Graduate Certificate in Global Surgical Care (GCGSC) at University of British Columbia

Programme overview

The Graduate Certificate in Global Surgical Care (GCGSC) is a 12-credit, fully online certificate from the Branch for Global Surgical Care at UBC's Faculty of Medicine. It serves surgeons and allied health professionals at all levels of expertise, from high- and low-resource regions, preparing them for leadership and advocacy in global surgical care. Each 3-credit course runs 12 weeks online, and the four courses ladder into the Master of Global Surgical Care.

Faculty: Faculty of Medicine | Department: Department of Surgery | Duration: 1 year full-time or up to 5 years part-time, fully online | Intake: Not accepting applications for 2027/28 | Study mode: Online / Distance (100%) | Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

What you will study

Students complete four courses: SURG 510 Surgical Care in International Health, SURG 512 Global Disability: A Surgical Care Mandate, SURG 514 Surgical Care in Humanitarian Disaster Response, and SURG 516 Program Planning and Evaluation in Surgical Care in Low Resource Settings.

Career pathways

Graduates are prepared to lead in the emerging academic discipline of global surgical care and to provide advocacy and program leadership in low-resource settings.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Applicants should hold a health-care-related degree such as an MD, nursing (BSN) or midwifery degree, and have been or plan to be involved in surgical care programs in underserved regions, whether clinically, educationally, administratively or in research. Applicants must meet the minimum admission requirements of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies; those without the academic requirements but with significant training and professional experience may be admitted on recommendation of the Graduate Advisor. Applicants from a university outside Canada where English is not the primary language of instruction must show English proficiency. Courses are pass/fail with 74% required to pass.

Tuition is charged per credit, so the total depends on the courses you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy (MDPhD): May 2027 intake.

Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy (MDPhD): September 2027 intake.

Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy (MDPhD), May 2027 intake: applications open 16 October 2026; application deadline for Canadian applicants 8 January 2027; application deadline for international applicants 16 October 2026.

Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy (MDPhD), September 2027 intake: applications open 10 July 2026; application deadline for Canadian applicants 16 October 2026; application deadline for international applicants 10 July 2026.

Graduate application fee for 2027W and 2028S: $120.75 for Canadian citizens and permanent residents; $168.25 for students on a study permit; $166.50 for master's-level business programmes (IMBA, MBAN, EMBA, MBA, PMBA, MM). The fee is non-refundable and required for each programme and intake.

Apply through the official page: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/prospective-students/application-admission

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