The Non-Thesis Master’s concentration in Oncology within the Division of Surgery at McGill University offers a unique training environment for students seeking advanced education in cancer biology, translational research, and clinical oncology without the requirement of a thesis. Designed to provide rigorous scientific training while remaining flexible and professionally oriented, is a competitive and strategic choice for students aiming for careers in biomedical research, clinical research, biotechnology, industry, medicine, or further graduate training.
This concentration is anchored in the strengths of McGill’s surgical, oncology, and research ecosystems and leverages close integration with clinician-scientists and investigators working at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC). Students benefit from exposure to cutting-edge oncology research across all solid tumors and hematologic malignancies, along the entirety of the patient journey.
The Oncology concentration emphasizes integration of research and clinical perspectives. Students are trained to understand how discoveries at the bench translate to patient care, how clinical challenges inform research priorities, and how emerging technologies—such as high-throughput sequencing, liquid biopsy approaches, and biomarker development—are reshaping cancer management. Coursework is complemented by opportunities for supervised research projects, internships, or laboratory placements, allowing students to gain hands-on experience while maintaining the flexibility of a non-thesis pathway.
Importantly, the program offers built-in flexibility. Students who discover a strong interest in hands-on research during the program may, subject to academic performance and supervisory availability, transition from the Non-Thesis to the Thesis stream. This pathway allows motivated trainees to expand their research training, develop an independent research project, and gain deeper laboratory or computational experience, without having to reapply to a new program. As such, the Non-Thesis stream can serve either as a terminal professional master’s degree or as a strategic entry point into more intensive research training.
Required Courses (18 credits)
- EXSU 505 Trends in Precision Oncology. (3 credits)
- EXSU 623 Surgery Research Project 2. (6 credits)
- ONCO 610D1 Fundamentals of Oncology and Cancer Research. (3 credits)
- ONCO 610D2 Fundamentals of Oncology and Cancer Research. (3 credits)
3 credits selected from:
- DENT 505/FMED 505 Epidemiology and Data Analysis in Primary Care (3 credits)
- EDPE 575 Statistics for Practitioners. (3 credits)
- EPIB 507 Biostats for Health Sciences. (3 credits)
- EPIB 521 Regression Analysis for Health Sciences (3 credits)
- EXMD 634 Quantitative Research Methods (3 credits)
- EXSU 606 Statistics for Surgical Research. (3 credits)
OR 3 credits of a research design or statistics course at the 500 level or higher chosen in consultation with the student's mentor and approved by the Program Committee and the Graduate Program Director. Students who already have a very strong background in statistics may be exempt from taking a statistics course and would choose another 3-credit course. This must be approved by the Program Committee and the Graduate Program Director.
Examples of Complementary Courses (21 credits)
- EPIB 671 Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention (3 credits)
- EXMD 614 Environmental Carcinogenesis (3 credits)
- EXMD 617 Workshop in Clinical Trials 1 (1 credit)
- EXMD 618 Workshop in Clinical Trials 2 (1 credit)
- EXMD 619 Workshop: Clinical Trials 3 (1 credit)
- EXMD 620 Clinical Trials and Research 1 (1 credit)
- EXMD 625 Clinical Trials and Research 2 (1 credit)
- EXMD 626 Clinical Trials and Research 3 (1 credit)
- EXMD 635 Experimental and clinical oncology D1/D2 (3 credits)
- EXMD 640 Experimental Medicine Topic 1 (3 credits)
- EXSU 500 Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (3 credits)
- EXSU 601 Knowledge Management 1. (3 credits)
- EXSU 602 Knowledge Management 2 (3 credits)
- FMED 619 Program Management in Global Health and Primary Health Care. (3 credits)
- HGEN 690 Inherited Cancer Syndromes (3 credits)
- NUR2 705 Palliative Care (3 credits)
- ONCO 620 Best Practices in Biomedical Research (3 credits)
- POTH 637 Cancer Rehabilitation (3 credits)
- PPHS 528 Economic Evaluation of Health Programs. (3 credits)
Electives (6 credits)
6 credits at the 500 level or higher can be chosen from the course list above or can be other courses with approval from the course instructor. The courses do not necessarily have to include cancer-related content but must have relevance to the field. The courses will be chosen in consultation with the student’s mentor and must be approved by the Program Committee and the Graduate Program Director.
Contact
Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology
5100 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West, Suite 720
Montreal, Quebec, Canada H4A 3T2
Tel: 514-398-4596
Email: admin.onc [at] mcgill.ca
Further details can be found at:
https://www.mcgill.ca/oncology/education-training/graduate-diploma-oncology
Or
Micha Huynh
Administrative and Student Affairs Coordinator
Division of Surgical and Interventional Sciences
Montreal General Hospital, Room A7.117
1650 Cedar Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1A4 Canada
Tel: 514-934-1934, Ex. 45578
Email: gradstudies2.surgery [at] mcgill.ca
