Health educators (also known as Health Education Specialists) use health promotion principles, assist individuals and communities in the adoption and maintenance of healthy lifestyles. The MPH with a Concentration in Health Promotion and Behavior prepares students as health educators to collect and analyze data to identify diverse community needs prior to planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating community level health promotion programs; communicate health and health promotion needs; and plan, implement and evaluate health promotion programs using ethical standards and theoretical frameworks and models. Students engage in the social and behavioral aspects of public health and the prevention of health-related problems and conditions to create multi-level interventions that positively impact health at the individual, group, organizational and community levels.

Through the curriculum, students acquire relevant theoretical and practical knowledge in diverse fields such as the social and behavioral sciences, health communication, educational theory and design, and community organization. Students who complete a degree in Health Promotion and Behavior are eligible to sit for the national Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) examination.