The Collaborative Specialization in Women’s Health provides interdisciplinary training in women’s health research and practice for graduate students at the University of Toronto through the following core elements:
- Course – CHL5109 H: Gender and Health
- Research Seminars
- Mentorship – Student support and advice on choosing elective courses from participating graduate units and developing a research plan that will assist students in building interdisciplinary research skills in women’s health
Core Requirements
To successfully complete the Specialization, students must also successfully complete the requirements of their home graduate unit. Master’s and doctoral students who successfully complete the specialization will have the following notation added to their transcripts: “Completed the Collaborative Specialization in Women’s Health”.
Master’s Level
• Complete the Course (CHL 5109H: Gender and Health);
• Participate in at least six of the 8 monthly sessions in the Student Research Seminar Series;
• In instances where home graduate units require a thesis, it is desirable, but not required, that this work be relevant to women’s health.
Doctoral Level
• Complete the Course (CHL 5109H: Gender and Health).
Doctoral students who have satisfactorily completed the course during their master’s specialization are not required to repeat the course during their doctoral specialization;
• Participate in at least six monthly sessions in the Student Research Seminar Series;
• Present completed or in-progress research at one of the monthly Student Research Seminars;
• Identify a Specialization faculty mentor who brings a different approach/methodological perspective than that used in the student’s primary discipline;
• Devise a research plan that builds interdisciplinary research skills in women’s health. The plan is developed with guidance from the student’s graduate supervisor from their home unit and their mentor, who will both sign the study/research plan; and
• Complete a dissertation on a topic relevant to women’s health.
Course – CHL 5109H: Gender and Health
Instructors: Specialization director, faculty mentors, and others. The course draws on guest lecturers from among specialization mentors and other women’s health experts.
Offered virtually, once every academic year, typically in the Winter Semester.
The Gender and Health course examines women’s health issues from multiple standpoints, theories, and methods, drawing upon perspectives from the social sciences, humanities, and sciences. Topics and methodologies explored include: the history of women’s health, sex and gender, intersectionality, masculinities, Two-Eyed Seeing principles, Black health, disabled women’s health, cervical cancer, and violence against women.
The course objectives support those of the Specialization. They are to:
- Expose students to a range of theoretical frameworks, research methods, and women’s health issues;
- Stimulate critical thinking about sex and gender, the impact of social constructions and intersecting identities, and the value of bringing multiple perspectives to bear on the same research question; and
- To foster skills in analysis and synthesis of diverse research perspectives, interdisciplinary dialogue and debate, and collaboration.
“THE CORE COURSE IN GENDER AND HEALTH IS AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN FROM SCHOLARS, PROFESSIONALS, AND STUDENTS THAT ARE INTERESTED IN WOMEN’S HEALTH. STUDYING ALONGSIDE PHD STUDENTS, PHYSICIANS, AND STUDENTS WITH A WIDE RANGE OF PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES WAS INCREDIBLY ENRICHING. IT WAS ALSO VALUABLE TO RECEIVE LECTURES FROM VARIOUS LEADERS IN THE FIELD”
MPH Student, Public Health Sciences, 224 Specialization Internal Quality Review
Graduate students not enrolled in the Specialization may still take this course up to the limit of enrollment and by permission of the instructor. Enrollment is limited to a combined total of 16 doctoral and master’s students.
Student Research Seminars
The Student Research Seminars bring together students, faculty, and mentors of the Specialization to advance networking, joint mentoring, and supervision. Students at both the master’s and doctoral level present at these sessions, which are an opportunity for presenters to receive constructive feedback on research-in-progress from an attentive, interdisciplinary audience. Each seminar will include a primary speaker and formal comments from at least one scheduled discussant from a different disciplinary background.
Click here for Seminar Series Guidelines
The Student Research Seminars are open to all.
Seminars are held virtually monthly throughout the academic fall and winter semesters.
Click here for student seminar schedule
“I PARTICULARLY APPRECIATED THE STUDENT SEMINARS FOR THEIR COLLABORATIVE AND INTERACTIVE NATURE. THESE SEMINARS PROVIDED A SUPPORTIVE PLATFORM TO PRESENT MY RESEARCH, RECEIVE CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK, AND ENGAGE IN DISCUSSIONS ON A VARIETY OF WOMEN’S HEALTH TOPICS. THE MENTORSHIP FROM SENIOR ACADEMICS WAS ALSO A STANDOUT FEATURE, AS IT OFFERED VALUABLE INSIGHTS AND GUIDANCE ON NAVIGATING COMPLEX RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND ADVANCING MY CAREER IN WOMEN’S HEALTH”
PhD Student, Public Health Sciences, 2024 Specialization Internal Quality Review
Mentorship
Doctoral students (Master’s optional) enrolled in the Specialization are required to identify a Specialization mentor, who brings a different approach/methodological perspective to that used in the student’s home discipline . The mentor will work with the student and the student’s primary supervisor to develop a study that will help the student to grow their interdisciplinary research skills in women’s health. The mentor and the supervisor should sign the student’s study/research plan.
CLICK HERE FOR LIST OF MENTORS
Additional Learning Opportunities
Elective (Non-Mandatory) Courses:
Many of the Specialization’s participating graduate units have courses and seminars that could be relevant to students with an interest in women’s health, gender, and sex. Examples of courses include:
• Women and Women’s Health in Countries of Conflict (CHL5706H)
• Women, Children, and Adolescent Health: A Global Perspective (CHL5117H)
• Gender, Body and Sexuality in Asian Traditions (RELG311H1)
Women and Social Policy in Canada (SWK4403H)
Learning Series and Seminars:
Students enrolled in the Specialization also have the opportunity to participate in several learning series and seminars offered through Women’s College Research and Innovation Institute at Women’s College Hospital, including the option to attend or present their work/research at:
- Research Development RoundsPast topics have included:
• Re-conceptualizing Safety for Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence in Shelter Settings
• Novel Options for Prevention in BRCA Mutation Carriers
• Lessons from Leading US Health Systems on how to Manage Improvement and Innovation
• HIV-related and Other Stigmas Crucial to the Experience of People Living with HIV - Summer Student Research Skills SessionsPast topics have included:
• Research ethics
• Publishing papers
• Data interpretation
• Sex and gender
• Community-based research
• Knowledge translation