Faculty of Applied Health Sciences: Prospective Students -> Health Studies

Options are a specified combination of courses that provide a secondary emphasis. They complement your major (Health) in a "career-oriented area". Successfully completed Options will appear directly on your degree.

Health Studies has three options:
Aging Option (listed under "Gerontology" in the Undergraduate Calendar)
Health Informatics Option
Pre-Health Professions Option

For any of the options, please follow the requirements in the UW Undergraduate Calendar. All Honours students in Health Studiesare eligible*. To apply you need to complete a Plan Modification form and submit it to the Health Studies Undergraduate Office (BMH 2304).

*The Health Informatics Option and the Pre-Health Professions Option are only open to Honours Health Studies students.

Health Informatics Option

Health Informatics is a rapidly expanding area of expertise relevant to all aspects of health. Evidence-based decision-making, fundamental to effective health policy and planning, is dependent upon collection and analysis of new data as well as the analysis of existing data, and this, in turn, is increasingly dependent upon information technology.

The Health Informatics Option is designed for Health Studies students who are interested in the application of information technology to all aspects of applied health research and practice, including clinical practice, health promotion and disease prevention, delivery of health services, and health policy development. This option offers students interdisciplinary training in basic computer science and information management in addition to their training in health sciences. Admission and graduation requirements are linked below:

Students should follow the requirements based on the year that they entered Health Studies. Note, significant modifications to the Option requirements were made in September 2006. Students may choose to follow the new requirements:

Health Informatics Checklists by year of program entry

Pre-Health Professions Option

This option combines the Honours Health Studies program and its emphasis on human applications and is intended to develop an academic profile which may prepare students for potential study in medicine, podiatry, chiropractic, speech pathology, and physical or occupational therapy. It is also intended for the student whose interests develop into graduate study in the health disciplines. Students are urged to consult the admission requirements of the professional schools of interest to aid in their choice of electives. Overall and major cumulative averages of 75% are considered minimal to be competitive for application to programs in the health professions.

Ensure that you check with the professional schools for their specific course requirements.

Pre-Health Professions Checklists by year of program entry