Summary

• Degree offered: Doctorate in Philosophy (PhD)
• Registration status option: Full-time
• Language of instruction:
  • French
  • English
• Program option (expected duration of the program):
  • with thesis (12 full-time terms; 48 consecutive months)
• Academic units: Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Rehabilitation Sciences.

Program Description

The degree prepares candidates from both professional and research backgrounds for a career involving research in rehabilitation sciences, including issues ranging from basic science questions to psychosocial repercussions of health conditions in a rehabilitation context. PhD graduates will develop independent and collaborative research skills and will be equipped to contribute to the knowledge base that informs the practice of rehabilitation professionals.

Main Areas of Research

• Impairment and rehabilitation: This field concerns the impact of motor, sensory, cognitive, and mental health impairments on the individual’s daily functioning. It includes research on fundamental views of disease and disease etiology as risks factors for eventual difficulties in functioning.
• The environment and rehabilitation: This field focuses on the way social and physical environmental factors can either enable or hinder an individual’s functioning.
• Participation in life situations and rehabilitation: This field focuses on how the individual is re-integrated into the community and takes part in life activities while gaining functional autonomy following the onset of disease, disorder, or trauma.

Other Programs Offered Within the Same Discipline or in a Related Area

• Master of Health Sciences in Audiology (MScS)
• Master of Health Sciences Speech-Language Pathology (MScS)
• Master of Health Sciences in Occupational Therapy (MScS)
• Master of Health Sciences Physiotherapy (MScS)

Fees and Funding

• Program fees:

The estimated amount for university fees associated with this program are available under the section Finance your studies.

International students enrolled in a French-language program of study may be eligible for a differential tuition fee exemption.

• To learn about possibilities for financing your graduate studies, consult the Awards and financial support section.

Notes

• Programs are governed by the general regulations in effect for graduate studies.
• In accordance with the University of Ottawa regulation, students have the right to complete their assignments, examinations, research papers, and theses in French or in English.

Program Contact Information

Academic Office, Faculty of Health Sciences
125 University Private, Room 242
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
K1N 6N5

Email: healthsc@uOttawa.ca

Facebook | Faculty of Health Sciences

For the most accurate and up to date information on application deadlines, language tests and other admission requirements, please visit the specific requirements webpage.

To be eligible, applicants must:

• Have a master’s degree in a rehabilitation profession (Audiology, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Speech-Language Pathology) or a related discipline (e.g., Engineering, Nursing, Psychology, Social Work). We will also consider applicants who wish to research areas related to disability and rehabilitation who have completed graduate work in other areas. Successful applicants must meet minimum requirements for graduate admission including an average of 75% (B+).
• Applicants from non-thesis master's degree programs (e.g., professional or course-based only) must submit at the time of application documentation demonstrating research competence either as part of their program of studies and/or through activities completed during practice. Students will be required to present a dossier demonstrating research skills that may include, publications in peer-reviewed journals, research reports, program development and evaluation reports, abstracts, presentations, or similar documents. 

Note: International applicants must verify the admission equivalencies for the diploma they received in their country of origin.

• Applicants must identify at least one professor who is willing to supervise their research and thesis. It is recommended that students contact potential thesis supervisors as soon as possible. A professor has to accept to serve as thesis supervisor and his or her confirmation is required at the time of the application. 

Language Requirements

Applicants must be able to understand and fluently speak the language of instruction (French or English) in the program to which they are applying. Proof of linguistic proficiency may be required.

Applicants whose first language is neither French nor English must provide proof of proficiency in the language of instruction. To be admitted, one of the two official languages must be mastered as demonstrated by a satisfactory score on one of the language tests recognized by the University.

Note: Applicants are responsible for any fees associated with the language tests.

Note: Doctoral courses are offered in French and/or English depending on the number of students admitted. 

Notes

• The admission requirements listed above are minimum requirements and do not guarantee admission to the program.

• Admissions are governed by the general regulations in effect for graduate studies.

Fast-Track from Master’s to PhD

Students enrolled in a Health Sciences research master’s program at the University of Ottawa (for instance, Nursing, Human Kinetics, Interdisciplinary Health Sciences) may be eligible to fast-track directly into the doctoral program without writing a master’s thesis, provided the following conditions are met:

• Achievement of an 80% (A-) average in their last two years of undergraduate studies (or exceptional professional experience);
• Completion of a minimum of 9 graduate course units with a grade of A- or better in each;
• Satisfactory progress in the research program;
• Written recommendation from the supervisor and the thesis advisory committee after successful completion of a master's proposal, where required;
• Approval by the graduate studies committee after evaluation of the student's file, including an academic curriculum vitae.

Note: The transfer must take place within 16 months of initial enrollment in the master’s. Following transfer, all requirements of the doctoral program must be met.

Requirements for this program have been modified. Please consult the 2020-2021 calendars for the previous requirements.

Doctorate

Students must meet the following requirements:

Course List

Code	Title	Units
Compulsory Courses: 1
REA 7101	Team Research and Interdisciplinary Methodology	3 Units
REA 7102	Research Seminar on Individual Functioning and Rehabilitation Models	3 Units
REA 7103	Knowledge Transfer and Exchange Seminar	3 Units
Optional courses
3 optional course units from the list of optional courses or 3 elective course units at the graduate level		3 Units
Comprehensive Examination:
REA 9998	Comprehensive Examination
Thesis Proposal:
REA 9997	Thesis Proposal
Thesis:
THD 9999	Doctoral Thesis 2

Note(s)

¹

The type and amount of coursework depends on the student's background (research experience and skills) and chosen field of research.

²

Students are responsible for ensuring they have met all of the thesis requirements.

List of Optional Courses 

Course List

Code	Title	Units
ERG 5531	Concepts fondamentaux en ergothérapie : personne, occupation et environnement	3 Units
ERG 5532	Occupations dans une perspective développementale	3 Units
ERG 5534	Personne, occupation et environnement dans une perspective de sens et de justice occupationnelle	3 Units
ERG 5722	Perspectives théoriques et modèles en ergothérapie	3 Units
ERG 5754	La recherche en ergothérapie	3 Units
ORA 6510	Concepts d'orthophonie pertinents à l'audiologie	3 Units
ORA 6710	Concepts d'audiologie pertinents à l'orthophonie	3 Units
PHT 5512	Anatomie fonctionnelle du système musculo-squelettique	3 Units
PHT 5513	Biomécanique clinique	3 Units
REA 7105	Qualitative Research in Rehabilitation and Disability Studies	3 Units

Minimum Requirements

The passing grade in all courses is C+.

Students who fail two courses (equivalent to 6 units), the thesis proposal, or whose research progress is deemed unsatisfactory are required to withdraw.

Research Fields & Facilities

Located in the heart of Canada’s capital, a few steps away from Parliament Hill, the University of Ottawa is among Canada’s top 10 research universities.

uOttawa focuses research strengths and efforts in four Strategic Areas of Research:

• Creating a sustainable environment
• Advancing just societies
• Shaping the digital world
• Enabling lifelong health and wellness

With cutting-edge research, our graduate students, researchers and educators strongly influence national and international priorities.

Research at the Faculty of Health Sciences

Research at the Faculty involves many important aspects of health, including women's health, health in the elderly, health needs of francophones in a minority context, Aboriginal health, physical activity and health, multiple interventions in population health, palliative care, rehabilitation and functional autonomy, health and technology, and evidence based practice.

The Faculty of Health Sciences is involved in the following Research Centres and Institutes:

• LIFE Research Institute
• Music and Health Research Institute
• Centre for Research on Health and Nursing
• Interdisciplinary Centre for Black Health

The Faculty of Health Sciences has strong collaborations with the region’s hospital-affiliated research institutes:

• The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
• The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute
• The Bruyère Research Institute
• The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research
• L’Institut du Savoir Montfort
• University of Ottawa Heart Institute

For more information, refer to the list of faculty members and their research fields on Uniweb. 

IMPORTANT: Candidates and students looking for professors to supervise their thesis or research project can also consult the website of the faculty or department of their program of choice. Uniweb does not list all professors authorized to supervise research projects at the University of Ottawa.

In addition to the compulsory REA courses, students must complete an additional three-unit course. It is possible that the chosen course has a prerequisite and this may increase the number of units required. The additional course or courses can be taken outside of the Faculty of Health Sciences and will be identified by the thesis committee in consultation with the thesis supervisor.

The admission committee can request that the student take an additional 6 units based on the student’s previous training.