Certificate of Graduate Study in Health Communication

Interested in a career in health communication? This post-bachelor’s program will broaden your skills and expertise on health communication activities while strengthening your understanding of the research the public needs to make healthy life decisions.

Classes

This is an 18-hour post-bachelor's program for professionals and students who will learn how to effectively design, deliver and evaluate health communication activities.

This is an interdisciplinary certificate administered jointly by the College of Information and Communications and the Arnold School of Public Health.

Curriculum

Students will choose between three areas of concentration:

Health promotion, education and behavior
Journalism and mass communication
Library and information science

The curriculum is in three parts:

1. A core of nine hours:

Applied Health Communication
Health Sciences Information Resources
Seminar in Mass Communications Theory and Theory Construction or Seminar in Health, Science and the Media or Strategic Communication for Behavior and Social Change

2. Six hours of directed electives, depending on the student’s interests. Some potential topics include concepts of health promotion, health education, health literacy and risk communication.

3. A three-hour practicum or project. Some examples include appointments with local health agencies or an active research project.

Admission Guidelines

Students will be evaluated on a combination of factors:

Undergraduate grades
Performance on the GRE
Resumé describing previous professional experience, especially if it is in health communication.
Three letters of recommendation
A written statement of intent describing why you want to study health communication.

If you are not already studying for a graduate degree, you can enroll as a stand-alone program.

College of Information and Communications