Program Overview

This certificate program provides you with a good understanding of the complex issues that you will encounter as you manage health systems in today’s changing healthcare organizations.

It will be of interest either to those currently working in healthcare administration or to those who want to move into healthcare administration.

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Quick Facts

Program Type Certificate Program
Program Length 12 months studying part time (one course per term)
Start Date Entry is possible in any semester (September/Fall, January/Winter, and May/Spring).
Application Deadline

Domestic Students:  May 1 (for September entry), October 1 (for January entry), February 1 (for May entry)

*International Students:  May 1 (for September entry), October 1 (for January entry), February 1 (for May entry)

*JSGS does not recommend graduate certificate programs to international students due to complications with maintaining registration across terms and course offerings per term that may affect full-time student status.
Tuition Effective September 1, 2023, the tuition rate per three-credit-unit course for domestic students is approximately $2,780 and $4,337 for international students. Students are also required to pay graduate student fees.
JSGS Scholarship Funding None
GRE/GMAT Requirement None
English Language Requirements Proof of language proficiency is required.
Location Although this certificate is administered through the University of Regina campus, all courses are offered online.  
Potential Career Paths Healthcare Administrator, Healthcare Manager

Core Learning Outcomes

As a student enrolled in the Health Systems Management Certificate, depending on your course selection, you may be exposed to specific readings, assignments and activities that will help you both acquire and develop the ability to:

  • Recognize how healthcare in Canada is structured and delivered, with an emphasis on analyzing the role and impact of regionalization (and de-regionalization) on the organization and administration of healthcare;
  • Demonstrate insight into key aspects of healthcare administration, including financial and human resource management, and how they relate to one another and to larger system-level priorities and planning;
  • Consider the influence of core values including safety, quality and patient-centred care on our approach to healthcare in Canada, and evaluate the role of organizational and administrative factors in furthering these objectives;
  • Demonstrate critical thinking about the dynamics of healthcare decision-making and leadership;
  • Take into account the context (ideas, institutions and interests) in which health decision‐making and leadership are exercised; and
  • Understand the process of performance measurement (performance indicators, performance
    reporting, quality improvement).

Laddering Option

Upon successfully completing your Health Systems Management Certificate, we encourage you to speak with an academic advisor to explore the option of applying your courses to the Master of Health Administration degree at JSGS.

Courses

Curriculum

Certificate students are required to complete 9 credit units, consisting of one core course (3 credit units) and two elective courses (6 credit units).

Students must register in the following core course (3 credit hrs):

This course will provide students with an understanding of issues involved in the management and organization of health services. Students will examine issues related to managing health in terms of regional health authorities, health ministries and individual health organizations.

All students must also complete, two of the following elective courses (6 credits hrs):

This course will examine issues and challenges related to the health of Indigenous populations in Canada. Health and illness concepts will be embedded within historical, social, cultural and political realities. Students will have the opportunity to critically examine and reflect on Indigenous health issues and healthcare practices.

This course is an introduction to basic biostatistical methods and principles as they apply to public health data. An emphasis is placed on the applications of statistical methods to public health data, interpretations of the resulting analyses and critical appraisal of these methods.

This course will review the historical development of the Canadian health care system and its supporting principles, governance structures and fiscal arrangements; and examine contemporary structures and relationships. Issues such as benefit coverage, health human resources, user fees, pharmaceuticals, regional health boards, and health reform in a comparative context will be examined.

This course covers the underlying concepts, principles, historical development, theory, and current practice of health promotion. The focus of learning is not so much on “how to do” health promotion, as on “how to think” about the conceptual, ideological, and political issues which underlie health promotion practice.

This course covers basic concepts and principles of the cycle of health program planning, which includes needs assessment, program development and implementation, process, impact, and outcome evaluation. Both qualitative and quantitative data collection will be addressed.

This course will address health human resource management. Its scope will include the knowledge and skills necessary to work with self-regulating professions and in a highly unionized environment. Essential aspects of collective bargaining, negotiation and professional organization will be covered, as will working with the public/private divide in healthcare provision.

This course will cover leadership theory and practice, with a focus on effective leadership in the public sector and ethical decision-making. It will address decision-making models relevant to the health sector, including emerging philosophies (e.g., LEAN).

This course applies the techniques of epidemiology and biostatistics to evaluate population-based health programs. In addition, students will become familiar with the principles of public health, prevention, and health care quality management.

Focusing on the healthcare imperative of accountability to the community, this course deals with the measurement of performance in healthcare organizations. Management control focuses on the implementation of business strategies and the attainment of organizational goals.

This course covers the financial management function in healthcare organizations including operating and capital budgeting processes along with budgetary and financial controls. There will be extensive use of financial analysis tools for the healthcare organization and skills needed to develop basic finance and accounting foundations will be reviewed.

This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to economic concepts and analysis relevant to health, health care and health care systems. Students will examine economic aspects of various elements of the healthcare sector, identify relevant policy questions and apply economic concepts and techniques to analyze them.

This course provides an overview of issues at the intersection of health law and policy. It will include a basic introduction to the foundations of health law followed by an examination of topical issues in this domain.

Tuition

Effective September 1, 2023, the tuition rate per three-credit-unit course for domestic students is approximately $2,780 and $4,337 for international students. Students are also required to pay graduate student fees.

Tuition is paid as you take courses and it is charged on a per-credit unit basis.

NOTE: Tuition and fees are subject to change. Should there be a discrepancy between the information posted on the institution's website and information posted on the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy website, the institution's website should be viewed as accurate.

Admissions and Deadlines

Application Deadlines

Applications to Graduate Certificate programs are accepted on an ongoing basis and are reviewed in the order in which they are completed. Therefore, it is to your advantage to submit a completed application as early as possible, as enrollment is limited. The admission process is competitive and late application submissions may be at a disadvantage. 

Entry is possible in any semester (September/Fall, January/Winter, and May/Spring).

Program Entry Latest Application Deadline for International Students*  Latest Application Deadline for Domestic Students
September/Fall May 1  May 1
January/Winter October 1 October 1
May/Spring February 1 February 1

To meet these deadlines, ALL components of your application must be received by the dates above. Applications that are incomplete will not be reviewed nor will they be deferred to future terms.

* JSGS does not recommend graduate certificate programs to international students due to complications with maintaining registration across terms and course offerings per term that may affect full-time student status.

Application Qualifications

Please ensure that you meet the entrance requirements of the University of Regina Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research.

Application Qualifications
University of Regina

Applicants interested in this program must have completed a four-year undergraduate degree with a minimum overall GPA of 70 percent.

There is also a mid-career option for admission, through which prospective students with at least five years of government or non-profit organization management experience may be admitted without an undergraduate degree.

NOTICE: JSGS does not recommend graduate certificate programs to international students for the following reasons:

  • The certificates are only 3 courses (9 credit units) in length, and to be considered a full-time student, you must register in 6 credit units (2 courses) per term.
    • For example, if a graduate certificate student wants to maintain full-time status, the maximum time in the graduate certificate program would be 6 months if starting in January (encompasses Winter and Spring terms), or 8 months if starting in May (encompasses Spring and Fall terms) or September (encompasses Fall and Winter terms), and a student would need to take a fourth course and pay additional tuition to have full-time status in each term.
  • JSGS cannot guarantee that courses required for our graduate certificate programs will be available each term.
  • If a required course is unavailable, it can affect the opportunity for full-time studies.

Application Process and Required Documentation

When applying to the JSGS University of Regina campus, please note that you must submit an application through the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. 

You may choose to upload unofficial transcripts, supporting documents, letter of intent, and resume via your online application portal.

You will have the opportunity to enter the names and email addresses of your referees in the online application portal. Once you pay the application fee and submit the application, the system will automatically contact your referees with a link for their submission. Remember to advise your referees to check their spam folder for the auto-email from uregina.ca domain.

To troubleshoot document uploads, referee issues, other technical aspects of the online application, contact the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research at grad.publicpolicy@uregina.ca.

Required Documents Description
Student waiver form

Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy is a collaboration between the University of Regina and University of Saskatchewan. To share information between the two universities, please complete and upload the student waiver form.
Official Transcripts

Upload unofficial transcripts for all post-secondary education, that is, from each accredited institution you’ve attended where you’ve received at least one grade for one course for academic credit. If you are registered in such a course presently, upload a transcript even without the course completed.

Do NOT upload University of Regina transcripts. FGSR staff will access these internally.

JSGS will evaluate applications based on unofficial documents. JSGS only requires official documents after an acceptance letter is issued.

Option 2: Is it easy to obtain official transcripts? Is it inexpensive? Is the application deadline at least a month away? If you answer yes to all questions, consider skipping the unofficial transcript upload and send your official documents directly to FGSR.
Proof of English proficiency (if required)

International applicants may need to submit proof of English proficiency in the form of a recognized test. Search for your post-secondary institution on the WHED database. If this database clearly indicates solely English as language of instruction, this will suffice as proof of English proficiency.
Resume An updated resume with scholarly contributions, background information, education history, and relevant employment history.
Personal Statement / Letter of Intent

The University of Regina’s online application form includes a personal statement section where applicants are asked to answer the following four questions:

  1. Please describe your specific area of academic interest, and explain what motivated you to choose this area.
  2. Describe how your past education, professional and other experiences have prepared you to be successful in this graduate program.
  3. Describe what you hope to achieve in this graduate program.
  4. Describe why this particular graduate program at the University of Regina may help you fulfill your long-term aspirations/objectives.

As you answer these questions, please keep in mind the Admissions Committee is assessing your ability to write in a clear, coherent and professional manner. You should make every effort to ensure your personal statement is free of spelling and grammatical errors, is properly referenced (if applicable) and is concise. Please limit your response to each of the questions to no more than 200 words.
Letter of recommendation

The University of Regina requires three letters of recommendation. Please choose academic and/or professional people who can comment on your ability to succeed in the program. Applicants can supply name and contact information in the online application portal.

Career Focus

What are JSGS certificate alumni up to? Read how they are making an impact!

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