Graduate Certificate in Health Communication and Promotion

Total Graduate Faculty in Program:
13
Graduate Students in Program:
2
Priority Deadlines:

  • Fall July 15
  • Spring November 15
  • Summer April 15th

Campus:

  • Global Campus (online)

International Student English Proficiency Exams

International students may need to surpass the Graduate School’s minimum English language proficiency exam scores for this program. If the graduate program has unique score requirements, they will be detailed below. Otherwise, please refer to the Graduate School’s minimum score guidelines.

Degree Description:

Health communication specialists work to ensure select audiences and the general public understands information about medical treatment options, healthy lifestyle choices, disease prevention and public health risk. Health communication specialists analyze information, design communication strategies, programs and initiatives, and evaluate promotion efforts. They create awareness campaigns, social media engagement strategies and create marketing materials in earned, owned and paid channels.

A strong health communication professional is effective, confident, organized, and informed (Careers in Public Health, n.d.). Design of the new online professional certificate was informed by industry growth potential and expressed interest by relevant WSU units (i.e. College of Nursing, College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy) and health organizations within the state (i.e. Washington State Department of Health).

Admission Requirements:

Application Materials

  1. Unofficial transcripts from all previous undergraduate/graduate institutions
  2. International students submit TOEFL
  3. Current professional resume that includes at least three professional references name and contact information
  4. Statement of Purpose articulating your perspectives, contributions, qualifications, and talents

Experience

The coursework is bench-marked at a level best suited to those with solid work and life experience. Student engagement is built into each course and with it students benefit greatly from knowledge share and mutual exchange.  The decision to admit involves a full assessment of the applicant’s academic profile, the mix of experience they bring to the program and overall readiness for graduate-level work – not just undergraduate GPA or quality of their statement of purpose.

Student Opportunities:

All graduates will:

  1. Develop strong health communication professional prepared to ensure select audiences and the general public understands information about medical treatment options, healthy lifestyle choices, disease prevention and public health risks.
  2. Use advanced media tools, create data-based communication plans, and design and deliver integrated promotional campaigns across multiple channels.
  3. Acquire the skills for information analysis and the development and execution of communication strategy and health promotion evaluation.

Contact Information: