in the future I'll apply to other schools if uofa doesn't accept me.

The one thing that concerns me the most is my gpa - I read that the mean gpa is 3.7, but my gpa in the last 20 courses is only 3.675 so I'm kind of scared!!

I'm also not sure if my background would help me be a better candidate. A little about me:

• I'm in my last year of my bachelors of community rehabilitation at the University of Calgary
• I've been working at a hospital since 2013, not a healthcare worker but I work directly with patients kind of
•  I've had a couple of practicums working with children in early childhood intervention programs in preschools
• My current practicum is research, but it's remote so I'm just at home (just a lit review though)
• I used to volunteer with children with disabilities for about a year

I'm also unsure how to spin all this so it sounds public health forward in my LOI, I don't think I'm the strongest writer or the most convincing one out there lmao

I'm also concerned about letters of references - I have 2 professional ones secured, but my academic one is TBD. I don't have strong relationships with my profs or even my research supervisor since basically all my correspondence is via email. Do you guys think schools prefer 2 professionals + 1 academic ref vs. 3 professional refs?

Thank you!!

[MONEECA]

Hi guys!

I opened the online application and started uploading documents for the 2021 admission to U of T MPH Epi.

So glad that I found this forum, wish every applicant the best of luck!

[Excel725]

13 hours ago, MONEECA said:

Hi guys!

I opened the online application and started uploading documents for the 2021 admission to U of T MPH Epi.

So glad that I found this forum, wish every applicant the best of luck!

Hi there! Good luck  What experiences and stats are you applying with?

[MONEECA]

5 minutes ago, Excel725 said:

Hi there! Good luck  What experiences and stats are you applying with?

Thanks!

My 3rd year (last year) GPA was 3.9/4.33.

Got 2 strong recommendation letters.

Have one year of co-op work experience in various industries settings (food quality control, occupational health and safety, etc).

Worked as a research assistant this summer and published an article regarding COVID-19.

Statistics Course-wise, I took biostat last year and got an A+ (4.33/4.33).

Generally I’m weak in volunteering and school-related ECs. But I hope I can stand a chance in this admission process. ?

Edited October 20, 2020 by MONEECA

[RebeccaEls94]

On 7/7/2020 at 1:32 PM, Whereamilol said:

Can confirm - ish   hahahaa.  I'm starting McGill MScph in Fall 2020, but I was accepted to UofT too. I had a supervisor at mcgill in the department who told me that most successful applicants for the MScph apply with a vision of working in practice-based public health more often than research. But I dont fully think UofTs health promo "limits your options in epi", if you take enough epi-focused electives.  I did however choose mcgill because its a little less of a dichotomy and more rounded than toronto's programs MPH in epi vs health promo. 

Do you have any advice on the application for McGill MScPH? 
I did anthropology in my undergrad but did 2 statistics courses in my undergraduate. Their quantitative requirements seem pretty heavy, I just hit the B+ requirement. 

Otherwise I have a pretty good GPA (3.73), I think strong LOR, and a few years of research experience where I worked as a research assistant. I am aiming for the Global Health stream, do I indicate that in my application? It seems more health promotion based than others. 
 

 

[mr._shetty]

Hey I am an international student(India) with an undergraduate degree (Batch of 2020) in Biotech. Though i don't come from a public health background, I had biostatistics as a subject in my undergraduate year. I also have one year of volunteer experience (fundraising, cleanup drives, donation).  Additionally, I have 6 months of research experience and another 10 months of work experience.  I am planning to apply for MPH for fall 21 season in U of A (Health Policy and Management), U of T (HP) and SFU . Can i please get your perspective regarding this because I am very interested in working towards healthcare

[jane234]

On 10/9/2020 at 10:39 PM, Epi2021 said:

Hi everyone and anyone who got accepted into the MPH Epi stream at University of Toronto.

I'm very interested in applying to the MPH Epi stream at University of Toronto. My background is:

1) First degree in Biochemistry at the McMaster Univeristy in 2011, GPA: 3.2?. I was young and dumb.

2) Second degree in Dietetics at the University of Alberta in 2020, GPA: 4. I know better now.

3) I am currently a registered dietitian.

4) I am currently working as a research assistant for Public Health Ontario.

My only concern is the statistic course requirement. I took only ONE statistic course during my first undergrad at McMaster University which is like 10 years ago. Do you think that is ok and they accept that? or should I take a few more stat course before applying to the program at U of T?

Thank you everyone. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I took 1 stats course in my undergrad and got into U of T MPH epi I'd email the grad dlsph email and ask if there is a time period you need to have the stats course within.

[LavenderLover]

On 5/29/2020 at 7:16 PM, devika143 said:

Hello! I'm interested in a few different MPH programs, Guelph, Western, McMaster and UofT! 

I have completed an HBSc life science from UofT,  and almost finished an BASc Public Health and safety from Ryerson University. I have a year's professional research assistant experience at a biotechnology laboratory, volunteer experience with students with disabilities, public health marketing, food assistance research and crisis responder positions. 

Best of luck to everyone applying   

 

Hi! I graduated from UofT this year with a HBSc in Life Sciences as well and am applying to MPH programs at UoA and Brock. I am also planning to apply to the BASc in Public Health at Ryerson as a back up if I don't get into any masters programs this year. Can I ask what you thought about the program at Ryerson, and why if for any particular reason you did a second bachelors rather than going straight into a Masters?:)

Good luck with your applications!

[LavenderLover]

On 7/28/2020 at 11:08 AM, aspiringMPH said:

Hi Everyone, 

I am hoping to apply to MPH programs for Fall 2021 admissions. I wanted to come on here to seek advice/comfort from those going through the same processes as well as previously successful applicants. I am currently struggling with whether or not I should apply for 2021 admissions, or wait another year to strengthen my background as I fear I am not a competitive applicant...

The Schools that I am considering applying to are Guelph, University of Alberta, Queens and McGill however am open to any program so long as it fits my interests. I would like a program with a practicum component rather than a thesis requirement. 

A little about me...

I am about to enter my fourth year BASc Public Health at Laurier University, my overall GPA for my first three years of study is 11.5 (Laurier bases their GPA on a 12 point scale, if this were to be converted I believe it would be around a 3.9).

I have previous experience from high school and first year working as an admin assistance in rehabilitation clinics (chiro, physio, massage therapy, naturopath). This is where my career interests shifted from a medical career to a more public health field, as I began seeing there was more to health than a bio-medical approach. However I'm not sure this would still be considered relevant experience. 

In addition, I have very recent, and limited, volunteer experience at a health centre working as a general greeter as well as at a Salvation Army food bank helping with food orders. 

I don't have any other professional work experience or research experience other than class assignments (biostats labs, lit reviews, general research papers). 

I fear that it is too late to seek further volunteer experience seeing as many applications open in September.

Any advice? 

Hi ! I know I'm a bit late in replying but I just wanted to say that I'm applying to MPH programs for fall 2021 and I feel pretty much exactly the same as you.  I feel like I'm not the strongest applicant and I'm constantly doubting whether it's worth it to apply or if I should focus on gaining more relevant experience, but I decided that I am going to apply anyway! I submitted my application to the University of Alberta a couple weeks ago and am planning on applying to the MPH at Brock University as well.

I have a very similar background to yours - I completed my HBSc in June this year and have admin experience working in healthcare settings / health-related organizations but I wouldn't say I have any direct "public health" experience.

I found that I really had to rely on both strong references and my ability to write a strong LOI to *try* to be competitive... also I didn't think it would hurt to apply and if I don't get in - at least I'm more familiar with the process for next time:p

If you do go forward with applying - all the best !!

[MPHfall2021]

Hi,

I am new here. I graduated in 2019 with a BSc in Kinesiology. I am planning to apply to MPH programs so far at Western, Waterloo, and U of T. To be frank the one thing stressing me out is the statement of purpose/personal statement portion. Any tips or advice??? Thanks.

[wxr]

On 12/2/2020 at 4:57 PM, LavenderLover said:

Hi ! I know I'm a bit late in replying but I just wanted to say that I'm applying to MPH programs for fall 2021 and I feel pretty much exactly the same as you.  I feel like I'm not the strongest applicant and I'm constantly doubting whether it's worth it to apply or if I should focus on gaining more relevant experience, but I decided that I am going to apply anyway! I submitted my application to the University of Alberta a couple weeks ago and am planning on applying to the MPH at Brock University as well.

I have a very similar background to yours - I completed my HBSc in June this year and have admin experience working in healthcare settings / health-related organizations but I wouldn't say I have any direct "public health" experience.

I found that I really had to rely on both strong references and my ability to write a strong LOI to *try* to be competitive... also I didn't think it would hurt to apply and if I don't get in - at least I'm more familiar with the process for next time:p

If you do go forward with applying - all the best !!

Hello! I definitely empathize with the constant debate between applying vs gaining more experience first. But I decided to try because well, the application process on its own is a good experience and it's always worth a shot :) 

I will be graduating with a BSc in health and nutrition next May and similar to you, have only had a couple of years working in admin/ comms roles for health organizations and little direct experience.. I trust that my references speak positively about me but do worry that they might not be strong in terms of relevance to the public health field. 

Anyways, I've also applied to U of A (Health Promo stream) and currently plan on applying to SFU, UBC and U of T as well - good luck to everyone applying this cycle! 

[alphadawg]

Hi

I am an international student/applicant who has applied to the following schools and programs:

University of Toronto (PhD Epidemiology)

McMaster University (MSc Health Research Methodology - Clinical Epidemiology specialization, thesis-based)

University of Alberta (MSc Epidemiology, thesis-based)

My profile

Have a BSc in Microbiology (Upper Second Class) from a university outside Canada

Currently in my final year of another BSc program (Nursing) with a CGPA of 4.3/5 and 3.45/4 from WES evaluation.

One publication as a first author, two more under peer review (one review and one co-authored paper), a poster presentation at Canadian Cardiology Congress.

About 1.5 year research experience (had a month research internship in Canada)

2 years volunteer experience at community level and some leadership experience all stated in my CV.

For my U of T application, I initially wanted to apply for a MSc degree but my potential supervisor encouraged me to apply for the PhD program despite the fact that a MSc is required (I am still very hopeful for the outcome though). The reason for this switch was based on funding - there is little to no funding for international students applying to MSc program)

In regard to my UAlberta application, the potential supervisor will assess my application alongside other applicants who chose him as a potential supervisor.

My potential supervisor at McMaster University gave me a nod to proceed with my application, although an offer is needed before confirming a supervisor.

Best of luck to us!

[SB2021]

Hello everyone! After deciding to pursue MPH in Canada a bit too late, I am targeting Fall 2022.

Requesting your suggestions on how to better prepare myself using the next 8-9 months; any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, and best of luck to everyone applying for Fall 2021! 

 

PROFILE

• Academics: Bachelors (3.05/4) and Master’s (3.4/4) in Business Studies from Bangladesh. Received a strong grade in the statistics course during masters.
• Experience: Three years in one local non-profit and one reputed international NGO – with direct involvement in project design (community healthcare, food & nutrition, WatSan, humanitarian and covid response); plus another three years in a local nonprofit focusing on public policy (non-healthcare).
• IELTS: 8.5 in GT; likely to manage 8 in Academic Module.

QUESTIONS

1. I am worried about my likelihood to succeed – as I do not have a bio-science/healthcare background and strong CGPA like most candidates here. Is it a far-fetched idea to pursue an MPH with my profile?
2. Will doing a post-graduate diploma on public health from a local university (8 months in duration, includes courses on Research Methods, Epidemiology and Biostatistics) add value to my profile? Or would I be better off with an online statistics course from a Canadian university?
3. I am planning to target global health-focused programs (UoAlberta, SFU, UoGuelph, McMasters, Queen’s). However, as an incoming PR, I am also considering other programs which might be less competitive (Memorial, Lakehead), but improve my employability in Canada in case my top choices do not pan out. Any thoughts?

[INDIN STUDENT]

hi anyone applying for mph from india,completed doctor of pharmacy

[minniexo_]

On 5/8/2020 at 7:53 PM, Excel725 said:

Hey everyone! Anyone thinking of applying to MPH programs in Canada for 2021? Share what schools you are interested in, your stats + experiences! And we can discuss!!!

 

Undergraduate Program: Bachelor's of Public Health at University of Waterloo

GPA: 83% 

Work Experience: 1 year Optometry clinic (evaluating protocols for covid-19, booking & encouraging patients to come in for annual appointments focusing on cure over prevention, conducting covid-19 assessments questianorie for patients prior to appointments), 4 months Teaching Assistant (assisting professors, marking exams, providing students with help, and support of resources for mental health), 4 months Research Assistant (studying grief and the impact on mental health - focusing on Indigenous and Indigenous populations), 4 months Social Media Editor (promoting health with the use of social media), 1 year Tutor (student with learning disabilities), 6 months Blogger (health & wellness content) 

Volunteering: Peer Health Education (educating about substance abuse and hard reduction), Full Soul (communication lead - organization based on reducing maternal mortality), Changing the Flow (improving menstrual poverty and eliminating stigma), Bloom The Red Project (same thing as Changing the Flow), Letters of Love (writing letters to elderly in isolation due to covid-19 - helping improve their mental health), Be My Eyes (helping visual disability individuals). 

Programs Applied: MPH at University of Waterloo, Western, Ottawa on January 2nd. 

 

What about you?

[minniexo_]

On 5/29/2020 at 7:16 PM, devika143 said:

Hello! I'm interested in a few different MPH programs, Guelph, Western, McMaster and UofT! 

I have completed an HBSc life science from UofT,  and almost finished an BASc Public Health and safety from Ryerson University. I have a year's professional research assistant experience at a biotechnology laboratory, volunteer experience with students with disabilities, public health marketing, food assistance research and crisis responder positions. 

Best of luck to everyone applying   

 

 

Undergraduate Program: Bachelor's of Public Health at University of Waterloo

GPA: 83% 

Work Experience: 1 year Optometry clinic (evaluating protocols for covid-19, booking & encouraging patients to come in for annual appointments focusing on cure over prevention, conducting covid-19 assessments questianorie for patients prior to appointments), 4 months Teaching Assistant (assisting professors, marking exams, providing students with help, and support of resources for mental health), 4 months Research Assistant (studying grief and the impact on mental health - focusing on Indigenous and Indigenous populations), 4 months Social Media Editor (promoting health with the use of social media), 1 year Tutor (student with learning disabilities), 6 months Blogger (health & wellness content) 

Volunteering: Peer Health Education (educating about substance abuse and hard reduction), Full Soul (communication lead - organization based on reducing maternal mortality), Changing the Flow (improving menstrual poverty and eliminating stigma), Bloom The Red Project (same thing as Changing the Flow), Letters of Love (writing letters to elderly in isolation due to covid-19 - helping improve their mental health), Be My Eyes (helping visual disability individuals). 

Programs Applied: MPH, MSc at University of Waterloo, Western, Ottawa on January 2nd. 

What about you?

[mphstudent2022]

Hey everyone!

I'm currently a student at UoT's DLSPH in my second semester of my MPH (focused in Indigenous Health). I used this forum regularly last year before applying so I thought I'd pop back on here and answer any questions you might have about applications or the program itself.

[KFer97]

Hey everyone!

Wishing you all lots of good luck this year with your applications and (hopefully!) acceptances! A little about me:

Graduated from University of Toronto in 2019 with a BSc (Hons.). I double majored in Human Biology and Molecular Biology, finishing with a cGPA of 3.4 (my last two years have a cGPA of 3.75 though!). While at U of T I went on a fully funded research trip to the Netherlands through a seminar I took to explore long term care models and geriatric health compared to the Canadian system. Ended up presenting a poster on it.

I've been working as an assistant manager at a private psychiatry clinic in Toronto since August 2019. Part of my role involves research that we undertake through the clinic - I have submitted a paper to a couple of journals this winter and we are in the midst of performing clinical trials for a new psych treatment that's on the market. Other work experience includes a 2 year position as a camper health coordinator at a summer camp during university!

I applied last year (before I started my job and got that experience) and was waitlisted at all 3 schools, not receiving news from Queen's until after I had started my job. This year I've applied to U of T, Western, McMaster, Waterloo (part time only) and Ottawa. My boyfriend and I are hoping to move to Ottawa this fall for an investment opportunity so I'm really hoping to get into Waterloo or Ottawa!

Just finished all of my applications today so I'm feeling the jitters now!

[cheesecakelover]

21 hours ago, mphstudent2022 said:

Hey everyone!

I'm currently a student at UoT's DLSPH in my second semester of my MPH (focused in Indigenous Health). I used this forum regularly last year before applying so I thought I'd pop back on here and answer any questions you might have about applications or the program itself.

Hi! Thanks for being on this forum and offering to answer questions! I was just wondering how the pandemic has affected learning for students in the program. Are all the courses happening online? How is covid going to affect your practicum experiences? I was wanting to move out, however if the classes are all going to be online I'm thinking it would be more advantageous to stay at home and save on rent.