The MA in Health Communication prepares students to apply knowledge of communication in health care settings. The program includes critical and theoretical courses as well as highly applied courses in a range of health communication topics including cultural awareness and health disparities, healthcare systems and policy, training and development, provider communication, and health education and promotion.
Graduates of the program will:
- Recognize health care disparities
- Identify the social and multicultural dimensions of health care delivery
- Describe the relationship between effective communication and the quality of care that patients receive
- Enhance health literacy across diverse audiences
- Design and deliver health communication campaigns that provide knowledge to individuals hoping to understand contemporary health care issues
- Implement and evaluate health service delivery programs
| Program Requirements | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|
| Degree Requirements | 48 |
| Total hours required | 48 |
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- Apply theory in order to address problems or make improvements to communication in the health care environment.
- Critique current health communication practices as they impact health across the population, including contributing to health disparities.
- Create messages that demonstrate effective application of communication principles in the health care environment.
- Interpret and synthesize current health communication research published in scholarly journals.
Degree Requirements
Course Requirements
The Master of Arts in Health Communication requires 12 courses (48-credit hours) — three core courses, one methods course, five Health Communication electives, and three graduate electives inside or outside the program.
Core Courses
Students are required to take all of the following:
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CMNS 500 | FOUNDATIONS IN GRADUATE COMMUNICATION STUDIES | 4 |
| HTHC 515 | INTRO TO HEALTH COMMUNICATION | 4 |
| HTHC 517 | COMMUNICATION, HEALTH DISPARITIES, AND CULTURE | 4 |
Methods Requirement
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| HTHC 516 | RESEARCH METHODS FOR HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONERS | 4 |
Elective Courses
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select eight courses from the following list: 1 | 32 | |
| ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION FOR HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATORS | ||
| HEALTH AND FAMILY COMMUNICATION | ||
| TOPICS IN HEALTH COMMUNICATION | ||
| HEALTH CARE TEAMS & LEADERSHIP | ||
| NARRATIVES IN HEALTH CARE | ||
| SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF HEALTH AND ILLNESS | ||
| WRITING FOR A COMMUNICATION CAREER | ||
| ADVERTISING AND HEALTH CAMPAIGNS | ||
| CRISIS COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT | ||
| COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGNS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE | ||
| INTERNSHIP | ||
| INDEPENDENT STUDY | ||
| RESEARCH PRACTICUM | ||
| STUDY ABROAD | ||
| COMMUNICATION WORKSHOP (VARIABLE TOPICS) | ||
- 1
With approval of the graduate program director, students can take up to three relevant elective courses from other College of Communication graduate programs or relevant elective courses from other graduate departments/programs outside of the College of Communication.
Comprehensive Final Examination
Students in the Master of Arts in Health Communication complete their degree requirements by passing a comprehensive final examination.
Optional Latino Media & Communication Concentration
The graduate concentration in Latino Media & Communication is comprised of at least three graduate courses drawn from the areas of advertising, journalism, media and cinema studies, multicultural communication, organizational communication and public relations. Graduate students in any of the College of Communication Master of Arts programs can elect to complete the Latino Media & Communication concentration. Students may need to use outside electives to complete this concentration.
Students who complete the concentration will:
- Develop an understanding of the heterogeneous and rapidly changing Latino communities locally, nationally and globally
- Ground their knowledge of intercultural studies within a more extensive and concrete knowledge of a particular (even though diverse), rapidly growing, and increasingly important population within the U.S.
- Increase their cross-cultural competence (understanding and ability to dialogue across difference, develop cultural sensitivity and awareness) with Latino communities
- Enhance their capacity to communicate with and learn from Latino populations in the workplace, in community situations and other sites of engagement
- Recognize the impact of the movement of Latinos across the globe and develop the skills to critically consume and produce media, public relations and advertisement representations that communicate to and about Latino communities
- Develop field-specific knowledge of Latino media and communication along with an understanding of how Latino studies shapes other fields of communication
Courses
Students are required to take three courses (12 credits) from the following list:
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN MULTICULTURAL COMMUNICATION 1 | ||
| MULTICULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN JOURNALISM 1 | ||
| TOPICS IN CINEMA STUDIES 1 | ||
| LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA/MEDIA | ||
| CONSUMER INSIGHTS | ||
| ENGAGING LATINX COMMUNITIES | ||
| CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN PUBLIC RELATIONS AND ADVERTISING 1 | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS & ADVERTISING 1 | ||
| INTERNSHIP 1 | ||
| STUDY ABROAD 1 |
- 1
Topic must be related to Latino Media and Communication.
Grade Requirements
All students are required to maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.000 in their coursework. If a student's cumulative GPA falls below 3.000, the student will be allowed to complete an additional 16 credits or 3 quarters (whichever comes first) to attain the 3.000 minimum GPA. If the cumulative GPA remains below a 3.000 at the conclusion of this time period, the student may be dismissed from the program. The student's cumulative and term GPAs along with overall academic performance will be factored into the dismissal decision.