Minor in Health Communication

The Health Communication Minor is intended for any University student interested in advanced study of health communication. Students completing the Minor program will understand how health communication professionals think and be prepared for careers in population health, medical, clinic management, and communication agencies, among others.

Requirements for students following the 2016-2018 catalog:

This program is open to all University of Texas undergraduates

The minor program requires sixteen semester hours of coursework including nine hours to be completed in residence. Students must earn a grade of at least C in each course counted toward fulfillment of the minor requirements. 

Students must fulfill the following requirements:

1. COM 102, Introduction to Health Communication 

2. Three hours of approved coursework from each of the following areas: interpersonal communication, organizational communication, and population/mass media (the approved area course lists are available below). 

3. Six additional upper-division hours from these areas of which three of these hours must be from outside the student’s major college. 


In addition, the following are University-wide rules regarding minors:

• The minor must be completed in conjunction with an undergraduate degree at the University of Texas at Austin.
• Minors must include a minimum of six hours of upper division coursework. 
• A student may not earn a minor in the same field of study as his or her major
• At least nine of the hours required for the minor must include coursework not used to satisfy the requirements of the student’s major; this includes courses in non-major departments that are cross-listed with courses offered within the student’s major department. However, courses in the minor may fulfill other degree requirements such as general education requirements or required elective hours.
• Transcript recognition is awarded at the time of undergraduate degree completion.

Interpersonal communication courses

Communication Studies 330, Interpersonal Health Comm
Communication Studies 332, Argumentation and Advocacy (added to course list after catalog production)
Communication Studies 332K, Theories of Persuasion (added to course list after catalog production)
Communication Studies 344K, Lying and Deception

Communication Studies 358, Comm and Personal Relatnships

Human Development and Family Sciences 337, Personal Relationships

Human Development and Family Sciences 466, Guidance in Adult, Child Relationships or Women and Gender Studies 466, Guidance in Adult, Child Relationships
Pharmacy 370C, Communication Skills for Health Professional

Organizational communication courses

Communication Studies 341, Digital Communications

Communication Studies 353S, Social Media And Orgs

Communication Studies 357, Family Communication

Human Development and Family Sciences 304, Family Relationships or Women and Gender Studies 301.4, Family Relationships
Human Development and Family Sciences 313, Child Development or Women and Gender Studies 313, Child Development

Human Development and Family Sciences 347, Socioeconomic Problems of Families

Human Development and Family Sciences 378L, Theories of Child and Family Development
Nursing 310, Communication in Health Care Settings

Social Work 360K.4, Practice with Abused and Neglected Children and Their Families
Women and Gender Studies 301.19, Diversity in American Families

Women and Gender Studies 301.23, Romantic Relationships and Family Formation

Population/Mass Media courses

Advertising 319, Psychology of Advertising

Advertising 378.20, Account Planning

American Studies 370.1, American Cultural History of Alcohol/Drugs or History 350R.5, American Cultural History of Alcohol/Drugs

Biology 361L, Public Health Bacteriology Lab

Biology 361P, Public Health Internship

Chemistry 107, Health Professions Seminar

Communication Studies372T, Time Matters

Economics 350K.9, Health Economics
Education Psychology 350L, Human Sexuality

Education Psychology 363M.3, Adolescent Development

Education Psychology 371, Introduction to Statistics

Government 370L, The Politics of Health Care

Geography 356.1, Children’s Environmental Health

H S 301, Intro to Health and Society, or Sociology 308S, Intro to Health and Society

Human Development and Family Sciences 313, Child Development or Women and Gender Studies 313, Child Development

Human Development and Family Sciences 371, Adolescent Development in Context

Human Development and Family Sciences 378K.6, Intro to Early Childhood Interventions

Health Education 329K, Child, Adolescent, and Adult Health

Health Education 335, Theories of Substance Use and Abuse

Health Education 343, Foundations of Epidemiology

Health Education 352K.2, Psychosocial Iss Women’s Health

Health Education 370K.1, Foundations of Health Promotion I

Health Education 370K.2, Adolescent Health Risk Behav

Health Education 371K, Foundations of Health Promotion II

History 350R.18, Women in Sickness and Health

Kinesiology 334, Children's exercise and Physical Activity

Kinesiology 378.3, Sexual Health I

Nursing 275/287Q, Public Health Nursing

Nursing 307.1, Women's Reproductive Health for Nonscience Majors, or Sociology 310S, Women's Reproductive Health for Nonscience Majors, or Women And Gender Studies 301.7, Women's Reproductive Health for Nonscience Majors

Nursing 309, Global Health

Nutrition 330, Nutrition Education and Counseling

Nutrition 331, International Nutrition: Social & Environmental Policies

Nutrition 332, Community Nutrition

Nutrition 337, Nutritional Epidemiology

Nutrition 338W, Issues in Nutrition and Health

Nutrition 365, Obesity and Metabolic Health

Public Health 317, Introduction to Public Health
Public Health 334, Global Health

Public Health 338, Environmental Health

Public Health 341R, Public Health Research

Public Health 358D, Health Policy and Health Systems

Public Health 368D, Social Context of Public Health

Philosophy 325M, Medicine, Ethics, and Society

Psychology 319K, Social Psychology

Psychology 339, Behavior Problems of Children

Psychology 341K.4, Health Psychology

Psychology 346K, Psychology of Sex

Psychology 352, Abnormal Psychology

Psychology 364M, Mental Illness and the Brain

Social Work 327, Human Behavior and Social Environment, or Urban Studies 354.10, Human Behavior and Social Environment

Social Work 334, Social Work Practice in Organizations and Communication

Social Work 360K.5, Facilitating Dialogues on LGBTQ Oppression

Social Work 360K.9, Loss and Grief: Individual and Family Perspectives

Sociology 307L, Gender, Race, Class in American Societies

Sociology 307P, Introduction to Sociology of Health and Well, Being

Sociology 321G, Global Health Issues/Systems

Sociology 333K, Sociology of Gender, or Women and Gender Studies 322.1, Sociology of Gender
Sociology 354K, Sociology of Health & Illness

Sociology 358D, Health Policy and Health Systems

Sociology 368D, Social Context of Public Health

Sociology 307K, Fertility and Reproduction, or Women and Gender Studies 301.20, Fertility and Reproduction

Statistics and Data Sciences 302, Data Analyses for Health Sciences

Statistics and Data Sciences 304, Statistics in Health Care

Statistics and Data Sciences 332, Statistical Models for Health and Behavior Sciences

T C 357, Public Health, Medicine, & Social Policy

Women and Gender Studies 301.21, Gender, Race, Class in American Societies

Women and Gender Studies 345.3, Women in Sickness and Health

Women and Gender Studies 345.35, Psychosocial Issues Women’s Health

Requirements for students following the 2018-2020 catalog:

This program is open to all University of Texas students. The Moody College of Communication reserves the right to limit the number of students accepted into this minor by instituting a competitive application process. Applicants may be judged on such factors as grade point average, prior coursework taken, prior experience in the field, and response to essay prompts.

The minor program requires 16 semester hours of coursework including nine hours to be completed in residence. Students must fulfill the following requirements:

Six additional upper-division hours from the above areas of which three hours must be from outside the student’s major college.

Please note: A grade of at least a C- (or CR for courses offered only on a pass/fail basis) is required in each course counted toward fulfillment of the minor requirements.

In addition, the following are University-wide rules regarding minors:

• The minor must be completed in conjunction with an undergraduate degree at the University of Texas at Austin.
• Minors must include a minimum of six hours of upper division coursework. 
• A student may not earn a minor in the same field of study as his or her major
• At least nine of the hours required for the minor must include coursework not used to satisfy the requirements of the student’s major; this includes courses in non-major departments that are cross-listed with courses offered within the student’s major department. However, courses in the minor may fulfill other degree requirements such as general education requirements or required elective hours.
• Transcript recognition is awarded at the time of undergraduate degree completion.

*Pending final approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board