Health Education & Promotion Minor

The minor in Health Education & Promotion prepares individuals to become health education specialists who work in a variety of settings to improve and promote health locally and globally.

Key responsibilities of health education specialists include: 

  • Assessing individual and community-level capacity, needs and resources for health promotion
  • Planning, implementing, and evaluating culturally tailored health education and promotion
  • Applying scientific evidence to improve health promotion practice
  • Conducting ethical research to improve individual and population health
  • Communicating health information effectively to a variety of audiences and through multiple mediums (e.g. print materials, video, social media, radio, etc.)
  • Advocating for improved health policy and for the health education/promotion profession

Health education specialists work across public and private sectors including: community organizations and non-profits; county, state, and federal health departments and agencies; global health organizations; communications and media; military; schools and universities; hospitals and community health centers; insurance companies; business and public policy.

View the program brochure to learn more!

Watch the videos below to learn more about how the Health Education & Promotion minor has helped advance students’ careers and contributions to the health of the community.

Credentialing

Students that complete this minor along with a bachelor’s degree are prepared to take the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) Exam through the National Commission for Health Education & Credentialing (NCHEC). Certification is voluntary but signifies to employers that the individual has training in the 7 key areas of the profession. According to NCHEC, Washington State is one of the largest national employers of certified health educations specialists.

To learn more about the CHES exam, check out the resources below:

Scholarships for CHES

The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) offers a Helen P. Clearly scholarship for undergraduate and graduate students who are pursuing the CHES exam and may need financial support. You can read more about it to determine if you are eligible and apply on the NCHEC website.

Questions?

Interested students should review the minor requirements and declare the minor as early as possible. To declare the Health Education & Promotion minor, please contact your primary major academic advisor.

If you would like to take a BHS/BHLTH course in an upcoming quarter, please reach out to the Health Studies Program via email (uwbnhs@uw.edu).

For any other questions, please feel free to connect with the School of Nursing & Health Studies Office by phone (425.352.5376), email (uwbnhs@uw.edu), or in person in UW1-211.

Updated October 2023