Program Description

Community Health Education (CHED) is a discipline concerned with the study and improvement of the health characteristics of different communities. CHED degree is designed to prepare individuals in the study and improvement of health promotion of different groups and communities. The degree responds to the need to prepare generalist community health educators with a curriculum that addresses the domains of the seven areas of responsibility set by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. (NCHEC) allowing students to sit for CHES certification.  

The curriculum design is consistent with the Mission of the University of the Incarnate Word in providing graduates within communities with lifelong learning and the fostering of the whole person. In addition, the curriculum reflects a global perspective due to preventative healthcare practices within communities regarding diversity, engagement, and topics such as; access, aging, obesity, diversity management, sustainability, and ethics. Students will be exposed to community health status and related health behaviors influenced at multiple levels: personal, organizational/institutional, environmental, and policy.

Experiences may include internships, service learning projects, senior seminars, portfolio projects, research papers. The program will encourage exposure to local level community health professionals and or/ agencies that engage in community health education. It is through these experiences that students will encounter topics of social justice, education, truth, service, innovation, and the impact of faith on ethics and practices—the tenants of the UIW mission statement.

The CHED Program is directly aligned with the Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Profession's mission, values, and goals that follow:

The mission of the Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions is to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word, through the educational preparation of health professionals.