About
About the Honours Health Sciences Program
The Honours Health Sciences Program — formerly the Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours) Program — is one of the top programs of its kind in the world, drawing on a full range of departments within McMaster University’s Faculty of Health Sciences. Our goal is to help develop the next generation leaders making a difference in health around the globe and creating a brighter world.
Assistant Dean, Honours Health Sciences Program
Message from the Assistant Dean
Since its inception in 2000, the Honours Health Sciences Program has graduated some of the best and brightest minds from Canada and around the world.
We offer students the opportunity to study in one of the top programs of its kind and at one the world’s leading universities for health and clinical study. With a ground-breaking approach to the interdisciplinary study of health, we provide our graduates with the foundational knowledge and critical thinking skills to succeed in a diverse range of careers in health and beyond.
What makes our program so unique is the way you will engage and learn and the community that we build. With only 240 students admitted per year, our class sizes are small and create a space where you will get to know your fellow students and our faculty by name, creating connections that last a lifetime. More importantly, the Honours Health Sciences Program will help you to think differently through our inquiry-based learning model. With an emphasis on students as active participants in their learning, inquiry-based learning emphasizes problem-solving, information literacy, collaboration and communication. How you engage and learn in the Honours Health Sciences Program is as important as what you learn.
As a McMaster graduate myself, I can truly say your future begins at McMaster, and the Honours Health Sciences Program will provide you with the community, knowledge and foundation for success, no matter your path.
Honours Health Sciences Program Careers
Why the Honours Health Sciences Program at McMaster?
At the forefront of health sciences education, the Honours Health Sciences Program offers students a ground-breaking approach to the interdisciplinary study of health. The Honours Health Sciences Program is one of the only programs in Canada that draws on a full range of departments within the Faculty of Health Sciences including clinical departments of medicine, pathology and molecular medicine, psychiatry and behavioural neurosciences and health research methodology, evidence and impact. Students will gain first-hand experience in our state-of-the-art labs and through research and hospital partners.
We also know your university experience is more than just a program, it is also about finding your community, and the Honours Health Sciences Program offers both. The program offers the flexibility to choose electives aligned with your interests to truly shape your educational experience. With thousands of applicants for only 240 spots, the Honours Health Sciences Program is a tight-knit community, where students get to know each other and McMaster’s globally recognized faculty by name. You will have the chance to study with the best and the brightest minds from around the globe, develop the foundational skills to be future leaders in health and develop professional and personal relationships that will last a lifetime.
Beyond the rankings and courses, what makes our program so unique is the way you will engage and learn. In addition to the small class sizes, the Honours Health Sciences Program will help you think differently through our inquiry-based learning model. With an emphasis on students as active participants in their learning, our inquiry-based learning emphasizes problem-solving, information literacy, collaboration and communication. How you engage and learn in the Honours Health Sciences Program will create a sense of community and network that goes beyond your four-year degree.
Honours Health Sciences Program students will graduate with the critical thinking skills to succeed in careers in health and beyond. Your future begins at McMaster, and the Honours Health Sciences Program will open your eyes to a world of health career opportunities and provide you with a foundation for success, no matter your path.
Your university experience begins with the right program and community, and the Honours Health Sciences Program offers both. We are a tight-knit community of faculty, staff and students who are keen to connect, engage and grow together. What does that look like for an incoming student? We’re glad you asked:
- Faculty of Health Sciences student lounge where students can take breaks between classes and connect with one another
- Peer tutoring, where senior students have the opportunity to work as peer tutors in first and second year inquiry and in the communications skills courses, bringing their inquiry journey full-circle
- Wide variety of student services that include: Student Accessibility Services, Student Wellness Centre, Student Success Centre and International Student Services
- Bachelor of Health Science Society
- Over 300 campus wide clubs and activities to broaden your student experience, like the HealthSci Musical
The Honours Health Sciences Program draws on the strengths of the Faculty of Health Sciences, our world class facilities and network of partner institutions. Here are just a few examples of what awaits you:
- McMaster is world-renowned for the strength of its health research and students have many opportunities to learn from, and work with, world-class experts in health; check out the posters and abstracts from our project and thesis students to see some of the research our students have contributed to
- Honours Health Sciences Program instructors are drawn from departments across the Faculty of Health Sciences and the broader community
- A range of health-related institutions located in the Hamilton region, ranging from community based programs to highly specialized tertiary care services
- Health Sciences Library, which contains 142,000 print volumes, a two-storey reading pavilion, the History of Health and Medicine room, an e-classroom and group study rooms
- Anatomy Labs, which use of cadavers for the study of the structure of the human body