A new graduate degree in health and well-being management at Rochester Institute of Technology will prepare students for careers in primary health care, corporate America and community health programs, or for medical/dental school and health-related Ph.D. programs.

RITs Wegmans School of Health and Nutrition is accepting students to the health and well-being management program for fall 2020. The programs emphasis on employee health and workforce productivity aligns with projected job growth.

According to the U.S. Department of Labors Bureau of Labor Statistics, the outlook for health educators and community health workers who teach behaviors promoting well-being is expected to increase by 11 percent, a faster than average rate, within the next decade.

The job forecast is a reflection of staggering health care costs, said Barbara Lohse, head of RITs Wegmans School of Health and Nutrition. Governmental and corporate sectors look to contain costs through healthy lifestyle management and disease prevention programs. Provisions created by the Affordable Care Act and throughout corporate America embrace wellness initiatives to improve health outcomes and reduce high health care costs linked to preventable behaviors, Lohse noted.

The rise of chronic diseaseType 2 diabetes, heart disease and chronic pulmonary conditions in the United States is tied to inactivity, poor nutrition, tobacco use and alcohol consumption, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Lifestyle management is at the core of RITs new program. The MS in health and well-being management is designed for students who are:

The health and well-being management is a hybrid program that blends traditional and online courses and can be completed in one academic year and a summer term. Students will complete 30 units of required and elective coursework, and a research-focused capstone course in which they design and execute a project relevant to the health-promotion industry. The health and well-being management program will prepare students to:

This is an especially good program for students planning to apply to medical, dental, physical therapy or other post-graduate health programs and who are looking for a pertinent, useful educational experience in their gap year, Lohse said.

For more information about the health and well-being management MS program, go to https://www.rit.edu/study/health-and-well-being-management-ms, or contact Barbara Lohse at 585-475-6117 or at balihst@rit.edu.

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RIT offers health and well-being management MS degree - RIT University News Services