Online Master of Science in Health Promotion Management

Online Master of Science in Health Promotion Management

Program Length:
20 Months
Credit Hours:
30
Total Classes:
10
Cost Per Credit:
$2,000

Application fee waived for 2025 Spring Term — apply by December 13. Program start dates:

  • Spring 2025, January 13
  • Summer 2025, May 12
  • Fall 2025, August 25

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Program at a GlanceLead Communities toward
Health and Wellness

American University has a successful 40+ year history in training health and wellness leaders. The online MS in Health Promotion Management at American University is an extension of the on-campus award-winning program — the first in the US to include business and management principles alongside the science of health and wellness. The innovative curriculum helps you develop the knowledge to identify what wellness changes are needed, and the leadership skills to implement them in an effective way.

You’ll graduate with the skills of a changemaker. Ready to empower people and organizations, you’ll help lead the fight against chronic conditions and the leading causes of death including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and even a global pandemic.

Program Objectives

Promote Health. Spark Positive Change.

The online MS in Health Promotion Management will teach you how to address health inequities and inefficiencies and create preventive health solutions. You’ll learn how to act as a health advocate, changing the lives of others as you promote physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, and vocational health. By the end of the program, you’re ready for a leadership position that oversees the creation of health and wellness programs. Graduates can:

  1. Use Research for Practice

    Conduct, analyze, and translate health science research for health promotion practice and management.

  2. Identify Areas of Improvement

    Apply analytical, creative, and intuitive thinking styles to identify problems, explore opportunities, and evaluate existing paradigms for organizational advantage.

  3. Create & Communicate a Plan

    Formulate and demonstrate effective, culturally competent health communication strategies across various mediums, channels, and organizations.

  4. Successfully Implement Change

    Apply best practices in health promotion management to assess needs, make plans, organize projects, align resources, build partnerships, monitor outcomes, and provide leadership.

Program Rankings

Since 1980, this innovative program has created leaders in the health promotion industry. A winner of the Distinguished Academic Program Award (DAPA) from the National Wellness Institute, its unique curriculum meets the eligibility requirements for Certified Wellness Practitioner (CWP) certification. It also expertly prepares you to take the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES®) exam — 100% of our graduates who’ve taken the exam in the last five years have passed.

Being a small program, you have the flexibility to choose independent studies and build close connections with students and alumni and be mentored by the same faculty that helped the program win the DAPA award.

Winner of the DAPA Award

Become a Certified Health Education Specialist

Become a Certified Wellness Practitioner

Selected
Admission Requirement
Curriculum Description
Careers and Outcomes
Faculty
Student Experience

Admission to American University’s online Master of Science in Health Promotion Management requires an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university.

Applicants will need to submit the following:

*The application fee is typically waived if the application file is complete within a three-week period.

Online Merit Scholarships

$10,000 — No Separate Application Required
 

Prospective students who have a cumulative 3.0 GPA or above (on a 4.0 scale) in their undergraduate program can qualify for the Online Merit Scholarship in award amounts up to $10,000. As part of your application process, your academic history will be reviewed to see if the scholarship can be applied; there is no separate application to fill out.

You will be notified of the scholarship status when you’re admitted to the program, or shortly thereafter.

To receive the scholarship, which is applied equally to the fifth and sixth courses of the program, you must remain in good academic standing.

You can impact wellness within any community or organization. The curriculum in the online Master of Science in Health Promotion Management teaches you how to lead others toward permanent changes that result in a healthier lifestyle based on the latest trends, research, and health promotion initiatives.

Details can be found on our Program Curriculum page.

Lead a Rapidly Growing Field

With healthcare costs rising alongside increased efforts to fight cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes, health promotion experts are in demand. From policymaking in the public arena to private corporations and healthcare systems, professionals who have the skills to advance health while managing teams and coordinating day-to-day operations are being hired quickly for a variety of health promotion roles.

Health educators and community health workers, for example, are expected to see a 17% increase in job opportunities from 2020 to 2030 — more than double the national average job-growth rate.1 Health education specialists who work in hospitals can expect a median salary of $76,450, while the highest 10% earned $102,480 in 2021.1


With your MS in Health Promotion Management from American University, you’re well prepared to apply your skills to a variety of roles and more senior positions such as:

  • Client Engagement Manager
  • Director of Employee Health
  • Onsite Wellness Coordinator
  • Senior Director, Health Coaching
  • VP, Health and Wellness 
  • Consultant-Health & Benefits
  • Health Engagement Advisor
  • Population Health and Wellness Manager
  • Specialist, Health Partnerships and Policy
  • Wellness Program Manager

Alumni Employers

As passionate change-makers, our alumni are responsible for measurable differences in the health and lives of their community members. You can find some of them working at these outstanding organizations:

  • Booz Allen Hamilton
  • Headspace Health
  • House Center for Well-Being 
  • Limeade
  • Mayo Clinic
  • Omada Health, an American Health Organization 
  • Partnership to Promote Healthy Eating and Active Living
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • Wellness Corporate Solutions 
  • WIC Association
  • YMCA

We’re especially proud of our faculty—prominent scholars and real-world professionals at the top of their fields who value mentoring students as much as they value excellence in the classroom. Through their teaching, scholarly achievements and first-hand experience, you’ll gain a special entry point to health promotion management.

Visit our Program Faculty page to learn more about our faculty. 

Learning Online

American University welcomes its online students as a part of its community. As an online student, you’ll learn from the same outstanding faculty and be held to the same learning standards as students who attend courses on campus. On-campus and online programs deliver the same outcomes, and important support systems, like career resources, are set up for online learners as well. The only difference is you’re allowed to learn when and where it’s best for you so you can earn your degree and advance your career without putting the rest of your career and life on hold.

We Bring AU to You

Our digital campus was intentionally designed based on extensive research behind what makes online learning successful. We combine advanced technology, hands-on experiences, and full access to the American University community. Here, you’re not an online student, you’re an AU student.
 

Rigorous Courses
Online courses are as challenging as their on-campus counterparts and taught by the same connected faculty members and prominent lecturers.


100% Support
New-student orientation, 24/7 help desk for technical issues, a student services coordinator, financial aid advisers, and more are all available to ensure your success.

Expert Faculty
Home to some of the most acclaimed scholars and thought leaders in the world, you’ll learn from award-winning scholars and policymakers, diplomats, authors, artists, attorneys, scientists, journalists, and more.


Collaborative Learning
Use virtual tools to talk about your coursework, work in teams with classmates, build strong connections, network with others and ask your professor questions and turn in assignments.


 

The appearance of US Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.

Military Education Benefits

American University is dedicated to supporting military service members, veterans, and their families.

As an online student of the MS in Health Promotion Management program, you can transform your military experience and leadership skills into new career possibilities as you earn your degree, regardless of where you live or are stationed.

We support a full range of military education benefits such as:

  • Post-9/11 GI Bill®
  • Montgomery GI Bill® (MGIB)
  • Tuition Assistance (TA)
  • Yellow Ribbon Program

Additionally, if you’ve served in any branch of the US military on active duty within the past three years, you’re eligible for an application fee waiver. We accept transfer credits from military coursework, have a dedicated Office of Veterans Services to help connect you to benefits, and maintain an active Veterans Services Support Network.

We welcome you to learn more about our military benefits and how to apply for them.

Disclaimer: GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website: Education and Training Home (va.gov)

Take Your First Step Today

Become an American University student. A passion for public service, an emphasis on active leadership, and a global outlook are the hallmarks of the American University learning experience. We create graduates who stand out from their peers as active, socially aware, and compassionate leaders who work toward creating meaningful change in our world.

Join Us.

To learn more about American University’s Master of Science in Health Promotion Management, request more information with the form above, request an appointment, or call us toll-free at 855-725-7614.


Program FAQs

Health promotion is an emerging discipline that empowers people and organizations to choose behaviors and adopt lifestyle choices that support healthy decisions that reduce chronic conditions and healthcare costs.

As a graduate of the program, you’ll be well prepared to take on leadership and management roles in a variety of settings. Our graduates work as community health specialists, individual health coaches, wellness program managers, and more for small and large organizations.

Target employers include corporations, hospitals, state departments of health, schools, and health plans.

Health promotion is about empowering people to choose positive behaviors. It’s focused on lifestyle choices at the individual, community, and society level, as well as policies that support people making healthier lifestyle choices. Public health is more population-based and looks to apply policy to health solutions such as enacting vaccine requirements or seatbelt laws.

You will need a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university and a satisfactory grade point average — a 3.0 GPA in your last 60 hours of undergraduate work is recommended.

Applicants will need to submit the following:

All applicants are considered for the Online Merit Scholarship of $10,000 during the application review — no separate application is required.

*The application fee is typically waived if the application file is complete within a three week period.

The program can be completed in as few as 20 months.

No, but a 3.0 GPA in your last 60 hours of undergraduate work is recommended. For more submission requirements, contact an advisor.

A TOEFL score of 600 (or 100 on the internet-based test), a minimum score of 68 on the Pearson Test of English, or a minimum IELTS score of seven (7) is required. Additionally, applicants with international transcripts must have them evaluated course by course. For a list of acceptable evaluators, go to NACES.org.

Applicants will complete a phone interview with the Program Director and will need to submit:

Our application deadline varies based on the term you are applying for. Please note that the earlier you submit your application, the sooner you’ll know whether you’ve been awarded the Online Merit Scholarship. Please contact our online admissions advisors for a specific timeline as to when your application file needs to be fully submitted.

Yes, graduate students enrolled at least half-time in a master’s program may be eligible for federal loans. To apply, students must submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). American University’s FAFSA code is 001434.

Yes, online students can easily request a Student ID online to take advantage of all the same resources as our on-campus students.

Yes. When you complete the program you qualify to sit for the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES®) exam and can pursue the Certified Wellness Practitioner (CWP) credential from the National Wellness Institute.


Sources

Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook: Health Educators and Community Health Workers. Retrieved May 17, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/health-educators.htm#tab-1.