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Two South ��ֱ���� State University colleges and another South ��ֱ���� Board of Regents institution have teamed up to offer a revamped bachelor’s degree program with two new specializations at SDSU. 

The new Bachelor of Science in health studies is a partnership between SDSU’s College of Education and Human Sciences and College of Nursing, with help from ��ֱ���� State University. The South ��ֱ���� Board of Regents approved the program in December, and it started this fall. 

The program is a revamp of the community and public health program previously offered through SDSU’s College of Education and Human Sciences. The new health studies degree is still at home in that college. The College of Education and Human Sciences also offers the degree with a specialization in health promotion. Another specialization, innovative health care leadership, will be offered through the College of Nursing. 

“By building a unified health studies major with shared core courses, we’re creating an efficient model that promotes transdisciplinary learning, helping students understand a wide range of health care professions and how to collaborate across them, while still allowing for focused specialization in their area of interest,” Jessica Meendering, academic director of the School of Health and Human Sciences within the College of Education and Human Sciences, said about the partnership. 

The specialization in health promotion will prepare students to promote health and wellness in individuals, communities and populations. Graduates will enter a growing job market and be equipped to work in a variety of settings, including community health organizations, schools, health care facilities, government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Students can also use this specialization as a preparatory degree for advancement into health care-related graduate programs. Students are prepared to assess, plan, implement and evaluate health promotion strategies aimed at improving population health. 

“It’s really a blend of teaching students behavior change, how to help people have healthier behaviors, chronic disease prevention, wellness and public health initiatives. It’s about creating healthier environments and individuals,” Meendering said. Students may go onto careers in areas such as public health, worksite wellness, health coaching and more. 

The innovative healthcare leadership specialization will prepare students for roles in health care leadership and assist in meeting the need for health services managers and leaders in the current health care system. Graduates will be prepared for clinical or nonclinical leadership and management roles in health care, such as nursing home administrator, health information manager, clinic manager, and social and community service manager. A graduate with this degree may also choose to pursue an additional undergraduate degree in nursing, dietetics or other clinical options, setting them up for leadership roles in these fields. 

“Not everybody who is interested in health care leadership is interested in that nursing track, and so this offers an alternative option for students to really expand roles in health care settings,” said Heidi Mennenga, SDSU College of Nursing associate dean for academic programs. 

The innovative health care leadership specialization offers core leadership courses and three focus areas: a health sciences minor, a health communication minor, and a health informatics and information management minor. 

The health informatics and information management minor is where the partnership with ��ֱ���� State University comes in. That minor and its associated courses are offered through DSU and can be taken online. One DSU course is also part of the curriculum for the health promotion specialization. 

“We’re genuinely excited to welcome SDSU students into our courses,” said Renae Spohn, DSU health informatics and information management associate professor. “These interdisciplinary classes create such a rich learning environment — bringing together a variety of perspectives that elevate the experience for everyone involved.” 

“Leaders need to know how to use data for informed decision making, and we’re not the experts in that. So that’s where DSU came into play. They reached out because they saw us on the pending programs list and wanted to know if there was any possibility of collaborating,” Mennenga said.  

Mennenga said the cross-college and cross-university collaborations were great examples of state universities using their resources wisely to do what’s best for students and their educational experiences. 

“I think this is an excellent example of how both colleges across the university can collaborate and therefore conserve resources and allow the colleges that have the expertise to be the ones providing that to the students. I also think being able to collaborate across Board of Regents institutions is very desirable. In this case, it was a no-brainer. DSU is the expert on data information management.”