Educational Goals

With this advanced degree, graduates will: 1) be prepared for the Certified Health Education Specialist exam; 2) actively participate in local, regional, state, or national Health Education organizations; 3) demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to:

·         Effectively promote, maintain, and improve community health by assisting communities in adopting positive health behaviors for citizens through program planning and implementation and effective grant writing;

·         Analyze data to identify community needs in order to successfully plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate programs designed to encourage healthy lifestyles and policy development that leads to healthier environments; and

·         Use a variety of data sources to evaluate process, impact, and outcome results of health and wellness promotion programs.

Employment Options

Health Educators with a master’s degree will be able to work in a variety of settings (e.g., academic, clinical, community, corporate, and government settings) and perform a variety of complex tasks, including research, grant writing, supervising/managing, and program planning/implementation/evaluation.

The Faculty

Members of the Health Education graduate faculty are national leaders in the field of public health, community health, and school health. They are the authors of numerous peer-reviewed publications and grants, serve as officers/board members in professional associations, and set high standards for students in the Health Education Program at Texas State University. These members include:

To learn more about our program, visit the HPER Department’s website or contact Dr. Steve Furney.

Financial Assistance

Graduate Teaching and Research Assistantships. The Department of HPER annually awards competitive graduate assistantships to highly qualified individuals interested in serving as either research or teaching assistants. Selection is based on the graduate students’ academic background and professional experience. For more information, interested students should contact Dr. Furney.

Scholarships. Many Scholarships are available through:

·         The Graduate College (http://www.gradcollege.txstate.edu/scholarships.html),

·         The College of Education (http://www.education.txstate.edu/services/scholarships.html), and

·         The Department of HPER (http://www.hper.txstate.edu/).

Admission Requirements

·         A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution,

·         A grade point average of at least 2.75 on the last 60 hours of undergraduate work.

·  Curriculum

·         Required Courses

HED 5310 History & Philosophy of Health Education

HED 5346 Literature and Research in Health Education

·         15 hours of Health Education Electives

HED 5315: Measurement and Evaluation in Health and Wellness Promotion

HED 5320: Foundations of Public Health

HED 5321: Public Health Education

HED 5330: Workshops in Health Education

HED 5331: Seminar in Current Problems in Health Education

HED 5335: Health Education Leadership

HED 5340: Human Ecology

HED 5347: Independent Study in Health Education

HED 5360: Internship/Applied Project in Health Promotion

·         Thesis Track. If a student chooses the option of doing a Master’s level thesis, they will be required to complete 30 hours of graduate course work (21 in the major and 9 in the minor) and 6 hours of thesis work.

  ·     Non-Thesis Track.. Students who opt to not pursue a thesis are required to complete 36 hours of course work (21 in the major and 15 in the minor).