A new semester usually means new opportunities. This semester, students striving to further their education in health sciences have more opportunities to prepare for careers focusing on health promotion and wellness with a new master’s program.

“We are excited to offer a program in which students gain transferable knowledge and skills applicable to all healthcare advocates and professionals,” says Department of Health Sciences Chair Gail Kauwell.

Completion of the program will equip graduates to develop and direct health and wellness programs and services aimed at reducing chronic disease risk and the impact that existing chronic diseases have on individuals and communities.

The College of Health Professions and Sciences (CHPS) launched the Master of Science in Health Promotion and Behavioral Science (HPBS) during Fall 2024. This is the first graduate program within the Department of Health Sciences. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupations for health education and promotion specialists are expected to grow 7% nationally by 2033, faster than the average for all occupations.

“Our graduates will be capable of designing, implementing and directing programs in hospitals and rehabilitation centers, long-term care, government, health-related service organizations, nonprofit organizations, and businesses that address human health and wellness. Alternatively, graduates may use their education and training as a steppingstone for clinical research or teaching positions or to improve their competitiveness for entry into other high demand health professions that impact human health,” Kauwell says.

The curriculum is designed to achieve competencies required as a first step in achieving eligibility to become a certified health education specialist, a certified health and wellness coach, and certified in lifestyle medicine. Coursework covers practice-based courses, including lifestyle medicine, community program planning and evaluation, health communication and advocacy, and health and wellness coaching, as well as research courses in which students learn to develop research proposals and conduct systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Jillian Weathington ’23 is one of 10 graduate students in the program, after obtaining her bachelor’s in health sciences in the pre-clinical track. Weathington says she is determined to become a physician.

“All of the classes combined are helping me to understand how to implement different health policies and health initiatives and why it is important,” says Weathington, who is also a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Health Sciences. “I think this is a good degree for CHPS to offer for people to learn the more preventative side of medicine. Even if people don’t want to go into the medical field specifically, understanding public health issues and policy in general is always good.”

“All of the classes combined are helping me to understand how to implement different health policies and health initiatives and why it is important.” — Jillian Weathington ’23, student

The program itself consists of two tracks: nonthesis, which requires 30 credit hours over the course of three semesters (fall, spring and summer), and thesis, requiring 36 credit hours spanning five semesters (fall, spring, summer, fall and spring.)

“People who are interested in the program don’t have to be committed to doing research,” Weathington says. “We have some people in our program who eventually want to complete a doctoral degree, but for those who are not interested in completing a thesis research project, there are still plenty of post-graduate options for them to pursue.”

While the HPBS master’s program is very new, plans are already in place for future expansion. Kauwell says she hopes to see the program flourish in growth over the next five years.

“We want to build our enrollment to about 30-40 students per cohort, enhance our research productivity, extend our outreach and impact in the community and gain national attention as a program that produces high-quality graduates,” Kauwell says.