McMaster BHSc Program: The Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours) Program has a unique interdisciplinary approach to the study of health, wellness and illness.

It offers students an understanding of health from biological, behavioral and population-based perspectives, through the integration of foundation and applied sciences.

Health Sciences is the only program in Ontario that draws on the full range of departments within health sciences, including clinical departments of medicine, pathology and molecular medicine, psychiatry, and behavioral neurosciences, clinical epidemiology and biostatistics. Exposure to healthcare practitioners and applied researchers will lend relevance and scope to the foundation sciences through class instruction, which will form the basis of the students’ experiences.

Why Health Sciences at McMaster?

Health Sciences examines issues from a multi-disciplinary perspective with viewpoints derived from science, engineering, humanities, social sciences and business. The Faculty of Health Sciences is world-renowned for its teaching methods.

Strengths:

  • Unique interdisciplinary program
  • McMaster is known internationally for expertise in the use of problem-based, self-directed learning and the development of leadership qualities
  • Integrative approach to the study of health-related issues
  • courses that use a variety of learning methods including Inquiry Seminars, designed to develop skills that will facilitate learning and effective participation in students’ university experience and future careers
  • State-of-the-art Health Sciences Library
  • Small class size allowing for greater contact with professors and increased opportunity for class participation
  • Exciting curriculum over a four-year program
  • Level IV students provide peer mentorship to support and guide students in first-year inquiry
  • Anatomy Lab – use of cadavers for the study of the human body
  • Standardized Patients (actors trained to portray health care scenarios) provide an interactive learning experience

Why Is It So Competitive?

For one, its exclusivity for an undergraduate health science program (with 160 spots) by definition makes it competitive. With 3,500 applicants and only 160 spots, you need to be in the top 5% of applicants to get in. That’s tough. Secondly, high school students who are interested in getting into medical school widely view it as the premier undergraduate program. For the 2010/2011 graduating BHSc class, almost 50% ended up in medical school (click here for more statistics). However, whether or not the McMaster BHSc program indeed provides an advantage for applying to medical school is a debate for another article.

The bottom line is that getting in is hard.

We have medical school classmates who previously applied to this program and did not get in. So don’t be discouraged if you don’t either. However, this means that you need to put your absolute best foot forward if this is the program you want.

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Programming starts at $395