Dear RS Graduate Program Community,
We regret to announce we are suspending future admission, and eventually close the Rehabilitation Science Graduate Course-Based Program at McMaster University. This decision has been made after thorough consideration and evaluation of many factors. We understand that it may raise questions among our valued students, faculty, and staff but remain fully committed to supporting our current students in completing their studies.
- Current Students: The current cohort of students will be provided with the necessary support and access to courses to complete their degree requirements. All required courses will be made available to ensure a smooth and timely graduation.
- Timeline and Graduation: We remain fully committed to helping students graduate on time.
- Program Support: The Rehabilitation Science Graduate Program will remain accessible to assist students during this transition period and until degree completion. For further information or specific inquiries, please contact the Rehabilitation Science Graduate Office at rsgrad@mcmaster.ca.
We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we navigate this transition together.
Best regards,
Ada Tang, RS Assistant Dean
Shami Dhillon, RS Course-Based Program Coordinator
Dina Brooks, SRS Vice-Dean and Executive Director
Expandable List
September 2023 was our last intake of admissions into the Rehabilitation Science MSc Course-Based Program. We remain fully committed to supporting all our current students in completing their studies. We have developed a 3-year plan to phase out the RS Course-Based Program offerings to enable the last cohorts of students to finish their degree requirements.
Students in the Rehabilitation Science MSc Course-Based program typically complete the program in 3 years. Students who are still enrolled in the Course-Based program beyond August 2026 will have access to course offerings through the Masters in Health Management program to complete their degrees.
Yes, courses will be available for RS Course-Based students to take to complete their degree requirements. Provided below is a 3-year plan for course offerings, up to 2025-2026 academic year. We anticipate most students will have completed their degree by this time. We developed the schedule of course offerings below in consideration of many factors, such as timing of required courses (e.g. all students must complete REHAB 705 before proceeding in the program), typical enrollment (courses with lower enrolled will be phased out sooner), and availability of similar course offerings through the Masters of Health Management program. We will remind students when a course is being offered for the last time so that they can make an informed decision. However, if there is no interest in a course, we may end it as an offering sooner than the plan below.
Students who are enrolled in the Course-Based Program beyond August 2026 will have access to course offerings through the Masters in Health Management program.
| Fall | Winter | Spring/Summer | |
| 2023-2024 | RS705 Evaluating Sources of Evidence | RS706 Measurement in Rehabilitation | RS702 Participation & Community Living |
| 2024-2025 | RS715 Advanced Orthopaedic Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy Specialization
RS770 Leadership in Rehabilitation RS775 Technological Innovation and Rehabilitation |
RS773 Knowledge Translation
RS771 Work Organization & Health |
RS703 Special Topics in Clinical Sciences
RS708 Clinical Reasoning in Rehabilitation RS774 Quantitative Research Methods |
| 2025-2026 | RS710 Facilitating learning in Rehabilitation Context
RS735 Rehabilitation Research Project |
RS730 Scholarly Paper | RS704 Independent Study RS772 Introduction to Qualitative Research |
While the degree requirements and course curriculum remain unchanged, it is important to note that certain courses will conclude earlier than others. We encourage students to strategically plan their course selections to fulfill degree requirements, and we are committed to offering support throughout this process. We will remind students when a course is being offered for the last time so that they can make an informed decision. However, if there is no interest in a course, we may end it as an offering sooner than the outlined plan.
We will be suspending future admissions into the Rehabilitation Science MSc Course-Based Program. We remain fully committed to supporting all our current students in completing their studies.
Yes, students will be able to complete their degree in the RS Course-Based program. We remain fully committed to supporting all our current students in completing their studies.
We understand that this news may have implications for your academic and personal plans, and we are committed to assisting you throughout this process. We have developed an education plan tailored for RS Course-based students to facilitate planning for degree completion. This will be communicated to the students in January 2024. The RS program will also be monitoring students’ enrollment and academic progress towards degree completion.
In scenarios where students take a leave of absence and anticipate completing the program beyond August 2026 will have access to course offerings through the Masters in Health Management program. The RS program will provide support to identify MHM courses that can be substituted for courses in the RS Program.
You can contact the Rehabilitation Science Graduate Program at rsgrad@mcmaster.ca
There is no pathway available for the RS Course-Based students to transfer into the MSc thesis-Based program.