Thesis: Master of Public Health Programs

Applicants to the Master of Public Health program may apply to either a course-based or thesis option.

Applicants must indicate their areas of interest for a thesis when applying to the program. Admittance to the Thesis option is dependent on faculty availability from among full-time faculty of the Department of Health Sciences; otherwise, students are admitted to the course-based option.

Students admitted to the course-based option may apply to the Admissions Committee to transfer to the Thesis option after their first term of study, and once final marks are available. Students must contact the Graduate Coordinator for additional details on the process and required forms.

About the Thesis Option

The thesis is equivalent to four half-courses (2 FCEs).

A thesis is normally an empirical study (either qualitative or quantitative), which represents a moderately complete effort to answer a research question. It is evaluated by an examiner who is external to the university.

Students must register in the placeholder course section (HESC 9901) once they have begun work on, and as they are completing, their thesis. Students must have continuous registration in the placeholder course in each term until program completion.

Resource Documents

• General Information about the Master's Thesis Process
• Faculty of Graduate Studies Supervisory Policy
• Department of Health Sciences Policies for Thesis Proposals and Defences (PDF)
• Conservative Thesis Timeline
• Department of Health Sciences Thesis Format Guidelines (PDF)

Forms

Some of the following forms require your signature. You are able to sign these forms electronically. 

• Thesis Topic & Committee form (Appendix 1)
• Proposal Ready for Review form (Appendix 2a)
• Thesis Committee's Report on Proposal form (Appendix 2b)
• Permission to Proceed form (Appendix 2c)
• Confirmation of Ethics Approval form (Appendix 3)
• Proposed Examiner form (Appendix 4a)
• Arm's-Length form (Appendix 4b)
• Thesis Ready for Review form (Appendix 4c)
• Examiner's Report on Thesis form (Appendix 4d)
• Report on Thesis Examination form (Appendix 4e)
• Recommendation of Thesis (Appendix 5a)
• Thesis Ready for Final Submission form (Appendix 5b)
• Exit Survey

 Ethical Review

The Lakehead University Ethical Review Committee must approve all studies whose research involves human or animal subjects. You may obtain information on how to submit an ethics application by contacting the Office of Research or by visiting our Ethics & Research Integrity page. If you are uncertain whether your study requires ethical approval (e.g. use of archival data), please consult with your Supervisor or the Graduate Coordinator. Ethics approval to proceed must be received before data collection may begin.

Completion of ethical review may take up to three weeks before approval is granted (longer during the summer months, when the committee does not meet regularly). You should complete the oral presentation of your proposal before submitting the ethics proposal. Suggestions may arise following your presentation that may be helpful in modifying your design.

Please ensure that your submission adheres to the requirements for Research Involving Human Subjects or Animal Use in Research or Teaching as described by the Office of Research.

Publication/Dissemination

Students are encouraged to publish their findings in scholarly journals and present at conferences.