Master of Arts in Health and Risk Communication

The Master of Arts degree in Health and Risk Communication is an interdisciplinary program administered by the College of Communication Arts and Sciences in cooperation with the College of Human Medicine. The program prepares students to harness the power of communication principles and risk communication strategies in an effort to promote positive public health outcomes. The program is designed to help students to gain a broad understanding of health and risk communication theory and principles; to gain practice in creating effective health and risk communication programs and interventions; and to learn how to design, use, and critique relevant research. Graduates may pursue careers with government agencies, hospitals, HMOs, insurance companies, nonprofits, the medical trade press, and other health service-related organizations. Individualized programs of study can be tailored to accommodate a broad range of academic and professional backgrounds. Previously enrolled students have undergraduate degrees in biology, anthropology, communication, public relations, kinesiology, dietetics, pre-medicine, and English as well as other fields. In addition to completing core courses in health communication and epidemiology and an internship with a local, state, national, or international organization, students may choose electives from a broad range of health-related courses offered throughout the university. Students may select courses that are related to broad areas within health communication such as health communication theory and principles, risk communication, research methods, health marketing, designing health and risk messages, policy, sociology of health, science writing, media relations, and other communication focused areas.