(July 17, 2018) – Starting this fall semester, The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Department of Communication is offering a new concentration for undergraduate students interested in pursuing careers in health communication.
In August, students will begin coursework to complete the Health Communication Concentration to learn how individuals, societies and organizations communicate about health. Students pursuing the concentration will develop a deep understanding about provider-patient interactions, grief communication, the role of the media in health communication and topics related to global public health.
There are five courses included in UTSA’s new Health Communication Concentration: Intro to Health Communication, Global Health Communication, Health Communication Campaigns, Interpersonal Health Communication and Health Communication practicum.
For the senior practicum course, UTSA students will interact with local health organizations, attend events, volunteer, and learn from community health care leaders. During the practicum, students will see how local health care organizations are managed and reflect on how those operations align with concepts they learn about in the classroom.
“The curriculum is both theoretical and applied for students interested in health care in the private, non-profit, federal and global sector,” said Shamshad Khan, assistant professor in the UTSA Department of Communication, who specializes in HIV/AIDS, global public health communication and community-based research. “The concentration has a focus on best communication practices and it aligns with UTSA’s mission to prepare students to tackle the grand challenges of the city, region and the world.”
Khan is one of three faculty members who will share his health communication expertise with students pursuing the concentration. Stacey Passalacqua, assistant professor of communication, and Kimberly Kline, professor of communication, also helped develop the new concentration and will be teaching the required courses to students.
The UTSA researchers say there is high demand for experts in health communication and the concentration will prepare students for jobs in marketing, advertising, patient health advocacy, public relations, media, health administration and other careers.
“UTSA faculty are training students to apply the communication theories they learn in the classroom to a practical environment. Our goal is to help students become leaders in this field,” said Khan.
Khan said that as the semester progresses, members of the community will be invited to share their expertise with students on health campaigns, interpersonal health communication, global health and other topics.
The Health Communication Concentration is just one of a few COLFA programs tailored for students interested in the health care field. COLFA also offers a B.A. in Medical Humanities, which draws on the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities and arts. The major has a pre-medicine concentration and a health careers concentration to prepare students for a wide variety of health-related occupations.
In addition, the Institute for Health Disparities Research, housed in COLFA, integrates biomedical and socio-behavioral science research to address health disparities in South Texas and the nation.
COLFA is one of UTSA’s most academically diverse colleges and largest with nearly 6,500 students in 11 departments in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is a public urban serving university specializing in health, cybersecurity, energy sustainability, and human and social development. With nearly 31,000 students, it is the largest university in the San Antonio metropolitan region. UTSA advances knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service.
The university is ranked among the nation’s top five young universities, according to Times Higher Education.
Learn more about UTSA Department of Communication.
Learn more about Health Communication Concentration.
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