The PhD program focuses on two main streams within rural and northern health: rural and northern health policy and rural and northern health services. These fields reflect the research, teaching and practice expertise of our core faculty and of the community partners who will play an important role in providing research and practice opportunities to students at various stages of their programs. Our definition of rural and northern health is broad, based on principles such as those developed by Health Canada and the Public Health Agency for Canada.
Degree Requirements
The minimum requirements that doctoral students must successfully complete are:
• six credits of the Interdisciplinary Seminar in Rural and Northern Health (IRNH 6105)
• six credits of the Research Seminar (IRNH 6056/6057)
• Preparation of a Ph.D. Research Proposal
• Comprehensive Examination
• Presentation and defense of a Ph.D. thesis based on original research
There are also other optional courses.
Streams
The program has 2 primary streams: Health Policy and Health Services.
Health Policy topics may include: institution and organization studies; policy development and analysis; and legal or ethical issues.
Health Services topics may include: determinants of health; health promotion; health, illness and injury - risks and strategies; social and cultural issues; geographic issues; health human resources utilization; and knowledge transfer/exchange.
Training Environment
The core faculty members have expertise in one or both fields. Students will designate a field on their program application and the decisions related to matching of student to faculty advisor/supervisor will include the choice of field. In addition to Laurentian's own faculty, qualified health care professionals from community partners provide students with the important element of "real world" practice and knowledge of current rural and northern health issues.
Graduate students are trained using an interdisciplinary framework that draws on perspectives from inter-professional and inter-cultural relationships, as well as social, historical, biological, occupational, and environmental insights. The interdisciplinary approach of the program acknowledges the complex nature of health challenges, and builds capacity for knowledge generation through the mobilization of the many relevant scientific and scholarly disciplines.
Coursework
Students must obtain a minimum grade of 70% in each graduate course in order to pass the course. Students who fail a compulsory course must repeat it.
In addition to their compulsory coursework, students may be required to take electives to develop areas of competency. Elective coursework at the Master's level or above may be taken in the following Laurentian programs: Human Kinetics; Nursing; Social Work; Business Administration; Humanities, Interpretation and Values; Human Development; History; Psychology; Sociology; Biology; Chemistry and Biochemistry; Engineering; and Applied Physics. Students who wish to take a limited amount of course work at another university may do so in accordance with Graduate Calendar regulations.
Supervisory Committee
The Supervisory Committee will meet with the student at least once every six months and the student will prepare a written summary of progress at least once a year. At the end of each meeting, the Supervisory Committee will provide a written report with copies to the Dean, the Program Director, the Supervisor and the Student. The Student will be permitted to submit a written response to the committee report if desired. An unsatisfactory performance in three consecutive committee meetings shall be grounds for dismissal from the program. The student will be responsible for convening the meetings with their Supervisory Committee. Students who fail to schedule such meetings at appropriate intervals (~ six months) will not be allowed to register for the next academic session, unless there are compelling reasons.
Comprehensive Examination
In order to proceed to Ph.D. candidacy, a student must pass a qualifying Comprehensive Examination. The examination will include questions on how the student's thesis topic relates to the interdisciplinary study of rural and northern health, and the student's preparedness to conduct research in the area. The examination will occur after the student has completed mandated coursework (compulsory and elective) and preparatory work for the Comprehensive Examination. It is anticipated that the majority of students will take the Comprehensive Examination between 18 and 30 months from admission into the program. The Comprehensive Examination Committee will be composed of a minimum of four members of the Ph.D. program in Rural and Northern Health Faculty who will be chosen by the Program Director in consultation with the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research. One member of the Committee will act as Chair and will not vote.
The first stage of the examination will be comprised of a 30-minute presentation by the candidate summarizing their research proposal, work in progress, and their plan for completion. Following the presentation, the student will be questioned by the members of the Committee.
At the end of the Comprehensive Examination, the Committee will reach one of the following decisions:
(1) PASS: the candidate has met the required standards and may proceed in the Ph.D. program
(2) INCOMPLETE: the candidate has passed the examination except for identified weakness(es) that can be corrected by appropriate, and specifically identified remedial measures. A PASS shall be awarded upon successful completion of those measures.
(3) FAIL: the candidate will be given permission to repeat the Comprehensive Examination within no more than four months. Failure to pass a second Examination will require that the candidate withdraw from the program.
Ph.D. Thesis Defense
The School of Graduate Studies calendar outlines general regulations regarding thesis defense procedures.
No later than seven weeks before the anticipated date of a Ph.D. thesis defense, the Program Director will submit a recommendation to the Dean of Graduate Studies regarding the composition of the Thesis Examination Committee. The Committee will normally have the same composition as the Comprehensive Examination Committee, with the addition of an External Examiner chosen based on their expertise in the subject area and who is normally expected to be present at the defense. The External Examiner will be given a minimum period of five weeks prior to the defense to review the thesis. Each member of the Committee will review the thesis and will submit a thesis report, in confidence to the Dean of Graduate Studies, indicating whether or not the thesis should proceed to defense.
At the thesis defense, the Committee will reach one of the following three decisions:
(1) PASS: the thesis is acceptable in its present form, or with minor revisions.
(2) REFERRED: the thesis is not acceptable in its present form, but could be acceptable pending major revisions.
(3) FAILED: the thesis is unacceptable, even with substantive revisions.
Residency Requirements
In general, a minimum of two academic terms of full-time residence will be required for all Ph.D. students. Full-time students are expected to complete requirements for the Ph.D. degree within four years following entry into the program. Under extraordinary circumstances, a student may receive special permission to move to part-time status upon petition to the Program Director, provided that he or she has been in the program for at least half of the program requirement and presents a feasibility schedule showing that the degree will be completed within the maximum time limit, which shall not exceed six years.
Financial Support
All students are eligible to apply for a Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA). The annual GTA stipend for students enrolled in the Ph.D. program is approximately $12,000 annually. Full-time Ph.D. students are eligible to receive GTA funding for a maximum of four years from the inception of their doctoral studies.
Other opportunities for financial support include the William Shaver Doctoral Scholarship, as well as studentship opportunities from CIHR, SSHRC, and other funding agencies.