Health Sciences

HEALTH SCIENCES

Chair: Keith J. Karren
Graduate Coordinator: Ron L. Rhodes
229-H RB
Provo, UT 84602-2115
(801) 378-3327

THE PROGRAM OF STUDIES

The Department of Health Sciences is committed to the proposition that quality of life can be maintained or improved through understanding and applying disease/disability prevention and health enhancement principles. Such principles are relevant to the physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual well-being of individuals and groups in vocational, community, and family settings. The departmental mission is to prepare professionals to function in and for these settings as health education and health promotion specialists.

The purpose of the graduate program is to prepare individuals to be leaders and administrators in health education and health promotion programs in a variety of settings.

One degree is offered through the Department of Health Sciences: Health Sciences—MS.

The department usually admits ten students to its MS program in the fall semester of each academic year. The average length of time required to complete the degree is from one to two years, depending on course load and previous academic training or professional activity.

Health Sciences—MS

The department offers a master of science degree with emphases in Community Health, School Health, and Health Promotion. The master's degree in community health is frequently the entry-level requirement for community health professional positions. The master's degree in school health is usually used to pursue a lane or level change as well as to prepare for a doctoral program. The health promotion master's degree is most often required to function in administrative positions in that profession.

The department is not admitting students for the 1997-98 academic year.

Admission and Entry.

• Semesters of entry and application deadlines: fall, February 1 (U.S. and international).
• Application requirements: entrance examination: GRE general test.
• GPA: minimum 3.0 for last 60 hours of undergraduate work.
• Prerequisite: baccalaureate degree with a major or minor in community health, health education, health promotion, biological sciences, nursing, physical education, therapeutic recreation, or other allied fields. Applicants will be required to satisfy any deficiencies. Courses taken in doing so will not count toward the required hours for the degree.

Requirements for Degree.

• Credit hours (36): minimum 30 hours of course work plus 6 hours of thesis.
• Required core courses: Stat 552; Hlth 650, 651, 652 or 455, 692, 694.
• Required courses in emphases are determined by student's graduate committee based on prior education, experience, and present professional interests.
• Thesis: Hlth 692 and Stat 552 should be taken first semester or as early as possible in preparation for thesis.
• Examinations: oral defense of thesis .

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Graduate teaching assistant positions are available for qualified students. Applications are available for research assistants and tuition scholarships.

RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES

The Department of Health Sciences is housed in the Richards Building. Its in-house research facility is the Human Performance Research Center. The center supports applied and basic research programs of faculty and graduate students on such topics as nutrition and exercise, drugs and exercise, exercise and cardiovascular disease, exercise and weight control, and other contemporary issues in exercise science. In addition to serving graduate students and faculty in the college, the center works closely with departments in other colleges on campus—notably in the fields of physiology, nutrition, endocrinology, and biochemistry—to broaden the scope of research projects and encourage collaborative efforts.

Another resource is the Learning Resource Center, which offers eighteen individual study areas and significant PC capabilities, audio and video equipment, and line access to library files and catalogue.

Internships with attendant project opportunities provide a varied resource for individuals and cooperative investigations. Additional assistance in research planning and statistical analysis is available through other support programs existing on campus.

For a more detailed description of the graduate program requirements, send for a copy of the department's bulletin.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Class Schedule

599R. Cooperative Education. (Arr.)

Prerequisite: completion of a major in health sciences or graduate student status in health sciences.

On-the-job experience.

603R. Health Problems Workshop. (1-7)

Current problems in school and community health.

610. Nonviolent Crisis Intervention. (2)

Training program with related research literature developed by the National Crisis Prevention Institute focusing on management of disruptive, assaultive, or out-of-control behavior.

620. Health Policy and Health Care Reform. (2)

Alternative health-care delivery systems in the U.S.; combining health education with appropriate health-promotion policies.

640. Grant Writing. (2)

For students who are seeking philanthropic, federal, and other sources of funding.

650. Review and Processing of Health Information. (3)

Source evaluation and content review of contemporary research in health sciences.

651. Community Organization for Health. (2)

Theory and practices in community organization for health. Evaluating group work methods and leadership theories. Field observations required.

652. Health Education Program Planning. (2)

Principles of health education program design, administration, marketing, and evaluation.

661. Curriculum Development and Instructional Design. (2)

Design and evaluation of health education curricula.

665. Behavioral Health. (2)

Analysis of current research and theory concerning health behaviors and psychological factors in the cause, prevention, development, and treatment of physical and behavioral illness and disorders.

666. Health and Aging Process. (2)

Advanced theories of the normal and pathological aging process, including health promotion and extension of life.

671. Graduate Practicum. (1)

Role and functions of the college health teacher. Supervised experience in teaching and research.

692. Research Methods in Health Sciences. (3)

Designing, analyzing, and writing research, focusing on methodological skills.

694. Graduate Seminar in Health Sciences. (2)

696R. Independent Studies. (1-3)

698R. Master's Project. (1-6)

699R. Master's Thesis. (1-9)

FACULTY 

HAFEN, BRENT Q., Professor. PhD, Southern Illinois University, 1969. Behavioral Health; Research.

HEINER, STEVEN W., Professor. EdD, University of Utah, 1969. Gerontology; Social Hygiene.

HURLEY, D. RICHARD, Associate Professor. PhD, Southern Illinois University, 1971. Statistics; Substance Abuse.

KARREN, KEITH J., Professor. PhD, Oregon State University, 1975. Behavioral Health.

LINDSAY, GORDON B., Associate Professor. PhD, Ohio State University, 1984. Community Health; Health Promotion.

RHODES, RONALD L., Professor. PhD, Oregon State University, 1971. Health Promotion; Corporate Health.

ROLLINS, L. MCKAY, Professor. PhD, University of Utah, 1971. International Health; Administration;  Health Education.

SALAZAR, RICHARD D., Assistant Professor. PhD, Southern Illinois University, 1972. Research Methods; Statistics.

THYGERSON, ALTON L., Professor. EdD, Brigham Young University, 1969. Injury Prevention; Emergency Care.

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