PhD in Pediatrics

Proposed program design: Four pillar program in which students will concentrate on one, but spend time in two of the three other pillars

Faculty: Faculty of Graduate Studies

College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, in collaboration with the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Expected Duration: 4 years full time

Program Options: Full time or Part time

Students who are working while they study may also apply to take this program part-time. Students will all be accepted as full-time students and may submit a request to the department head to switch to a part-time course load. Students may elect to revert to full-time study once in the course of their degree but no further changes to course load will be permitted.

Program Description

The PhD program in Pediatric Health was created with an understanding of the importance of multidisciplinary training for medical health professionals. The innovative four pillar program allows students to choose to focus on one of four of our main research pillars: Clinical Research, Basic Science, Population Health, and Practice & Policy. Over the course of their degree each student will be required to take courses in two of the three other pillars in order to widen the breadth of their understanding of different areas in medical research and provide unique perspectives they may not otherwise get.

Expected Duration: 4 years.

Tuition and Fees: $5340.76 

In addition to the normal requirements of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, students must also complete the items listed under Program Requirements below.

Pillar Description

The four pillar program is designed with multi-disciplinary training in mind. This approach to medical education allows students to specialise in a pillar that will give them the necessary tools to become a clinical researcher, scientist, data analyst, policy maker, medical educator or any other academic profession within the pediatric field while also making sure they have a good understanding of two other disciplines. This provides a well-rounded education and sets our students up for success.

The Clinical Research pillar prepares students for careers in clinical trials, and clinical epidemiology among others. It is also intended for those students who are clinicians seeking further training in pediatric clinical research.

Basic Sciences is intended for students involved in bench or wet lab research. Can involve, among other things, experimental work with animal models or cell lines.

In the Population Health pillar students will learn about epidemiology, qualitative and mixed methods, and research that addresses non-clinical questions in preparation for employment as population-based researchers.

The Policy and Practice is intended for those whose research addresses policy and advocacy, knowledge translation, quality improvement, or medical education and ethics.

Which Pillar is Right for You?

In order to select a research pillar, reach out to potential supervisors first. It is recommended that you begin to reach out no later than six months before the program’s start date. Once you have communicated with and selected a supervisor (potential supervisors listed here), you can work with them to determine what projects are available and which pillar would best suit your needs as a student.

Program Details

Each student who is accepted to the Pediatric Graduate Program must complete a minimum of 15 credit hours of coursework and propose and defend their thesis. The typical trajectory for this program is as follows.

Students who are working while they study may also apply to take this program part-time. Students will all be accepted as full-time students and may submit a request to the department head to switch to a part-time course load. Students may elect to revert to full-time study once in the course of their degree but no further changes to course load will be permitted.

Program Requirements

The following are the minimum requirements to be admitted to the Pediatric Graduate Program (PhD) program. Meeting these requirements does not guarantee acceptance into the program:

• 25 GPA
• A minimum GPA of 3.25 in the last 2 years (60 Credit Hours) of study. This includes those applying for direct admission and those entering from a pre-Masters program.
• A thesis-based Master’s degree that is broadly related to health and/or pediatrics. Students who have a non-research Master’s degree that is broadly related to health and/or pediatrics will be required to complete two additional 3 credit hour courses, PEDS 7010 Pediatric Biostatistics; and, PEDS 7020 Introduction to Research Methods, in the first two terms of their program
• A letter from the student’s prospective research supervisor, attesting to the advisor’s commitment to the student must be included with the application the advisor must have a Masters degree or equivalency as assessed by the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Manitoba.
• Indicated choice of home research pillar (Clinical and Applied Sciences, Population Health; Basic Sciences; or Policy and Practice)

Students may also have to complete an interview, in part, to assess their conversational English.

Three (3) letters of recommendation are required including one from a former or present academic mentor, all from individuals who have known the applicant for more than 2 years. All letters must contain:

• Statement of English language proficiency
• Statement of Scientific Capacity

Applicants will also be asked to respond to the following two questions on their application to give some context to their life experience and their unique qualifications as well as reasons for applying to the program:

1. Why do you think you’re a strong candidate for this program? Please speak to some experiences in your own life that support your application to this application. (500 words)
2. What is a current issue in child health that you seek to address through your training and why? (300 words)

Student Accomplishments

This section is currently in development.