The gap between what experts know about healthy behaviors
and disease prevention, what gets effectively communicated
to the public, and the public's actual behaviors is expanding.
The Certificate of Graduate Study in Health Communication
will help reduce this gap by providing academic researchers
and practitioners with an emerging body of interdisciplinary
health communication knowledge and skills.
The Certificate
is designed to meet the needs of two groups.
For practitioners, the certificate will enhance professional
or clinical skills. For academics and researchers, the
certificate will provide improved capacity to design
and evaluate health communication interventions through
the effective use of theory and methods.
Lauren Vincent, the first student to
receive a Certificate of Graduate Study in Health Communication,
discusses her practicum
research on family health communication.
The Certificate of Graduate Study in Health Communication
is an interdisciplinary certificate administered jointly by
the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior,
the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, and the School
of Library and Information Science. This is an 18-hour post-bachelor's
program which provides students with opportunities to strengthen
their knowledge in health communication content, research methods,
and application. Students will select Health Promotion, Education,
and Behavior; Journalism and Mass Communications; or Library
and Information Science as an interest area.
An applicant for admission to the Certificate of Graduate Study
in Health Communication will be evaluated on a combination
of factors: undergraduate grades; performance on the GRE; resume
describing previous professional experience, especially if
that experience is in health communication-related positions;
three letters of recommendation; and a written statement of
intent, in which the applicant outlines reasons for seeking
a graduate-level Certificate in Health Communication. Qualified
individuals who are not currently enrolled in a graduate degree
can also take the certificate as a stand-alone program.
