School of Rural and Northern Health, Laurentian University

Helping to build a strong and healthy future for our rural and northern communities through

collaborative research and education

A Creative Idea... 

The School of Rural and Northern Health is situated within the Faculty of Professional Schools at Laurentian University.

Director: Dr. Nancy Lightfoot

Faculty Members include: Dr. Raymond Pong,

Dr. Elizabeth Wenghofer, Dr. Nancy Young, Dr. Diana Coholic, Dr. Lorraine Carter

The school is home to the Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Rural and Northern Health.

Interdisciplinary PhD in Rural and Northern Health

Purpose: to offer health research training to highly qualified students and to enhance health research and educational resources in rural and northern communities

The program is a collaboration of five health-related schools at Laurentian University:

Human Kinetics Medicine Midwifery Nursing Social Work

Additional Support for the PhD Program

• Faculty in the program come from a broad range of other disciplines including the Faculties of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Science and Engineering

• The program is also linked with various research centres and activities at LU: the Centre for Rural and Northern Health

Research (CRaNHR) the University’s Canada Research Chair in Rural

and Northern Children’s Health

Key Components of the PhD Program

The Interdisciplinary PhD program:• is based on an interdisciplinary

framework

• focuses on two main streams health policy health services

Admission Requirements

Principles:

strong academic track recordexcellent fit with the programproposed research project relevant to rural/

northern healthappropriate supervisorfoundational knowledge of health research

methods

Admission Requirements con’t

Prerequisites:• a Master’s degree from a recognized

university with a minimum average of B+

Strongly encouraged to have successfully completed:

• one course in statistics • one course in research methodology • one or more courses in the social and/or

health sciences

Application Packages

All applications must be submitted according to the policies of the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) via the Registrar’s Office using the forms provided by that office.

deadline: January 31 official transcripts required from all post-

secondary institutions program-specific requirements

Program-specific Requirements

a current curriculum vitae three letters of reference description of proposed research program

outline of proposed thesis project, including rationale and a draft of proposed methods in <1000 words

personal statement summary of relevant academic

experience, explanation of choice of program, identification of supervisor in <500 words

a copy of one publication or other written work for which the applicant is the principal author

Program-specific Requirements con’t

Note:

All applicants are encouraged to contact a potential supervisor before applying for admission and identify him/her in the application as whenever possible.

Admission Process

• one admission cycle per year• submissions made to Registrar’s Office by

January 31• complete applications reviewed by Admissions

Committee short list of applicants identified and interviewed

• final recommendations made by the Program and approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies

• students informed by the Registrar’s Office• classes begin in September

We are Proud of our Students!!

2006 Alain Gauthier, Denise Gauthier-Frohlick, Karen Rebeiro-Gruhl

2007 Kristy Gervais, Steven Kusan, Arshi Shaikh

2008 Robert Gause, Susan Manitowabi, Stephen Ritchie, Sylvie Rivard

2009 Tim Dube, Mary Beth Gibbons, Sean Lougheed, Lorrilee McGregor,

Behdin Nowrouzi, Roger Pilon

Alain Gauthier was our first graduate in 2009.

The Program: Courses

IRNH/ISRN 6000 (6 credits) Thesis

IRNH/ISRN 6105 (6 credits) Interdisciplinary Northern Rural Health:

Practice, Research and Policy IssuesIRNH/ISRN 6056 (3 credits)

Research Seminar/MethodsIRNH/ISRN 6057 (3 credits)

Research Seminar/Methods Part II IRNH/ISRN 6134 (elective credits)

Topics in Interdisciplinary PhD Studies including Comps Preparation)

IRNH/ISRN 6144 (elective credits) Teaching in Higher Education

Additional Courses

Other course work may be taken through programs that offer courses at the Master’s level (5000 or above). The programs that may be considered are:

• Human Kinetics • Engineering

• Nursing • Biology

• Social Work • Chemistry & Biochemistry

• Psychology • Business Administration

• Service Social • History

• Applied Physics • Human Development

• Sociology • Human Studies

Courses Offered Outside Laurentian University con’t

students registered in the Type 2 Diploma in Health Services/Health Policy through the Ontario Training Centre (OTC) may enroll for courses at an OTC member university.

members include Lakehead University, McMaster University, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, and York University

Courses offered outside Laurentian University con’t

in consultation with his/her supervisor, a student not registered in OTC may take a limited course work at another university provided that similar courses are not offered by Laurentian and that a mutually acceptable arrangement can be established between the two institutions

the School of Graduate Studies must be informed of such arrangements

Supervision

Supervisory committee: primary supervisor

• accredited by SGS and the program 2 or 3 supervisory committee members

• accredited by the Program

• one may be from another university

Role: provide guidance in course selection guide the development of the thesis assist with funding applications

Comprehensive Examinations

Students must pass their Comprehensive Examinations within 24 months after starting the program. Preparation requires 2 to 3 months of intensive study.

Prerequisites: successful completion of all required courses approval from supervisory committee

Components: written component

• three questions• thesis proposal

oral presentation and defense of the above

Thesis Requirements

In addition to course work, students must complete a PhD thesis which must be orally defended:

original piece of research relevant to rural or northern health represents an advancement in theoretical

understanding and has practical relevance to the target population

Document may take one of two formats: traditional “book” format combination of an introduction, three papers, and

a discussion/conclusion section

Sample Time Line

• Year 1 Course WorkFunding Applications

• Year 2 Proposal WritingComprehensive ExamsEthics Approval

• Year 3 Data Collection

• Year 4 PublicationsDefense

Funding Options

• Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA)

• Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS)

• Ontario Training Centre (OTC)

• CIHR Studentship / Fellowship / STIHRs

• SSHRC Studentship

• CNFS Award

• MASHA Award

• Private Foundation Competitions

• Topic-specific Awards

• Research Assistant Jobs

• Operating Grants

For Further Information

• www.laurentian.ca/Laurentian/Home/Departments/PhD+in+Rural+and+Northern+Health/

• srnh@laurentian.ca

• 705-675-1151 or 1-800-461-4030

We would love to hear from you!!