Overview
Advance your skill set and future-proof your career with our Health and Social Service Skill Development program
Whether you are new to the health and social service sectors, or you are seeking to upskill or reskill your prior training, this program can help you get ahead of your peers. Simply select the courses you need to achieve your goals.
- Academic credit upon successful completion of each course
- Wide range of courses related to individual academic and career pathways for health and social service
- Learn online from health and social service professionals
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Program highlights Learn More
- Choose from 24 course options
- Taught by experts in health and social service
- Earn a Certificate
Health and Social Service Skill Development program features:
- Choose areas of study and individual courses to align with your goals
- Convenient online courses fit your busy life
- Learn from instructors with industry expertise
- Collaborate with peers and network with other professionals from various disciplines

What you'll learn Learn More
- How to develop your skills with specialized courses related to your academic and career pathways
- Pick from specialized areas such as Addiction, Human Resources, Health Information Management and Informatics
Through our Health and Social Service Skill Development program and its course options, you can choose to learn from a number of areas:
Addiction
- Understand addiction, its interventions, prevention and treatments, as well as the ethical and legal issues an addiction professional will face
- Examine and understand the person with addiction issues, including the complexity of concurrent disorders such as mental illness and substance use
- Understand behaviours that lead to effective supervision, including through the concept of Situational Leadership
Human Resources
- Explore human behaviour through influences that affect productivity, efficiency and organizational effectiveness
- Examine the function of training and development, including the psychology of learning, needs assessment, program design and evaluation, and group dynamics.
Health Informatics
- Critically examine the role of a health informatician to develop, maintain and retrieve data from systems used in healthcare to facilitate decision making
- Grasp the overview of disease processes and the effect on different body systems, along with diagnostic tests and therapeutic intervention
- Use relevant medical terminology to work successfully as part of a healthcare team
- Understand the anatomy and physiology of the human body
- Focus on foundational concepts within epidemiology in order to build an understanding of its application within public health and health research
- Understand the Canadian healthcare system, including how it is organized, regulated and managed
Learn more about the Health and Social Service Skill Development program
- Professionals seeking a refresher course in health
- Anyone interested in a new career path to health and social service
- Anyone seeking courses to fill academic or professional skill gaps
- Anyone looking to upskill their existing credentials for a health or social service career
Earning a Certificate in Health and Social Service or a Certificate of Professional Learning in Health and Social Service will enable you to upskill, fill in academic or career gaps and expand your skill set for various health and social service careers, including:
- Addictions Counsellor
- Health Information Professional
- Health or Social Service Human Resources Professional
Are you a current McMaster University undergraduate student?
Explore the ElevateYourSkills option to learn how you can earn a Health and Social Service Skill Development certificate as part of your degree.
- Use your electives to earn a professional certificate or diploma
- Fully online courses that you can fit into your schedule
- Providing you with real-life career skills and experience before you graduate
Check out our latest Health Program Preview webinar to learn more about the Health and Social Service Skill Development program
What our recent graduates say

Krystal
Health and Social Service Skill Development graduate
I wanted to reinvent myself and change my career path and I was able to do that.
I wanted to be able to reinvent myself and change my career path and I was able to do that because of McMaster Continuing Education. Being a nurse, there are so many different avenues of nursing that I can try new things and continue to learn. The instructors were really understanding. When you’re working full-time, having someone that will promptly answer your questions and make time for you when you need it, they made it really easy.
Krystal
Health and Social Service Skill Development graduate
I wanted to reinvent myself and change my career path and I was able to do that.
I wanted to be able to reinvent myself and change my career path and I was able to do that because of McMaster Continuing Education. Being a nurse, there are so many different avenues of nursing that I can try new things and continue to learn. The instructors were really understanding. When you’re working full-time, having someone that will promptly answer your questions and make time for you when you need it, they made it really easy.
Krystal
Health and Social Service Skill Development graduate
Other programs you may be interested in
Certificate in Health and Social Service Skill Development
CeRTIFICATEs IN Health and Social Service Skill Development
Earn one of the Certificates in Health and Social Service Skill Development with McMaster Continuing Education
Explore Certificate options and requirements below and register today!
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Certificate in Canadian Health Care
Earn the Certificate in Canadian Health Studies by completing any five courses listed below.
Courses (Complete any 5)
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Certificate in Health and Social Service
Earn the Certificate in Health and Social Service by completing any five courses listed below.
Courses (complete any 5)
3.0 UNITS
ADD 207
Human Development in Context: Understanding the Person with Addiction Issues
(Currently Not Available)
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Certificate of Professional Learning in Health and Social Service
Earn the Certificate of Professional Learning in Health and Social Service by completing any three courses listed below.
Courses (complete any 3)
3.0 UNITS
ADD 207
Human Development in Context: Understanding the Person with Addiction Issues
(Currently Not Available)
Health and Social Service Skill Development Courses
Health and Social Service Skill Development Courses
Advance your career with online Health and Social Service Skill Development courses
Explore course options below and register today!
Courses
3.0 UNITS
ADD 207
Human Development in Context: Understanding the Person with Addiction Issues
(Currently Not Available)
Health and Social Service Skill Development Schedule
Health and Social Service Skill Development Schedule
This schedule table displays courses planned to be offered this year and is a guide to planning your courses for the academic year. Please note: Spring term registration opens mid-March and Fall/Winter term registration opens mid-July. The schedule table is subject to change. Please visit the course pages to browse classes currently available for registration and the latest cost information. The cost for Health and Social Service Skill Development courses is $771.08 – $870.00 per course.
Learning format definitions:
- VC = Virtual Classroom learning format
- O = Online learning format
- OSS = Online Self-Study learning format
For more information about our learning formats and to choose a format that works best for you, please visit our Learning Formats page.
Course Name (Course Code) | Winter 2023 | Spring 2023 |
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Understanding the Canadian Healthcare System (HTH 100) |
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|
Health Information Management 1 (HTH 101) | Date: Jan 16 – Mar 26
Format: O |
|
Health Information Data Analysis (HTH 110) | Date: May 8 – Jul 9
Format: O |
|
Pathophysiology I (HTH 116) | Date: Jan 16 – Jun 16
Format: OSS |
Date: May 8 – Jul 9
Format: OSS |
Date: Mar 13 – Aug 13
Format: OSS |
Date: Jul 3 – Dec 3
Format: OSS |
|
Pathophysiology II (HTH 117) | Date: Jan 16 – Jun 16
Format: OSS |
Date: May 8 – July 9
Format: OSS |
Date: Mar 13 – Aug 13
Format: OSS |
Date: Jul 3 – Dec 3
Format: OSS |
|
Quality and Performance Evaluation (HTH 122) | Date: May 8 – Jul 9
Format: O |
|
Medical Terminology (HTH 200) | Date: May 8 – Aug 6
Format: O |
|
Anatomy/Physiology (HTH 300) | Date: Jan 16 – Apr 16
Format: O |
|
Foundations in Epidemiology (HTH 400) |
|
|
Introduction to Addiction (ADD 201) | Date: Jan 9 – Mar 19
Format: O |
|
Assessment and Treatment Planning (ADD 206) | Date: Jan 9 – Mar 19
Format: O |
Date: May 5 – Jul 9
Format: O |
Human Development in Context: Understanding the Persons with Addiction Issues (ADD 207) |
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Concurrent Disorders (ADD 211) |
|
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Human Resource Management (HRM 901) | Date: Jan 16 – Apr 9
Format: O |
Date: May 8 – Jul 9
Format: O |
Date: Feb 13 – May 7
Format: O |
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Training and Development (HRM 902) | Date: Jan 16 – Apr 9
Format: O |
Date: May 8 – Jul 9
Format: O |
Date: Feb 13 – May 7
Format: O |
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Occupational Health & Safety (HRM 921) | Date: Jan 16 – Apr 9
Format: O |
Date: May 8 – Jul 9
Format: O |
Date: Feb 13 – May 7
Format: O |