I am currently trying to decide if I should go into biopharm because I heard that the program has a high work load and employment is very limited. That being said, I do like the small classroom sizes and the PBL style of teaching. So here are a few questions that I really need help with:

1. How heavy is the work load exactly? Will there be time for doing extracurricular activities?
2. What kind of co-op placements do people usually get? I know that you can work in pharmaceutical companies, the government, or research labs at our school, but what were the actual jobs that you had to do? Were the placements hard to get?
3. Is it hard to find a supervisor for the 4th year thesis? (I know a few friends who are in another program and it wasn't easy for them to find a supervisor)
4. Lastly, I was just wondering about how were the pharmacology courses like generally (evaluation, content, level of difficulty, etc). I tried to look them up on the course reviews, but nothing showed up.

I know it's a bit late to ask these questions, but any help would be greatly appreciated

Same boat as you trying to decide if I should accept the offer. Congrats on making the program as well! I wanted to add that I curious to know what people pursue after graduating this program.

Ok so I was an old grad that got accepted. I did only one year in the program and I got into medical school and I chose to leave the program. I loved the program overall but there were certain aspects of it that I felt was not for me. You will have full year lab course and I wasnt a big fan of it. I loved rest of the courses so I sucked up in the labs and do what I had to do. I was more interested in the pharmaseutical industries and that is why I chose this program. There are lots of job opportunities and whoever tried to dissuade you based on this is misguiding you. Pharma industry will never end and they will always need people like you.... you guys link science world to the corporate world. So dont freak out yet about jobs.

I did only one co op placement and I did it with a researcher in Calgary. It was amazing because I had a great time working with her. My other friends had work in hospitals, health canada, pharma companies.....the dept takes care of you so you wont end up jobless or coop orphan. Bio pharm is part of health sci dept and that is imp to know because all of a sudden you are no longer just a science student.

Finally it is a course that is revolving around PBL way of learning, you research, you learn, you design your own understanding and finally you need to convince your peer and instructor why you chose the amount of info and what you gained out of it. Smart peers will outsshine you or lesser ones will make you look better....its all part of the learning process.

FYI- Crankshaw is colorblind...but he is a great proffessor.

Hey guys, congrats on admission to the program!!!

Biopharm is definitely a very unique program with regards to a small class size (only 20 people are accepted each year!) and PBL. That being said, our pharmacology courses require a LOT of group work, and your group dynamics/interaction is a huge part of your mark, among other things. It definitely took me the first semester to get used to the large amount of group work and to build my confidence. Once you get used to it though, you won't want to go back to lecture-based classes!

To answer your questions:

1. The workload is quite heavy. You will be required to do research for both the 3A06 and 3B06 course in preparation for the classes, every week. What makes it stressful is that, since the classes require group work, it is easy to tell much time you've spent to prepare the material you are responsible for. With 3B06, a formal lab report is required every 3 weeks, in which you prepare as a group. At first, I found it hard to adjust to all the work, but as you get your schedule straight, it becomes much easier. There will definitely be time to participate in extracurriculars. I was able to manage all my school work, take up a TA position, and organize Pangaea.

2. As for coop placements, a couple have found industry positions through the SCCE. Most of us are currently working at a research lab, with some in BC and Alberta. As long as you start your search early, it should not be a problem finding a position.

3. I'm not sure about thesis supervisors yet!

4. As I've mentioned earlier, quite abit of your mark is based on your performance (ie. presentation skills, leadership, preparedness). In 3A06, you have to prepare a clinical trial proposal, in addition to your performance during discussions. In 3B06, there are lab reports, lab performance, and a discovery project poster + presentation. The courses were VERY interesting though, in terms of the material learned. The profs are all VERY nice, knowledgeable and understanding of the workload. With small classes, the profs are sometimes flexible with deadlines.

Best of all, two less exams! We do have TRIPSE for the 3A06 course, but that was fun to do.


My 5 cents: Give the program a try, and see if you like it. If not, you can always transfer out of the program. It's always easier to transfer out, and this is the only shot at getting in.

Hey guys,

I'm also contemplating whether I should enter the program or not for the third year (Vee sorta knows me)
Here's some videos that I've mustered up during my research that should be watched if you haven't seen these yet (if you guys have facebook):
https://www.facebook.com/biopharm

If not, here are the same videos of alumni and what they're doing after Bio-Pharm on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/McMasterBioPharm

Edit: Say the name of this thread out loud and it sounds like you're looking for eco-friendly, crop-growing individuals.

Just curious during your thesis are you allowed to take any courses?

I think for biopharm you don't have to take courses (or maybe it's just during the second term of thesis that you do?)

Which really gives them a huge advantage when it comes to doing a thesis. Most programs require you to take courses alongside your thesis (I took four courses per term while doing a 9-unit thesis).

Yeah its a whole term where you can just work on your thesis so I wanted to complete any missing prereqs for grad schools I would need during that time.

Originally Posted by joset2

Ok so I was an old grad that got accepted. I did only one year in the program and I got into medical school and I chose to leave the program. I loved the program overall but there were certain aspects of it that I felt was not for me. You will have full year lab course and I wasnt a big fan of it. I loved rest of the courses so I sucked up in the labs and do what I had to do. I was more interested in the pharmaseutical industries and that is why I chose this program. There are lots of job opportunities and whoever tried to dissuade you based on this is misguiding you. Pharma industry will never end and they will always need people like you.... you guys link science world to the corporate world. So dont freak out yet about jobs.

I did only one co op placement and I did it with a researcher in Calgary. It was amazing because I had a great time working with her. My other friends had work in hospitals, health canada, pharma companies.....the dept takes care of you so you wont end up jobless or coop orphan. Bio pharm is part of health sci dept and that is imp to know because all of a sudden you are no longer just a science student.

Finally it is a course that is revolving around PBL way of learning, you research, you learn, you design your own understanding and finally you need to convince your peer and instructor why you chose the amount of info and what you gained out of it. Smart peers will outsshine you or lesser ones will make you look better....its all part of the learning process.

FYI- Crankshaw is colorblind...but he is a great proffessor.

Oh wow. I'm surprised that you still check this forum after going into med school. So thanks so much for the awesome reply! Which med school did you go to?

Originally Posted by Watoko

Hey guys, congrats on admission to the program!!!

Biopharm is definitely a very unique program with regards to a small class size (only 20 people are accepted each year!) and PBL. That being said, our pharmacology courses require a LOT of group work, and your group dynamics/interaction is a huge part of your mark, among other things. It definitely took me the first semester to get used to the large amount of group work and to build my confidence. Once you get used to it though, you won't want to go back to lecture-based classes!

To answer your questions:

1. The workload is quite heavy. You will be required to do research for both the 3A06 and 3B06 course in preparation for the classes, every week. What makes it stressful is that, since the classes require group work, it is easy to tell much time you've spent to prepare the material you are responsible for. With 3B06, a formal lab report is required every 3 weeks, in which you prepare as a group. At first, I found it hard to adjust to all the work, but as you get your schedule straight, it becomes much easier. There will definitely be time to participate in extracurriculars. I was able to manage all my school work, take up a TA position, and organize Pangaea.

2. As for coop placements, a couple have found industry positions through the SCCE. Most of us are currently working at a research lab, with some in BC and Alberta. As long as you start your search early, it should not be a problem finding a position.

3. I'm not sure about thesis supervisors yet!

4. As I've mentioned earlier, quite abit of your mark is based on your performance (ie. presentation skills, leadership, preparedness). In 3A06, you have to prepare a clinical trial proposal, in addition to your performance during discussions. In 3B06, there are lab reports, lab performance, and a discovery project poster + presentation. The courses were VERY interesting though, in terms of the material learned. The profs are all VERY nice, knowledgeable and understanding of the workload. With small classes, the profs are sometimes flexible with deadlines.

Best of all, two less exams! We do have TRIPSE for the 3A06 course, but that was fun to do.


My 5 cents: Give the program a try, and see if you like it. If not, you can always transfer out of the program. It's always easier to transfer out, and this is the only shot at getting in.

Thanks for taking the time and answer all of my questions! I was thinking about giving the program a try too, for one semester at the beginning, but then I realized the lab course are full year courses. So I'm a little bit worried about my GPA with that. Also, it was the first time I heard of the TRIPSE. I looked it up, and it was really interesting to me because it really do try to push forward your problem solving skills. Was that done in groups as well, or was it individual?