Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences overview

Gain skills in cellular, molecular, and behavioural mechanisms that underlie population health and chronic and infectious diseases.

BSc program: what you’ll learn

• Fundamental laboratory skills comparable to those from basic biomedical science programs 
• Strong interdisciplinary experience in social science settings 
• Group problem solving
• Understanding of and ability to interpret medical statistics 
• Statistical computation skills 
• Communication and organizational skills 
• Practical knowledge and understanding of concepts in molecular biology, immunology, toxicology, epidemiology, and public and population health

BSc core course areas

• Social, environmental, behavioural, and biological determinants of health
• Measurement of health, illness, and disease, as well as genetics
• General biology, cellular, biology, and molecular biology
• General chemistry and biochemistry
• Pathophysiology, toxicology, and epidemiology
• Virology and immunology
• Bioethics
• Statistics and research methods (qualitative and quantitative)
• Health promotion and disease prevention
• Health policy and health care systems
• Evidence-based decision making
• Health technologies

BSc teaching methods

The BSc program features hands-on laboratory experience. Upper division laboratory courses in health sciences offer unique opportunities to perform experiments in toxicology, pharmacology, virology and immunology. Quantitative computer modeling laboratories, for example involving GIS, spatial statistics and population databases are also available.

Courses available to the BSc program offer opportunities for group work, case-based learning, developing research proposals, and quantitative reasoning