Public Health Sciences: Health Coaching and Health Education

UVM’s 15-credit Integrative Health and Wellness Coaching Minor will prepare you to be an integrative health and wellness coach and to work with individuals to promote healthy lifestyle changes.

In addition to being eligible to sit for the NBHWC national certification exam, and combined with the B.S. in Public Health Sciences, you may also be eligible for credentialing as a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES).

Integrative health and wellness coaches work with individuals and groups to promote healthy lifestyle changes. They work in a variety of settings, including health care clinics, fitness centers, employee wellness programs, community health teams, and private practice.

Health education specialists work with individuals, families, and communities, as well as public and private organizations, to create, implement, oversee, and analyze programs and strategies that promote health and well-being. They serve in a variety of settings and use appropriate educational strategies and methods to facilitate the development of policies, procedures, interventions, and systems conducive to the health of individuals, groups, and communities. Health Education Specialists can be found in a variety of settings, including hospitals, clinics, schools, universities, government offices, businesses, and non-profits.

Please note that the suggested 4-year plan below models starting the minor in the spring semester of your first year. It is possible to begin the minor as late as your third year and still have space to complete your Integrative Health & Wellness Coaching qualification.


 

Four-Year Curriculum (2025–2026)

The suggested plan begins the minor in the spring semester of the first year, but it can be started as late as the third year.

First Year
Fall 

  • NH 1500 – Applications to Health (1 credit)
  • HSCI 1100 – Introduction to Public Health (3)
  • Social and Behavioral Science Elective (3)
  • BHSC 1340 – Natural Science (4)
  • ENGS 1001 – Written Expression (3)
  • Learning Community Course (1–3) 

Spring 

  • HLTH 3859 – Health & Wellness Coaching (4)
  • Math/STAT Elective (3)
  • Social and Behavioral Science Elective (3)
  • Natural and Applied Science Elective (4)
  • HSCI 1980 – Writing Intensive & Diversity (3) 

Second Year
Fall 

  • HSCI 2100 – Foundations of Global Health (3)
  • STAT 1110 or STAT 1410 – Statistics (3)
  • HLTH 3860 – Advanced Health & Wellness Coaching (4)
  • HSCI 2200 – Research Methods in Public Health (3)
  • Math Elective (3) 

Spring 

  • HSCI 2300 – Health Promotion (3)
  • HSCI 2400 – Healthcare and Public Health Systems (3)
  • Natural and Applied Science Elective (3)
  • Social and Behavioral Science Elective (3)
  • HLTH 3920 – Coaching Practicum (3) 

Third Year
Fall 

  • HSCI 3100 – Epidemiology, Public Health & Infectious Disease (3)
  • NH 2200 – Health Care Ethics (3)
  • HLTH 3910 – Professional Prep for Coaches (1)
  • Natural and Applied Science Elective (3)
  • Humanities Elective (3)
  • Free Elective (3) 

*Spring

Learn more about the Integrative Health & Wellness Coaching minor