Post-Diploma or Second Degree Bachelor of Health Sciences-Public Health Major (BHSc-PUBH)

Flexible Programs For Working Adults

Major Description: At its core, the discipline of Public Health focuses on the academic theory behind both the social determinants of health & health inequalities as well as the Population Health Promotion (PHP) Model (Canada.ca), and subsequently understanding how these conceptual knowledge bases can be synthesized and applied towards developing equitable interventions - in collaboration with other societal agents and agencies - which seek to prevent disease/injury, promote health-protecting behaviors, and maintain overall positive health and wellness (in the short and long-terms) at the individual, community, and population-levels; especially amongst the most vulnerable of population groups. This is primarily achieved through the implementation (and eventual efficacy evaluation) of non-clinical deliverables which can include, but are not limited to: Health education materials, messaging, and/or programming; Social marketing campaigns; and Policy reform advocacy, among others.

As a PUBH major pursuer, you will study topics such as: public/population/global health, societal health, policy & health, epidemiology, human nutrition, medical microbiology, health promotion, managing in health care, and health program planning & evaluation, where the integration of knowledge from the fields of sociology, management, and psychology will also be drawn from and embedded into course concepts for a more comprehensive, dynamic, and inter-disciplinary learning experience.

*NOTE I: Applicants who do not sufficiently satisfy the BHSc-PUBH degree's established admission requirements for the post-diploma or second degree routes (as detailed in the "Admission Requirements" tab below) at the time of application, will instead be considered for admission into uLethbridge's standard 40-course BHSc-PUBH degree, which is a Lethbridge Campus-exclusive program. Such students will be required to complete a significant proportion of their program through the Lethbridge Campus as the Calgary Campus unfortunately does not guarantee the full breadth of coursework required to support the 40-course degree iteration.

As a result, the post-dip and second degree public health programs in Calgary are currently not permissible to those with the following educational backgrounds:

  • Direct high school/secondary school transfers
  • General post-secondary course credit transfers (i.e. those who do not already hold one of the university's pre-approved health or human services diplomas or a previously awarded baccalaureate degree)
  • Matriculated/Non-Matriculated Adult students
*NOTE II: uLethbridge's BHSc-PUBH degree (any admission route) is currently not recognized by the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (CIPHI) as a Board of Certification (BoC)-approved baccalaureate for entry into their professional Certificate in Public Health Inspection (Canada) (CPHI(C)) program, at this time. The listing of CIPHI-accredited Bachelors degrees and the respective post-secondary institutions which confer them, can be found here.

The Calgary Campus' own iteration of the Bachelor of Health Science (BHSc)-Public Health (PUBH) major degree is a condensed, NON-CLINICAL, 20 course-long (minimum), undergraduate program designed to provide those who already possess one of either:

  1. A 2-year college diploma in a health or human services-related field; OR
  2. A recognized academic Bachelors degree or graduate degree in any discipline, at the time of application to uLethbridge

with the opportunity to ladder their previous education via "block transfer" into our PUBH baccalaureate – essentially commencing their uLethbridge program at “Year 3” rather than at “Year 1”. See the Admission Requirements tab below.

Under normal circumstances, all academic courses that are built into the Calgary Campus' BHSc-PUBH degree programs will be delivered through the blended-learning model (combination of online + face-to-face components). The respective delivery modalities and proportion of F2F vs. OL delivered lectures for individual courses however, may vary between semesters (e.g. a course that was fully online or partially blended in one term may be fully face-to-face in a future term, and vice versa).

All successfully admitted post-diploma or second degree BHSc-PUBH students will be given up to a maximum of 6 years to graduate from their program, following their first semester of study.

Click on the appropriate links below to review the respective, base curricula for the post-diploma and 2nd Degree BHSc-PUBH programs:

1-of-2 possible admission routes, only

Confirmed route will be determined by Admissions with respect to the applicant's highest educational credential achieved at the time of application:

  1. Post-Diploma Admission Route: A completed 2-year (at least 60.0 credits in duration) college diploma in a health or human services-related area, or equivalent, with a minimum cumulative diploma GPA of no lower than a 3.00 (on a 4.0 scale)
    • List of pre-approved diplomas for BHSc-Public Health degree laddering
    • Applicants with diploma GPAs below 3.00 but not less than 2.00, plus extensive practical experience in the field, will be considered for post-diploma admission on a case-by-case basis. The submission of a resume will be required, when prompted by the applicant's assigned Admissions Specialist.
    • Applicants who possess a diploma that is either too old or is not on the above list, will be assessed for post-diploma consideration by the Faculty of Health Sciences on a case-by-case basis
  2. Second Degree Admission Route: One of a completed 3 or 4-year Bachelors degree (at least 90.0 credits in duration), a graduate degree (Masters or PhD), or their recognized equivalents in any area, with a minimum CGPA of no lower than a 2.00 (on a 4.0 scale)
    • Prior degree cannot be an Applied, Technology, or Trade Skills Degree as they are considered to be comparably similar to a college diploma.
      • Such applicants might not be automatically considered for the post-diploma BHSc-PUBH program admittance as the decision to do so will need to be made at the discretion of the Faculty of Health Sciences

**(Non-Negotiable) English Language Requirements - mandatory for all applicants, irrespective of indivdual program, campus, country of origin, educational history, or current residency status.

  1. General English Language Proficiency (ELP) for Undergraduate Students
  2. Additional Spoken English Language Proficiency (SELP) Requirement - Unique to applicants seeking admission into an undergraduate credential program conferred by uLethbridge's Faculty of Health Sciences (e.g. Bachelor of Health Sciences, Bachelor Nursing, and Bachelor of Therapeutic Recreation)

For Calgary Campus-bound Undergrads

Fall Intake

(Sept start)

Spring Intake

(Jan start)

Summer Intake

(May start)
Off-shore International Students & Visa Holders June 15 September 15 N/A
Domestic Students (Cdn Citizens & Permanent Residents) August 1 December 1 N/A

*All intake-specific application periods will close at 11:59pm (MST) on the deadline date indicated above.

*Undergraduate program application periods for subsequent intake terms, will normally open via ApplyAlberta by no earlier than one year in advance.

  • Examples:
    • Fall 2021 intake = applications first opened on Sept 1, 2020
    • Spring 2021 intake = applications first opened on Jan 15, 2020

*Deadlines may be extended at the discretion of the uLethbridge Registrar's Office (not always guaranteed)

See our Associated Fees webpage here

uLethbridge Designated Learning Institution (DLI) Number (all campuses):
O18776949622

*IMPORTANT NOTE I: Due to the blended nature of the Calgary Campus' post-diploma AND second degree BHSc-PUBH programs, it should be noted that international graduates may not be eligible to apply for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP) after program completion, depending on the proportion of courses that are delivered online. The number of courses offered via online delivery will vary by both individual course and semester, and may exceed 50% of the overall program's total duration for some students. As a result, any prospective international student who is interested in pursing the Calgary Campus' condensed BHSc-PUBH degree for their educational goals, is strongly advised to contact the uLethbridge International Centre at international@uleth.ca first before applying into this program, so that they can be provided with the appropriate guidance that they need to help mitigate the potential for future residency/permit complications.

In addition to Canadian study permit and PGWP counsel, uLethbridge's International Centre is also able to answer other international student-specific questions such as those pertaining to: international travel/quarantine requirements, immigration, Canadian residency, work permits, or bringing dependents, among others (see additional weblinks below):

*IMPORTANT NOTE II: Due to our small size, the Calgary Campus currently does not possess any of its own institutionally-managed housing (onsite or offsite) services for admitted students, at this time. As a result, all inbound out-of-city/out-of-country students who are in need of living accommodations within the City of Calgary while they pursue their academic studies with uLethbridge, will be responsible for sourcing and coordinating their own living arrangements via researching local listing websites, such as (but not limited to):

Successfully admitted BHSc-PUBH students (any campus or admission route) are provided with the opportunity to pursue the Faculty of Health Science's Practicum in Public Health (PUBH 4550) course - worth 15.0 credit hours and is to be completed in addition to the student's base coursework - during their final year of study (but BEFORE applying to graduate from the university) as a means of gaining direct, hands-on work experience within the public health field while they are actively pursuing their degree.

At this time, PUBH 4550 is 100% OPTIONAL, meaning that any BHSc-PUBH student (any admission route or campus) can still fully graduate from their degree without electing to complete the practicum.

In order to be considered for PUBH 4550, all interested students are responsible for ensuring that the following conditions are met prior to submitting a practicum application to the Faculty of Health Sciences:

  1. All calendar-mandated pre-requisites have been sufficiently achieved (i.e. minimum cumulative GPA + specific courses)
  2. The Internship Specialist is emailed by no later than 6-months in advance of the desired semester of placement for intake consideration:
    • March 1 or earlier, for a Fall (Sept-Dec) term placement
    • June 1 or earlier, for a Spring (Jan-Apr) term placement
    • November 1 or earlier, for a Summer (May-Aug) term placement
    • *Students desiring an international practicum are to email the Internship Specialist by no later than 12-months in advance

If successfully approved to enroll in PUBH 4550 for a given semester, such students will in-turn NOT be permitted to concurrently register themselves into other courses during their practicum term, as the total academic weighting of the experiential learning placeholder (15.0 credits) will max out the student's allotted credit limit for that term.

Further detailed information about PUBH 4550 (e.g. candidate shortlisting, pre-placement requirements, roles & responsibilities, student testimonies etc.) can be viewed in the below weblinks:

All successfully admitted undergraduate and graduate program students (domestic and international) are provided with the opportunity to apply into the university’s Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Program (“Co-op” for short) as a way to supplement their studies and enhance the value of their program and potential employment prospects upon graduation. Co-op job positions will usually consist of full-time paid work experience and will be typically related to the student’s respective area of study/major.

At this time, Co-op Work Terms are not built directly into any given uLethbridge credential program’s curriculum and are also not required for graduation purposes, at this time – that is, they are 100% OPTIONAL, meaning that a student can fully graduate from their respective uLethbridge credential program without pursuing a Co-op.

Admission into Co-op will entail its own separate application process to which individual students can elect to apply for at any time during their studies (even during one's first year) so long as it is accomplished before formally applying to graduate from the university during their last term of study.

Questions? Contact the uLethbridge Career Bridge office at career.bridge@uleth.ca

Students may elect to declare up to a maximum of two (optional) minors within a single undergraduate-level certificate or Bachelors degree program, either at the time of application or added at any point during one's studies prior to graduation.

Minors are defined as a set of 6 distinct courses (18.0 credits), per minor, which are to be completed on-top of the student's base coursework in their primary program and ultimately aim to provide learners with a fundamental depth of knowledge in a particular sub-discipline (which do not necessarily have to be related to one's major or program faculty). Upon the successful completion of all calendar-mandated course requirements, the student's chosen minor(s) will be denoted on their official uLethbridge transcript.

While there are 47 possible undergraduate minors to select from with uLethbridge, the Calgary Campus however can only guarantee completion for the following 6 at this time, due to our small size:

  1. Accounting
  2. Health Leadership
  3. International Management - Will entail completion of at least one, full-term/4-month outbound international exchange
  4. Marketing
  5. Mental Health
  6. Population Health

Consult the current undergraduate Academic Calendar ("Minors" section) to determine which exact courses are to be completed in order to satisfy the curriculum requirements for specific minors. Minor course requirements can be subject to change with every new calendar year. uLethbridge's 41 other declarable undergraduate minors, as listed in the Calendar, are exclusive to the Lethbridge Campus, at this time

*IMPORTANT: No undergraduate minor can be fully completed in one single semester as not all associated courses are offered every term. In addition, many minors will entail courses with specific pre-requisite conditions, which means that said courses will need to be completed in a certain sequential order due to their progressive knowledge-building/laddering structures.

Please visit this link for some example career titles, acquired skills, and possible work settings which may be in store for you as a future PUBH graduate.

APPLY TODAY!

(The above button will direct all navigators to the Apply Alberta system first, who will then be eventually brought to uLethbridge's own institutional application later on in the process)