Master of Health Science (MHSc) in Medical Physiology

The MHSc in Medical Physiology is a full-time program for three terms (total of twelve months) with one point of entry each September.

The Fall and Winter Terms are comprised of six Core Courses plus three electives of your choice.

Our internationally recognized faculty offer expertise in endocrine, cardiovascular, neuroscience, and metabolic areas.

Easily customize the program to suit your own unique interests.

Core Courses:

• PSL4000Y: Graduate Professional Development and Seminars
• PSL4010Y: Physiology Literature Review
• PSL4030H: Clinical Physiology
• PSL4040H: Big Data and Health
• PSL4050H: Collaboration and Commercialization in Physiology
• Three elective courses

The Summer Term is comprised of a work placement (details below.)

The work placement is a unique chance to integrate work and learning in a field that interests you.

Spend the Summer Term applying knowledge gained from your course-work in a business, clinical, research, or other relevant setting.

Develop your practical and professional skills and attain valuable work experience.

Guidance is offered throughout the program to find a placement that suits your interests and strengths. 50% of our graduates have been hired by their placement organization upon graduation.

Graduates will obtain a knowledge and skill set that enables them to:

• Project manage multi-investigator research teams
• Bring new scientific discoveries to market
• Develop technology skills for commercial success
• Usefully interpret big data sets produced by products like wearable devices
• Attain transferable skills in core competencies and professionalism to complement further training
• 50% of our graduates have been hired by their placement organization upon graduation. Others have gone on to MD, Dentistry, & PhD programs.

NOTE:

• We strongly recommend applying for the Round 1 deadline. Admissions will be granted in the winter and subsequent admissions and waitlist spots will be granted to Round 2 applicants. There is always still availability in Round 2, but less.

• Please ensure to submit your most up-to-date unofficial transcript available by the time of the final deadline. 

Candidates for Admission to the MHSc program require:

• An appropriate bachelor degree (B.Sc., BKin or B.A.) from a recognized university with an average of at least A- in the last two years of study
• A completed third year level course in physiology (full-year course or two half courses) or equivalent courses (see FAQ below for more information)
• A demonstrated interest in physiology
• If you were educated outside Canada, your primary language is not English, and the language of instruction at your university was not English, you must demonstrate English language proficiency through the successful completion of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). You must score a minimum of 100/120 and 22/30 on the writing and speaking sections.
  • Other English proficiency tests are also acceptable. Please contact us for more information.

Interview Process:

If your candidacy is considered strong based on your application package, you will be invited to interview with the Program Director.

The purpose of this interview is to further determine your goals, your fit for the program, and potential practicum placements.

All applicants must apply using the School of Graduate Studies Online Application

You will be required to upload:

• A one-page Statement of Intent summarizing how this program, including the work placement, will advance your professional goals. See drop-down below for further detail on this component.
• Curriculum vitae (CV); there is no length requirement, but these are typically 2-3 pages in length.
• Two References. We require at least one academic reference. The other reference can also be academic, or from a work setting if you feel this best showcases your skill-set.
  • (Please inform your referees that you are submitting an application and that SGS will contact them by email, then submit your referees' contact information to your SGS Online Application.)
• Electronic or scanned transcripts (with legends & grading scales) from each post-secondary institution attended. Unofficial transcripts are sufficient for the initial application. Official transcripts will be required prior to enrollment as per note below.
• Certified English translations of all documentation written in a language other than English or French.

Note: Applicants who are given a conditional offer of admission will be required to provide an official paper transcript in a sealed envelope from all institutions attended in order to meet the conditions for registration.

• Your statement of intent should be one page in length. There are no strict guidelines on the font or line spacing so long as the statement is succinct enough to fit on one page.
• Please summarize how this program, including the work placement, will advance your professional goals.
• This is also the place to tell us about any gaps in your CV that you wish to address, as well as any systemic barriers that may have affected your grades or academic journey in any way.
• Click here for advice on writing your Statement of Intent from U of T's Student Life Division.

For University of Toronto students, we are looking for the completion of PSL300H and PSL301H at a minimum (totalling a full year of coursework). These courses combined cover principles of neurophysiology, endocrinology, reproductive, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and renal physiology for students enrolled in Life Science programs.

As such, we are looking for courses that comprehensively cover these same systems from other universities. We are continuously assessing eligible courses from different institutions to ensure that candidates have the adequate background to take advanced graduate level courses in physiology. To check a course's eligibility for this requirement, please send an email to mhsc.physiology@utoronto.ca, and a link to the course description of courses you are inquiring about. These may be second year courses at some universities.

• Our program has partnerships with many organizations, from small start-ups in the biotechnology sector, to hospital-based labs, to large pharmaceutical companies. These organizations provide us with job postings for our students to apply to, with roles ranging from project manager, to data analyst, to medical communicator.
• If there is an organization you wish to work with, and the role fits with our program goals, you are welcome to pursue it in consultation with our Program Director.
• While work placements do not have to be paid, many of them are. There is no guarantee of obtaining a paid placement.

All of the work placements are a little different and end dates are negotiated with your employer, but they won't be done by June 30th. That being said, we have had many students go on to MD and other professional programs. We have so far always made it work by communicating our timelines to the MD programs and sometimes completing additional paperwork. In general, professional programs just want official documentation that there will be no overlap between the end of your current program and the start of theirs.

The upcoming tuition fee is typically finalized in July, but is always a very similar amount to the current year. It may be a little more or a little less. The best way to check the current tuition for our program is using the Tuition Fee Lookup Tool.

Populate the dropdown fields as follows:

• Campus: St. George
• Faculty: Medicine
• Fee Category: Select either Domestic (Graduate) or International, depending on your situation
• Level: Graduate Professional
• Program: Master of Health Science (MHSc) - Physiology

• The Department of Physiology has modest OSOTF bursary funding available for students with unmet financial need. Students can apply for this bursary when they have already begun the program, usually in November. Please be advised that applicants must first apply for both OSAP and a line of credit to be eligible for funding from this bursary. Further details will be provided to enrolled students when the program begins.

• Students who identify as Black or Indigenous can apply for the SGS Inclusive Excellence Admissions Scholarship. Full information is available here. 

  We are in regular contact with the Student Awards team and will update this FAQ and admitted students if more opportunities become available.

No, this is a course-based Professional Masters so no supervisor is required. In September, you will be provided with instructions on how to find a faculty mentor for the Mentored Literature Review course (PSL4010Y).   

Contact Program Coordinator, Julia Tausch any time at mhsc.physiology@utoronto.ca. She will be happy to answer your questions!