School of Nursing and Health Studies

Health Education and Promotion Minor

Minor in Health Education & Promotion

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 and competencies of health education specialists include: Health Educator teaching family about nutrition

  • 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 Educator working in the communityHealth 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 & universities; hospitals and community health centers; insurance companies; business and public policy.

Advice to UWB HEP Minor students preparing for the CHES exam: A conversation with Sarah Heimberger, HEP alum, 2019:

Sarah was the first HEP minor and BA HS major to take the CHES Exam and the first to pass! In this video, she shares her experience and advice for those considering taking the CHES.

Declare the Health Education & Promotion minor:

To declare the Health Education and Promotion minor, please contact your primary major academic advisor by email or in person.

Credentialing

Students that complete this minor along with a bachelor’s degree are prepared to take the CHES (Certified Health Education Specialist) exam through the National Coalition for Health Education & Credentialing (NCHEC). Certification as a national health education specialist 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. For more information on credentialing and how you can further your professional value in the field of health education, please watch this video.

Online information session

Digital flyer

Health Education & Promotion minors contact jearly3@uw.edu for more information