Epidemiology and Applied Health Research

The graduate program in Epidemiology and Applied Health Research has an interdisciplinary approach; students can work with people from a variety of academic backgrounds and interests and develop strong links with diverse groups.

The MSc and PhD programs in Epidemiology and Applied Health Research are incredibly competitive and have limited enrolment.

Program Highlights

Highly successful graduate program: Graduates are employed in research fields or accepted in various higher education program
World renowned faculty members: The Epidemiology Department has a high portion of Canada research Chairs.
Affiliated with many research institutes in the Nation’s capital (the Public Health Department of the City of Ottawa, the Public Health Agency of Canada, Health Canada and the Local Health Integration Network.

Research interests

Epidemiology & Public Health
Genetic, Psychiatric, Ocular, Nutrition
Global Health
Clinical Epidemiology
Systematic Reviews
Health Technology Assessment
Risk Sciences
Rare diseases
Chronic Diseases
Communicable Diseases
Harm Reduction
HIV & HCV Prevention
Methodologies
Knowledge Translation Research/Implementation Science

Relevant Information

Application Deadlines

Please note it may take 7-10 business days to get your uoDoc login information. Fees must be paid in order for an application to be considered submitted.

For the MSc in Epidemiology

Fall admission only	Deadline to submit your admission application through OUAC	Deadline for receiving all documents
Canadian and international candidates	January 8	January 31

For the PhD in Epidemiology

Fall admission	Deadline to submit your admission application through OUAC	Deadline for receiving all documents
Canadian candidates	April 30	May 30
International candidates	March 1	April 1

Please note that the admission deadlines for the Spring-summer term are under review and may change

Admission requirements

To learn everything there is to know about our admission process

Admissions before Fall 2025

Admissions as of Fall 2025

MSc in Epidemiology and Applied Health Research (EAHR)

What is changing in Fall 2025:

New degree name: MSc and PhD in Epidemiology and Applied Health Research (EAHR)
MSc: Six concentrations of study tailored to student interests
PhD: The hallmark Independent Study Plan will continue

What the changes mean:

A nimbler and more contemporary program that allows students to choose from a wide range of areas of scientific inquiry.
A program that provides our graduates with the skills, training, and experiences prioritized by future employers.
A program that optimizes the full breadth of what we have to offer.

What does not change:

High-quality student-centered training in a supportive environment that values curiosity, diversity, and excellence.

Spotlight on the MSc Concentrations:

Clinical Research: Explore clinical trials and observational studies that evaluate interventions to improve healthcare and shape health policies.
Epidemiology: Understand the distribution and determinants of health in populations, uncovering opportunities for prevention and treatment.
Global Health Research: Address transnational health risks and analyze public health programs and policies on a global scale.
Health Policy: Gain insights into the development, implementation, analysis, and evaluation of impactful health policies.
Health Technology Assessment: Assess healthcare innovations to guide policy decisions and optimize resource allocation.
Implementation Science: Examine strategies for implementing, scaling, and sustaining clinical, public health, and policy solutions in healthcare.

Epidemiology Concentrations (New)

Concentration in Clinical Research

Learn about applied clinical research related to one or more of the following:

Evaluation of interventions or technologies to inform clinical care and health policy decisions
Methods used in the planning, conduct and analysis of clinical trials and observational clinical research
Clinical research that relies on the analysis of health data from population-based administrative databases or other large clinical cohorts

Through coursework and research, students develop:

Skills in critical thinking and research methods with a focus on quantitative methods  
Communication skills in an area of applied health research with a special focus on clinical research
Knowledge of key dissemination pathways for clinical research

Potential career paths:

Careers in research and evidence-based practice including clinical trials and observational studies

Professional environments including academic (university or research institute), governmental, private industry and health care settings

Research coordinator or associate

Program manager

Data analyst

Independent junior investigator as a clinician/researcher in an academic setting

further education (e.g., PhD degree)

Visit the program website for potential supervisors in this area.

Meet a Clinical Researcher: Jodi Edwards

Dr. Jodi Edwards

What is the focus of your research?

My research program focuses on cardiovascular risk assessment and predictive modelling for diseases at the heart-brain interface. The overarching goal of my research is to transform cardiovascular prevention and care by identifying patients at the highest risk for complex heart-brain multimorbidity.

My work leads to the development and validation of point-of-care clinical prediction tools, with a particular emphasis on women’s health and supportive patient engagement. It also enables the testing of novel neuromodulation interventions in large multi-centre clinical trials to inform clinical practice and improve patient outcomes.

What do you like best about Clinical Research?

I like conducting clinical research because it can be highly translational so that the impact on patients, their families or our health systems from our research findings is often more readily apparent.

I also enjoy clinical research because every patient has unique considerations, a different history, and their own disease journey, so it is a challenge to have to carefully think through all of these factors to determine how best to approach a specific research question. Ultimately it is most rewarding when you can find new evidence to advance knowledge for these patients.

Do you have any advice for prospective students considering the clinical research concentration?

My best advice for anyone considering clinical research is to understand that there is no single solution or answer to a given research question or healthcare problem, but in this concentration, you will learn to collaborate closely with multi-disciplinary teams and apply the most rigorous methods to clinical questions and, in doing so, you can make important contributions to clinical knowledge that ultimately improves health care.

Concentration in Epidemiology

Learn about health and disease in populations, including:

The distribution of health-related states and events (who, when, and where they occur).
The determinants of health (genetic, social, environmental influences on health and well-being)
How we can improve population health through prevention and treatment.

Through coursework and research, students develop:

skills in critical thinking and research methods with a focus on quantitative methods
communication skills in an area of applied health research with a special focus on the discipline of epidemiology

Potential career paths:

Careers in research, program evaluation or management, and evidence-based practice

Professional environments including academic (university or research institute), governmental, private industry and health care settings
Research coordinator or associate
Epidemiologist
Program manager
Data analyst
Independent junior investigator as a clinician/researcher in an academic setting
further education (e.g., PhD degree)

Visit the program website for potential supervisors in this area.

Meet an Epidemiologist: Ian Colman

Dr. Ian Colman

What is the focus of your research?

My research focuses on the epidemiology of mental health. My team primarily uses data from population-based health surveys to investigate factors associated with depression, anxiety, and suicidality. Our goal is to identify targets for prevention and intervention that may help reduce the burden of poor mental health that is often disproportionately felt by some groups of people.

What do you like best about epidemiology?

I like working as an epidemiologist because each project is a bit like a puzzle, and your job is to try to put the puzzle pieces together to figure out why some people experience health outcomes in a way that is different from others. Also, the work is very rewarding because you are making a positive contribution to society by trying to make the population healthier.

Do you have any advice for prospective students considering the Epidemiology concentration?

The advice that I would pass on to prospective students is to consider epidemiology because it is a foundational discipline for a variety of careers.

Graduate training in epidemiology provides you with a toolkit for producing and critically appraising health research, and those skills are applicable in so many different arenas, whether you are working in academic research, in a public health government department, for a private pharmaceutical company, as a healthcare provider, or in many related positions.

Concentration in Global Health

Learn about key issues and applied research including topics such as:

Transnational health risks, determinants, responsibilities, and solutions
Health impacts of climate change and globalization
Inequities in health across populations worldwide
Factors associated with effectiveness of global public health programs
Global-level policies that drive health and development priorities

Through coursework and research, students develop:

Skills to engage in equitable global public health research and partnerships
Skills in critical thinking and research methods
Communication skills in an area of applied health research with a special focus on global health

Potential career paths:

Careers in research, program evaluation and management, and policy analysis
Professional environments including academic (university or research institute), governmental, private industry and health care settings
Research coordinator or associate
Program manager 
Program officer in a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) 
Operations manager  
Policy analyst 
further education (e.g., PhD degree)

Visit the program website for potential supervisors in this area.

Meet a Global Health Researcher: Alison Krentel

Dr. Alison Krentel

What is the focus of your research?

My research focuses on neglected tropical diseases or NTDs, specifically understanding how to ensure the equity effectiveness of programs designed to eliminate NTDs.

Through an implementation research lens, we work closely with national research partners and governments to collect the evidence needed to identify barriers to equity and program effectiveness and then we work together to find solutions. Our approach uses mixed-methods research with a strong emphasis on community engagement and knowledge translation.

What do you like best about Global Health research?

As a researcher in global public health for over 20 years, I have been privileged to work with wonderful colleagues around the world who are passionate and committed to seeing the end of these neglected diseases. It is also hugely rewarding to see success in NTD elimination programs around the world due to the collective efforts of researchers, partners, government programs and communities.

Do you have any advice for prospective students considering the Global Health concentration?

Keep an open mind! Global health is changing all the time. We live in an increasingly complex time and global public health must respond to emerging and reemerging infectious diseases, the rise of misinformation, lack of trust, climate change and increased regional conflicts, among others.

In the concentration, you will become familiar with many of these themes and learn how research and equitable partnerships help in finding solutions.

Concentration in Implementation Science

Learn how to turn health research evidence into action using rigorous approaches to supporting evidence-informed healthcare practices and policies, through:

Knowledge synthesis of what works to support change
Supporting positive impact through implementation, de-implementation, sustainment, scale and spread of clinical, public health, and policy solutions
Selecting and applying models, theories and frameworks to design and evaluate new and existing implementation interventions
Collaborating and partnering with knowledge users and interest holders including patients and people with lived experience, the public, and organizational partners

Through coursework and research, students develop:

Critical thinking, research methods and evaluation skills (e.g. quantitative or mixed-methods empirical lens)
Communication skills in an area of applied health research with a special focus on the field of implementation science (also known as knowledge translation or knowledge mobilization)

Potential career paths:

Careers in implementation science practice or implementation science academic scholarship
Professional environments including academic (university or research institute), governmental, not-for-profit, private industry and health care settings, with example roles such as:
- Research methodologist, coordinator, or associate
- Program manager or developer
- Implementer, evaluator, or knowledge broker
- Policy analyst
further education (e.g. PhD degree)

Visit the program website for potential supervisors in this area.

Meet an Implementation Scientist: Justin Presseau

What is the focus of your research?

My research uses theories and frameworks to help design and evaluate implementation interventions and investigate whether what I designed changes practice in the health system. I apply my work to many types of clinical and health care challenges, and I approach my work using an equity-focused lens. My methodological toolkit incorporates qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. I work with many different interest holders including interdisciplinary teams of researchers, people with lived experience, clinicians, decision makers in hospitals and public health settings, and professionals responsible for policy development.

What do you like best about Implementation Science research?

In implementation science, we move beyond guessing what might work to change practice, to develop a shared and evidenced-based understanding of how to change healthcare practice. This field lets me see measurable improvements in the lives of patients and citizens. I find it incredibly exciting to work with many different interest holders, particularly people with lived experience. And I am energized by being able to contribute to the wider implementation science evidence base so that a team somewhere else in the world can draw from and extend what we have learned to hit the ground running rather than starting from scratch.

Do you have any advice for prospective students considering the Implementation Science concentration?

Implementation science is a ‘big tent’, where many different disciplines contribute to developing our ongoing understanding of how to implement new practices, improve existing practices, and where needed, stop using outdated practices in health care. This concentration is a great fit for students with undergraduate training in psychology, sociology, health sciences, public health, communication who can apply their skills to support health care impact, as well as those trained in a health profession who may have observed opportunities for improvement in their training and practice. You will receive outstanding training at the University of Ottawa, home one of the largest and most well-established implementation science groups in Canada and internationally.

Quick Information Links

Admission Support (FAQ)

Application Process

How to find a Thesis Supervisor

How to Finance your Studies

Program Highlights

Research interests

Relevant Information

Application Deadlines

For the MSc in Epidemiology

For the PhD in Epidemiology

Admission requirements

Admissions before Fall 2025

Program structure

Admission requirements

Fast-track from the MSc to the PhD

Program structure

Admission requirements

Admissions as of Fall 2025

MSc in Epidemiology and Applied Health Research (EAHR)

Epidemiology Concentrations (New)

Concentration in Clinical Research

Meet a Clinical Researcher: Jodi Edwards

Concentration in Epidemiology

Meet an Epidemiologist: Ian Colman

Concentration in Global Health

Meet a Global Health Researcher: Alison Krentel

Concentration in Health Policy

Meet a Health Policy Researcher: Tara Elton-Marshall

Concentration in Health Technology Assessment

Meet a Health Technology Assessment Researcher: Hawre Jalal

Concentration in Implementation Science

Meet an Implementation Scientist: Justin Presseau

Quick Information Links

Epidemiology and Applied Health Research

Program Highlights

Research interests

Relevant Information

Admission arrow_drop_down

Application Deadlines

For the MSc in Epidemiology

For the PhD in Epidemiology

Admission requirements

Facilities, Research Centers & Institutes arrow_drop_down

Admissions before Fall 2025

MSc in Epidemiology arrow_drop_down

Program structure

Admission requirements

Fast-track from the MSc to the PhD

PhD in Epidemiology arrow_drop_down

Program structure

Admission requirements

Admissions as of Fall 2025

MSc in Epidemiology and Applied Health Research (EAHR)

Epidemiology Concentrations (New)

Clinical Research arrow_drop_down

Concentration in Clinical Research

Meet a Clinical Researcher: Jodi Edwards

Epidemiology arrow_drop_down

Concentration in Epidemiology

Meet an Epidemiologist: Ian Colman

Global Health arrow_drop_down

Concentration in Global Health

Meet a Global Health Researcher: Alison Krentel

Health Policy arrow_drop_down

Concentration in Health Policy

Meet a Health Policy Researcher: Tara Elton-Marshall

Health Technology Assesment arrow_drop_down

Concentration in Health Technology Assessment

Meet a Health Technology Assessment Researcher: Hawre Jalal

Implementation Science arrow_drop_down

Concentration in Implementation Science

Meet an Implementation Scientist: Justin Presseau

Quick Information Links