Are you interested in making a difference in the
world? Are you compassionate and enjoy working with people? Are
you concerned about any of these (or other) health issues?
- HIV/AIDS
- Nutrition
- Violence Prevention
- Sexuality and Sexual Health
- Physical Activity
- Illness and Disease
- Substance Abuse
- Social Justice
- The Environment
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If so....
Western's Community Health program is recognized
as one of the leading undergraduate programs in the Northwest. The
major offers a curriculum for students interested in careers in health
education and health promotion within one of five settings: community,
school, worksite, college/university and/or medical/clinical. Western's
program is designed to prepare students for the examination to become a
Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). A CHES is an individual
credentialed as a result of passing a national examination
demonstrating competency based on criteria established by the National
Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc.
Graduates of Community Health work in a variety of
settings: community health agencies, worksites (business and industry),
hospital-based wellness programs, public health departments,
environmental agencies, voluntary non-profit organizations, and
schools, including colleges and universities. They work with people of
all ages, from children to seniors. To address the many contributing
factors that lead to a health problem, they work with policy makers and
other helping professionals.
The Community Health degree is a Bachelor of
Science degree with a total of 101 credits. To help prepare our student
colleagues to be effective Community Health educators, we require study
in a variety of areas: the biological and social sciences, health
content, health methods, and health education theory and practice. The
Community Health curriculum includes both content and process-oriented
courses and emphasizes service-learning and field experience. The last
quarter is a full-time internship (40 hours/week) at a setting that has
a formalized health education/health promotion program. The internship
is a formal contractual agreement among the Community Health program,
the student, and the agency site supervisor.
Prospective majors are strongly encouraged to
complete their chemistry and anatomy and physiology requirements before
or during their junior year to ensure on time graduation. Biology 348
is a pre-requisite for entry into 400-level courses.
[Secondary teacher education majors interested in
teaching school health education need to major in the Physical
Education pedagogy program for an endorsement in Physical Education and
Health.]
(Revised, February 2008)
