Health & Wellness

Join a growing field amongst likeminded students and faculty who share a passion for food, fitness, health and nutrition. Our exciting and energizing Health and Wellness major will prepare you for a variety of career paths such as becoming a fitness trainer, health coach, or community health worker, so you can tackle some of society’s biggest health problems from chronic disease to food systems and more.

We offer a variety of undergraduate and professional development programs to give you the competitive edge in today's health and wellness market place. Through our small, close-knit community of faculty and students, you’ll receive individualized academic support, advising and career counseling. We attract the highest caliber faculty who will offer you a diverse and enriching curriculum.

Our Fitness concentration adds breadth and depth in fitness with additional coursework in nutrition, and will prepare you to take the prestigious American College of Sports Medicine Personal Trainer exam. With a certified personal trainer as the instructor of a senior year class, you’ll work with clients from our campus community as they learn and apply the principles of personal training. The Fitness concentration provides a strong foundation for students interested in pursuing the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. As businesses, government, and insurance organizations continue to recognize the benefits of health and fitness programs for their employees, incentives to join gyms or other types of health clubs are expected to increase the need for fitness trainers and instructors.

In the Public and Community Health concentration, you’ll study population health programs and policies in both national and global settings. A myriad of career options exists in the field of public and community health, including health education specialists and community health workers. Growth in the field will be driven by efforts to improve health outcomes and to reduce healthcare costs through education about practicing healthy behaviors and utilizing healthcare services.

A vital part of our program is an internship, completed during the senior year, which will give you invaluable real-world experience and the ability to build knowledge as you grow your skills in an actual organization, program, or business. Many of our students are hired by their internship placements.

Our graduates have found exciting employment opportunities in the fitness industry and in public and community health, including directors of fitness centers, community outreach coordinator for an anti-hunger organization, director of nutrition education at a YMCA, coordinator of health promotion at a university and a strength and conditioning coach for an NCAA football team. Program graduates have also gone on to graduate programs to be physical therapists and occupational therapists.