March 8, 2011

EIU adopts revised Health Communication Minor

Eastern Illinois University has adopted a revised set of requirements for its Health Communication minor.

Health Communication is an interdisciplinary minor offered by the Department of Communication Studies and the Department of Health Studies.  The minor offers a combination of communication studies and health studies courses to students planning a career in health professions or public relations. It combines study of the health care industry, public policy and communication strategies.

The changes maintain the minor’s rigor while increasing flexibility, ultimately allowing students to tailor the minor to their interests and career goals.  Students will be able to tailor their coursework to an interpersonal, organizational, or campaigns focus within the health communication arena, making the minor more student-focused and accessible regardless of a student’s major.

Another goal of the changes was to make the minor easier for all students to complete and more accessible to students outside the Communication and Health Studies majors.  The old minor required 38 semester hours, which was not feasible for most students.  The new Health Communication minor requires only 21 hours of course work, which is especially helpful for students who transfer to Eastern. 

Students currently enrolled at Eastern can switch over to the newly adopted minor by contacting their academic advisor.