Health Education MA

MA Degree Requirements

Completing Coursework Ensuring Achievement of Competencies

The MA Degree Program exposes students to a high-quality education that ensures achievement of competencies. Every required HBSS course (excluding electives) has the following:

• Competencies that are identified in the course syllabus for achievement by students
• A Course Competency Evaluation Project (e.g., a Final Course Paper); and, with regard to every HBSS course, the associated Course Competency Evaluation Project reflects how the student accomplished the core competencies associated with that course.

Statement of Satisfactory Academic Progress

Students in the program must maintain a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 while at Teachers College and must achieve at least a B grade in all of the required core courses. Students who do not achieve at least a B grade in a required course will be required to repeat the course.

Description of How the Program Monitors Student Progress

Students are responsible for scheduling a formal review of their progress with their academic advisor each semester.

The program faculty teaching courses analyze the results of their individual course assessments on a course-by-course basis. Faculty of the program meet once annually to formally review and discuss program requirements, as well as the curriculum and any feedback from advisors and instructional faculty who are participating in the instructional program and advising students. These discussions are conducted so as to arrive at consensus about changes, improvement, or refinements that are necessary to make in both program requirements and curriculum in order to meet program goals and to be responsive to changes in the needs of professional preparation in the field of health education.

This process, together with ongoing consideration of profession-and practice-wide changes in the domains of core competency for health education (such as those recommended by the Galway Consensus Conference and professional Societies—and the Council on Education for Public Health), has informed a number of curriculum changes in the MA degree program.

Convenient Class Times for Working Students

The MA Degree Program in Health Education also offers courses that are accessible at hours conducive to the schedules of working professionals, or those with job obligations during the typical 9:00 to 5:00 work day schedule. Most classes are offered at 5:10 – 6:50 p.m. and 7:20 – 9:00 p.m. or in online or condensed formats. Many students make arrangements to use their lunch time in a flexible manner so they are able to travel to Teachers College, Columbia University in time for the 5:10- 6:50 p.m. class time slot—often followed by attending a second class from 7:20-9:00 p.m. A smaller percentage of our classes are offered during the afternoon, while some of these are also hybrid with an online option (e.g. Zoom Live or Zoom Video).

Enjoy Many Online and Hybrid Class Options

The MA Degree Program in Health Education also offers courses that are accessible online or in a hybrid format (in-person and online), which is ideal for many parents and those professionals who frequently have to travel for work, or during flu season when no one ill should attend class in person—as well as in the event of severe or extreme weather events. Some online class options are only available upon special request from the professor who will seek to accommodate a student if at all possible. Consider what we typically offer, below, with most classes being primarily offered in-person, unless specified as also having the options indicated:

• HBSS4100 Behavioral and Social Science Foundations of Health Education (hybrid & online options)
• HBSS4102 Principles of Epidemiology in Health Promotion
• HBSS4118 Principles of Health-Related Behavioral & Social Change: Initiation to Maintenance (online)
• HBSS5110 Determinants of Health Behavior (hybrid & online options)
• HBSS5111 Planning Health Education Programs (online)
• HBSS5112 Social Marketing and Health Communications  (hybrid & online options)
• HBSS 4110 Health Promotion for Children and Adolescents
• HBSS 4114 Competency with Multicultural Populations: Research & Practice (hybrid & online options, including via zoom live and zoom video)
• HBSS 4111 Addictions and Dependencies (online)
• HBSS 4112 Social Policy and Prevention (online)
• HBSS 4113 Human Sexuality Education
• HBSS 4116 Health Education for Teachers (online)
• HBSS 4117 HIV/AIDS Epidemiology (hybrid & online options)
• HBSS 4012 Eating Disorders (online)
• HBSS 4122 Women's Health (online)
• HBSS 4161 Environmental Health (hybrid & online options)
• HBSS 5113 Community Health Analysis (hybrid & online options)
• HBSS 6100 Program Evaluation
• HBSS 5040 Research Methods in Health and Behavior Studies (online)
• HBSS 4160 Introduction to Biostatistics for Community Health Educators (hybrid & online options)
• HBSS 4901 Research and Independent Study in Health Education (hybrid & online options)
• HBSS 5410 Practicum in Health Education (hybrid & online options)

Completing the MA Degree Capstone Project for Research, Scholarship and Inquiry: The Two Options Via HBSS 4199 and HBSS 5410

The CAPSTONE PROJECT FOR RESEARCH, SCHOLARSHIP AND INQUIRY (2 points) provides an important opportunity to work closely with one’s advisor while integrating much of what has been learned across the MA curriculum’s coursework—and producing a final product such as a Research Paper or Curriculum, or health education (e-health) video, as examples. This requirement can be fulfilled by taking either one of the following courses: HBSS 4199 Research and Independent Study (2 point), or HBSS 5410 Practicum in Health Education.

Research and Independent Study Via HBSS 4199

By taking HBSS 4199 (2 points), as an option for completing the CAPSTONE PROJECT FOR RESEARCH, SCHOLARSHIP AND INQUIRY, a student can enjoy the opportunity of working closely with their advisor or a faculty member of their choice who agrees to work with them on a project such as a Research Paper, or a Curriculum. Or, there can be a focus on a student’s particular area of interest, as well as professor’s research project.

Fieldwork/ Internship Option for the MA Capstone Requirement Via HBSS 5410

All students have the option of enrolling for 2 points in the HBSS 5410 Practicum in Health Education (offered in the fall in-person and online) – as an option for completing the CAPSTONE PROJECT FOR RESEARCH, SCHOLARSHIP AND INQUIRY. By taking for 2 points the course HBSS 5410 Practicum in Health Education, students engage in a Supervised Fieldwork/Internship Placement. This involves creating a Log of Fieldwork Notes detailing experiences across a 180 to 150 hour fall fieldwork experience—as well as completing a specified Project.