Master of Science in Health Communication

Curriculum The program’s curriculum will include a core of basic classes in communication, collaboration, and leadership; information, interaction, interface, and message design; social influence and dissemination of information about health and risks; the experience of illness from the patient’s point of view; and managing change in health organizations and behaviors. The education provided to students in this program will equip them with the tools they need to design, produce, analyze and evaluate effective policies, protocols, media products, and content distribution channels/networks for individuals, organizations, and agencies charged with improving health and health care outcomes. The program consists of 10 total credits: 8 didactic courses, six core and two electives, taken two per quarter over four quarters, plus one proseminar composed of lunch-time guest speakers, and one practicum completed as a mentored independent study outside of class. The curriculum is designed so that it may be completed in four quarters of study or over a longer time period. Core courses: Students are required to complete each of these eight courses. How Interaction Works: Introduction to human interaction, conversation, discourse processes and message design. This course provides students with a general conceptual framework for thinking about all types of interaction and communication processes and will serve as a foundation for the design and analytic work that students do in subsequent courses. The US Healthcare System: Describes, explains and analyzes the structure and function of the US healthcare system, including population health, epidemiology, government and commercial insurance, health professions, delivery systems, regulation, safety and quality, the experience of care, cost and outcomes. The Experience of Illness: Introduction to social scientific models of the experience of illness, especially chronic illness. The course analyzes the relationship between medical regimens, chronic illness, and identity, with emphasis on the effects of regimens and illness on body, self, and biography. Human-Computer Interaction. This course provides an introduction to the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) and the broader discipline of interaction design. In addition to an overview of HCI and interaction design, the course surveys significant historical developments and current research that promises to be influential in the future. The goals is to introduce students to the challenge and joy of design and provide them with the initial foundation required to become creative competent designers. Changing Health Behavior: Covers key principles of persuasion and social influence as applied to management and change of health-related attitudes and behaviors as well as the design of effective messages to promote health.