Health Promotion Studies
Program Goals
- Prepare students with the proficiencies to become lifelong learners and to provide the skills needed to contribute to a healthy lifestyle and improved quality of life for themselves and the people they educate.
- Provide a comprehensive and multidisciplinary academic curriculum that prepares graduates for careers in a variety of health and fitness educational fields.
- Prepare students to meet the standards set by state and national credentialing organizations for health fitness educators.
- Provide a comprehensive approach to health and fitness education emphasizing the connection and interdependency of individuals, careers, family and community.
Program Objectives
Graduates of the B.S. Health Promotion Studies program will be prepared to demonstrate:
- Knowledge of core concepts of community health, global health, epidemiology, nutrition and physical fitness necessary for entry level health promotion practitioners.
- Proficiency in applying knowledge and skills of health promotion studies, including program planning, implementation and evaluation.
Requirements
Completion of all general education requirements, the Health Promotion Studies core and option course work, and free electives, a total minimum of 125 semester hours. Overall GPA minimum of 2.0; 2.5 in HPX major classes. See the Community Health and Wellness Management program sheets for the course requirements and sequencing.
Health Promotion Studies Core Course Work
BIO 105 Anatomy & Physiology I
BIO 106 Anatomy & Physiology II
PSY 260 Health Psychology
HPX 100 Health Promotion & Maintenance
HPX 200 Intro. to Community Health & Organizations
HPX 270 Health Ed. Theory & Application
HPX 370 Health Promotion Program Design & Implementation
HPX 371 Health Communication Methods & Strategies
HPX 470 Health Promotion Program Evaluation
HPX 490 Practicum for Health Promotion Studies*
HPX 491 Health Promotion Studies Senior Seminar*
Community Health Option Course Work
HPX 202 Epidemiology of Disease
HPX 353 Environment & Global Health
Nine HPX Elective Credits
Wellness Management Option Course Work
HPX 205 Nutrition & Health
HPX 207 Nutrition & Health Lab.
HPX 254 Fitness Seminar & Lab.
HPX 281 Principles of Wellness
HPX 380 Worksite Health
MKT 301 Principles of Marketing
Community Health Program Sheet
Wellness Management Program Sheet
In the fall of 2008 the BS in Health Promotion Studies curriculum was revised. A major part of this revision included the service learning component. Service learning is integrated in the following courses, which must be taken in sequence:
- HPX 200 (3) Introduction to Community Health and Organizations (2nd year fall)
- HPX 270 (3) Health Education Theory and Application (2nd year spring)
- HPX 370 (3) Health Promotion Program Design and Implementation (3rd year fall)
- HPX 371 (3) Health Communication Methods and Strategies (3rd year fall)
- HPX 470 (3) Health Promotion Program Evaluation (3rd year spring)
The courses, described in Table 1 of the BS Health Promotion Studies Sequence Coursesdocument, focus on the process of health promotion. There are other courses in the HPS curriculum which provide content information.
In HPX 200, students are placed into groups and are assigned a project for the next four semesters. This will allow the students to learn team building as they apply the processes learned in each course. The content varies each year. Table 2 of the BS Health Promotion Studies Sequence Courses describes the expectations of the student group, organization, and HPX faculty members throughout the 2-year course sequence.
The goal of the service learning component is to provide the students with an opportunity to create a program from start to finish and to experience a real-life application of the material they learn in the classroom. At the same time, a need of the local community is being met by creating a program that can be adopted by the organization in which it was established or by other local organizations. The data that are collected throughout the process could be used to support funding requests or grant applications.
In their senior year, our students are required to complete a full-time (450 hour) internship as a capstone experience. Depending on their concentration, community health or wellness management, the student will be placed in a community or corporate organization where they will gain firsthand knowledge of what it means to be an entry level professional.
Each student is required to work with the department’s internship coordinator to find an appropriate placement. The majority of the internships are unpaid and the students are responsible for their own transportation.
We are exceptionally proud of our internship program as many of our students are offered jobs at their internship sites. We feel strongly that our internship program plays an integral part in preparing our students for graduate school and entry level positions in the field.
HPS Internship Opportunities- Examples of Current Internship Placements
Students in Health Promotion Studies often seek professional certifications in preparation for their internships and for entering the job market. Examples of certifications that our students obtain are the Certified Health Education Specialist certification and various fitness, personal training, and group fitness instruction certifications. Links to the most popular professional certifications among HPS students can be found below:
