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Bruce Hanik, PhD
Assistant Director
Office of Health Informatics
4243 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843
Phone: (979) 458-0097
Email: bhanik@hlkn.tamu.edu
The E-Master of Science in Health Education
The deadline for priority review is January 4, 2012!
The E-Master of Science in Health Education (E-MS in HE) degree is an on-line (Distance Education/Internet) program of study designed to enhance the training of professional health education specialists to plan, implement, and evaluate interventions that promote health and prevent disease. Completion of the degree requires 36 credit hours of coursework from Texas A&M University, completed in a non-resident context. The non-resident students are not required to attend class on campus, nor are they required to come to campus for assessment activities.
The E-MS in HE degree is designed around two “tracks” of learning. The Professional Track is prescriptive in both subject-matter and chronology. This 24 credit hour series of ten courses provides students with learning experiences related to the practice of health education. Emphasis is given to the study of the philosophical, theoretical, and scientific foundations of the field. Students are engaged in “learn by doing” processes that lead to the knowledge and skills necessary to be a successful “Master” health education specialist. A second non-prescriptive set of courses, the Content Track, provides students with an opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skill related to a chosen content area. Successful completion of the 12 credit hour Content Track is intended to contextualize the practice-oriented subject-matter of the Professional Track.
Measurement and evaluation of learning outcomes are course-embedded. Upon completion of both the Professional and Content Tracks, students demonstrate their learning through two required and one optional measurement:
- Successful performance on a comprehensive examination,
- A high quality professional E-portfolio, and
- Upon graduation students who meet the NCHEC requirements can sit for the Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES) examination.
The curriculum framework upon which the E-MS in HE is built can be found in the Competency-Based Framework for Health Educators – 2010, a publication of the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC). Students are encouraged to purchase the Health Education Specialist: A Study Guide for Professional Competence, 6th Edition, also published by NCHEC. Although the E-MS in HE degree does not require that a student pass the MCHES Examination prior to graduation, the entire degree is directed toward competencies identified by NCHEC that are considered necessary for practice as a Master Certified Health Education Specialist.
