Health Communications

Program Overview

Drawing on our academic excellence in the fields of communication and public health, Agnes Scott College now offers a fully online Master of Science in Health Communications, launching in 2023.

Health providers, administrators, policy makers, advocates, and practitioners must all be able to communicate effectively with diverse audiences to inform, promote and create behavioral and social change in health.

Through online or hybrid instruction, that blends online and in-person learning, our health communications graduate program provides students with the knowledge and skills required to design, implement and evaluate theory-based health communication efforts in diverse settings. Students learn to employ a wide variety of traditional and emerging digital media, and to tailor their communication messages and methods to particular audiences and contexts.

What You'll Learn

Coursework in the program emphasizes the importance of engaging communities in the process of developing education, advocacy and behavior change strategies to address their most pressing health priorities. Students completing the Master of Science in Health Communications will be able to:

• Analyze, synthesize, and interpret health and scientific information
• Apply social and behavioral theories in the planning and evaluation of health communication campaigns
• Evaluate the value, significance and appropriateness of traditional and emerging digital media for health communications practice
• Employ a variety of communications methods and media to communicate information, influence behaviors and affect socio-political change related to health
• Design needs assessments, logic models, evaluation plans and data collection tools to evaluate health communication interventions