DLSPH Diaries: A Day in the Life of an Epidemiology Student

January 17/2025

What does balance look like for a DLSPH student? First-year Epidemiology student Sadia takes us on a day in her life, kicking off with delicious coffee on campus and an Epidemiologic Methods I lecture. Later, she meets a friend for some roller-skating at Union Station and then rounds off her day with some work on a paper for an elective course.

Portrait of first-year MPH Epidemiology Student Sadia.

Hi! My name is Sadia and I’m a first-year Master of Public Health (MPH) Epidemiology student at DLSPH. I also work as one of two Work-Study students in DLSPH’s Communications Office.

Welcome to a day in my life! Before starting at DLSPH in September, the grad school workload – and higher demands of graduate-level courses – seemed very intimidating. Combined with being a commuter student for the first time, I wondered whether I would still have time for my hobbies and social life. After successfully completing the first term of my MPH, I can happily say that a school-life balance is possible and studying at DLSPH makes fun activities in the city (like roller-skating) super accessible and easy to fit into your schedule!

Read below or watch my video diary on social media for a taste of what school-life balance can look like for an epidemiology student.

View of subway tracks and a sign on the wall that says "Bay Yorkville".

8:00 to 8:45 am

I head out at around 8:00 am most days to get to campus. I live in Toronto, so this is usually a 30-to-40-minute commute using the TTC.

8:45 to 9:00 am

Once I get to campus, I always stop for coffee. I like to try out different cafés close to campus – and there’s lots of great options! Once I’ve got my drink, I walk to my first class.

9:00 am to 12:00 pm

My first class of the day is Epidemiologic Methods I with Dr. David Fisman. This is a required course for MPH Epidemiology students and covers a lot of foundational concepts, such as study designs, measures of risk, and bias and confounding.

12:00 to 1:00 pm

After class, I head over to the Medical Sciences building to buy lunch. There are some great options but today, I just went for a quick slice of pizza. After a three-hour class, I like to unwind a bit, so I read a few pages of my book while eating. It can be hard to read for leisure during the semester but when I bring a book to campus, it’s a lot easier to find small breaks in my day, such as during my commute or gaps between classes.

1:00 to 1:15 pm

My next class is in the Health Sciences building, just across the street from the Medical Sciences building. I still have about an hour and a half before class, so I usually like to sit in the grad student lounge on the seventh floor.

1:15 to 2:30 pm

While I wait for class to start, I do a bit of studying. Today, I’m adding to an exam review document I’ve been working on for my Population Perspectives for Epidemiology class, another required MPH Epidemiology course.

5:00 to 7:30 pm

Once I’m done all my classes for the day, I take the subway to Union Station to meet up with a friend. We spend a couple hours at the station’s roller-skating rink that’s open for the winter months. This was a lot of fun after a fairly long day of classes and studying.

8:30 to 11:00 pm

I get home by about 8:30 pm and spend some time working on my final paper for an elective class I’m taking called Multidisciplinary Aspects of Addiction. After that, I take some time to relax – usually by reading or watching some TV – and then going to bed to rest up for the next day!

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