Auburn Bulletin 2023-2024

Health Equity Science — Graduate Certificate

The Graduate Certificate in Health Equity Science (CHES) is administered through the College of Human Sciences (CHS) under the purview of the Health Disparities Research Initiative (HDRI). The graduate CHES is part of the training mission of HDRI, which is aimed at cultivating scholarship on health ecology and equity, and developing leaders committed to address health inequities. This is achieved by helping students acquire a strong foundation of knowledge on health ecology and equity issues. In addition, the graduate CHES exposes students to a breadth of advanced topics in health ecology and equity and facilitates gaining depth of knowledge on specialized topics. Graduate students completing this certificate will have a strong understanding of the role of social context in generating disease risks and disparities in health between groups; and also learn how this corpus of knowledge can be translated into health-promoting policies and community-level interventions. They also have the opportunity to gain skills in research on a specific health equity topic through thesis or dissertation research.

CodeTitleHours
HUSC 6930Society and Health3
HUSC 6950Seminar on Health Ecology and Equity 3
Three (3) additional semester hours through elective courses:3
HDFS and Social Policy
Seminar on Health Ecology and Equity (can be repeated once)
Total Hours9
1

Elective courses relevant to the certificate vary from year to year.  Courses with substantial content focused on health equity science or social inequality are likely to qualify.  Please email course syllabus to Dr. Thomas Fuller-Rowell (tfr1@auburn.edu) to obtain approval.

Steps to Obtain the Certificate:
  1. Submit an application for the certificate program through ApplyYourself and then email Tom Fuller-Rowell (mailto:tfr1@auburn.edu) and Stephen Erath (sae0001@auburn.edu) to let them know that you have applied.  Note that Auburn University employees and current graduate students are exempted from the application fee requirement.
  2. Complete the course requirements that are specified in the certificate description and obtain a grade of B or better in all courses. Note that it is okay to complete some of the course requirements before applying for the certificate.
  3. After final grades have been posted for all relevant courses, email Tom Fuller-Rowell (tef0005@auburn.edu) and Stephen Erath (mailto:sae0001@auburn.edu) to alert them that your requirements for the certificate have been completed. 
  4. Your certificate will then be reviewed for approval. After being approved, the certificate will appear on your transcript.