Community health educators educate individuals, families and communities about health issues. Such educators serve as health education specialists in public health departments, medical care settings, corporate wellness programs and non-profit agencies.
Recommended high school courses for students who wish to pursue this degree program include English, health, biology, mathematics and public speaking.
USU’s Community Health Education Program (Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation)
Utah State University’s Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Education with two options: 1) School Health and 2) Community Health. Both options share a common core of required courses followed by professional competency courses and a variety of electives that lead to expertise in specific areas of interest.
[Note: See also -- USU's Biology Department offers a bachelor's degree program in Public Health Education.]
Students pursuing the Community Health emphasis learn how individual health choices, the environment, policy and society impact health behavior and status. They learn to use this information to improve the quality of life for their clients through informed decision-making and voluntary behavioral change.
Requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Health Education, Community Health option, include:
GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS (27-31 credits)
Competency Requirements (9-13 credits)
Communications Literacy (CL) (6 credits)
ENGL 1010 Intro to Writing (3 credits) or satisfactory AP, CLEP or ACT score
and
ENGL 2010 Intermediate Writing (3 credits)
Quantitative Literacy (QL) (3-4 credits)
MATH 1030 Quantitative Reasoning or 1050 College Algebra or STAT 1040 Intro to Statistics or
One MATH or STAT courses requiring MATH 1050 College Algebra as a prerequisite
or
AP Math score of 3 or higher
Computer and Information Literacy (0-3 credits)
Passing grade n six computer and information literacy-related examinations. Although no specific course is required, USU 1000 Intro to Computer Information Literacy Exam and OSS 1400 Microcomputer Applications teach the required skills.
Breadth Requirements (18 credits)
Select at least one approved course from each of the following six categories: American Institutions, Creative Arts, Humanities, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Social Sciences.
Health Education Core Requirements (30 credits)
HEP 2000 First Aid and Emergency Care (2)
HEP 2500 Health and Wellness (2)
HEP 3000 Drugs and Behavior (3)
HEP 3200 Consumer Health (3)
HEP 3600 Introduction to Community Health (3)
HEP 4200 Planning and Evaluation for Health Education (3)
HEP 5100 Cultural and Complementary Medicine (3)
BIOL 2000 Human Physiology (4)
BIOL 2010 Human Anatomy (4)
NFS 1020 Science and Application of Human Nutrition (3)
Community Health Emphasis
Required Professional Core (36 credits)
HEP 3800 Grant Proposal Writing (3)
HEP 3900 Social Marketing in Health Education (3)
HEP 4100 Foundations of Community Health (3)
HEP 4600 Field Work in Health Education (9)
INST 5400 Computer Applications for Instruction and Training (3)
MHR 3110 Managing Organizations and People (3)
NFS 4480 Community Nutrition (3)
PSY 2800 Psychological Statistics (3)
PUBH 4030 Communicable Disease Control (3)
PUBH 4040 Fundamentals of Epidemiology (3)
Elective Courses (6 credits)
For More Information
Julie Gast, Community Health (Students with last names starting with A-L), 435-797-1490
Phil Waite, Community Health (M-Z), 435-797-7217
Further information is also available on the department’s Web site.
