Health Honours Program

All honours students must conduct an in-depth independent research project in their final year, which they will present at an honours student research forum. Students should also consult with Academic Advising to choose their electives carefully and to ensure they meet grade requirements. There are limited seats in the honours program and meeting the grade requirements outlined in the Academic Calendar does not guarantee acceptance.

Applying For Honours

Due to the competitiveness of the honours program, a maximum cohort size of 12 students will be allowed to register for HLTH490. The following checklist will help guide you through the eligibility requirements

1. Meeting the minimum grade requirement. Please see Chart 7.1.5 of the current Academic calendar to see if your grades qualify you for admission.
2. Securing a prospective supervisor. Students are encouraged to reach out to prospective supervisors as early as possible. Students must identify a faculty member who has agreed to be their research supervisor. This will help ensure that you and your supervisor have sufficient time to discuss a research project and apply for research funding.
   • Note: Funding is not required for entry; however, students that have received an external award (e.g. Research NS Scotia Scholar Award) for summer research with their prospective supervisor will be prioritized.
3. Find an appropriate second reader. If the primary supervisor is not associated with the HLTH program, the co-supervisor and/or second reader must either be (i) associated with the HLTH program or (ii) be approved by the Coordinator of the HLTH program
4. Filling out and submit Form A during your third year prior to the deadline. The deadline is April 1st. You can access the most up to date version of Form A here.

A review of all applicants for the honours program will be completed between April-May and applicants will be notified of their eligibility. If the number of applicants surpasses the maximum cohort size, a waitlist will be created and/or, under the discretion of the HLTH program, additional spots may be allotted.

Preparation For HLTH490

If you are accepted into the honours program, you will be eligible to register for HLTH490 during the summer between your third and fourth year. In preparation for HLHT490, you should review the instructions for Honours projects and determine with your supervisor if an REB approval is required. Instructions can be found here.

After reviewing the instructions above,

• If your project requires REB approval, you are encouraged to submit the StFX REB form as soon as possible. All REBs must be
  1. Reviewed by the HLTH Honours REB Committee
  2. Signed off by the Coordinator before it can be submitted to StFX REB (via ROMEO)

• The committee will review REB applications regularly; however, there can be delays that impact the timeliness of the reviews. The current version of the StFX REB for Honours research can be found on their website or can be directly downloaded here. 

• If you do not require an REB, you are asked to complete Form B as soon as possible. This form can be submitted after the deadline for Form A, but you are encouraged to submit it prior to registering for HLTH490 if you are deemed eligible. Form B is currently being updated and will be posted as soon as possible.

Important: This page and the forms will be updated regularly, so please ensure that the instructions and forms you are using are the most up to date. As of February 1, 2022, the most up to date version of Form A is version 1.3, Form B is version 1.1, and Instructions is version 1.1.