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This online undergraduate certificate program addresses the dynamics of health communication from varying perspectives. The core classes in the program focus on a breadth of health communication topics, such as the influence of mass media, interpersonal communication, organizational communication, and culture.
Quick facts
Official name
Undergraduate certificate in health communicationCampus
Program type
Undergraduate certificateAcademic home
College of Arts & Sciences | Department of Communication & MediaDelivery mode
100% onlineAccreditation
Higher Learning CommissionCredit hours
18Estimated cost
$8,640.00*This cost is for illustrative purposes only. Your hours and costs will differ, depending on your transfer hours, your course choices and your academic progress. See more about tuition and financial aid.
Career prospects
Program graduates can work in or advance in a variety of areas including hospitals, nonprofit health organizations, health care organizations, marketing, public relations and communication organizations, research facilities and government agencies.
Some of the job titles a graduate might have in health communication include: Communication consultant, communication director, social media officer, research associate, program coordinator, health care public relations and marketing, health care human resource manager, patient and family advocate, patient educator, public health campaign designer, health care training specialist.
Program structure
Delivery of this program is 100% online: no campus visits are required. Courses are semester-based. Students typically take one or two classes each semester and finish in one year.
Course work includes
- Introduction to health communication
- Advanced health communication
- Professional communication
- Crisis, disaster and risk communication
- Research methods in communication
- Applied Health Communication
Delivery
100% onlineCalendar system
Semester-basedTypical program length
1-2 yearsTypical course load
1-3 classes each semesterAccreditation
The University of Missouri-St.Louis is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States.
Faculty spotlight
Stephanie Van Stee’s research focuses on health message design. Dr. Van Stee is particularly interested in individual, contextual and message-related factors that affect the persuasiveness of health messages. Her research projects have focused on targeted and tailored health messages, health information seeking, and mobile health (mHealth) interventions, among other topics. Her published articles appear in a variety of journals such as Journal of Health Communication, Health Communication, and Health Education Research. Some of her favorite courses to teach are interpersonal communication, research methods, persuasion, and health communication.