Department of Health Promotion and Physical Education

Take an active role in the promotion of health and physical activity.

Prepare yourself to take an active role in the promotion of health and physical activity, with a focus on enhancing people's well-being through educating in school and community settings, practicing in the health sciences, and leading in health policy and management. Throughout your four years at Ithaca College, we will support your development in five key areas:

Critical thinking
Valuing human difference
Ethical reasoning
Analyzing and disseminating information
Civic engagement

Your classroom experiences will be enriched through opportunities in and outside the classroom via labs and professional clubs. Our labs offer you a chance for hands-on practice and our professional student clubs help you learn more about your field, interact with your peers and faculty outside of the classroom, practice leadership skills, and network.

Since our approach emphasizes theory into practice and performance, you will also apply what you learn in the classroom to fieldwork, internships, and student-teaching experiences. You will develop the critical theoretical foundation and skills to be job ready for professional practice or prepared for graduate school entry.

Undergraduate Majors in Health Promotion

We offer three tracks for undergraduate health promotion majors, responsive to the wide range of interests that students have in the health professions field. Each of the tracks will position you for future success in areas such as business and management, clinical research or direct patient care (chiropractor, nurse practitioner, occupational therapy, physician, physician assistant, or physical therapy) as well as public health population-based interventions or policy development.

A student in a blue hat and shirt is seated at a table with other students in a classroom at a table having a discussion

Health Care Management

Combines a solid business foundation with an understanding of pressing health care delivery and policy issues.

Two students are working in the nutrition lab preparing food.

Health Sciences

Obtain a solid foundation for work in fields as diverse as nutrition, clinical research, medicine, and therapies.

A student in a gray shirt is preparing a flu shot to hand to a nurse in a white coat.

Public & Community Health

Help people best eat, live, work, and exercise or communities pursue ethical, fair, and cost-effective public health policies.

A group of about 30 students in graduation robes are jumping up and down celebrating because they have graduated. They are throwing their hats and confetti in the air.

Graduate School at Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH)

Apply as a junior while at Ithaca College for early acceptance into BUSPH for their Master of Public Health or Master of Science program. All majors with at least a 3.2 GPA are eligible. Connect with the BUSPH community during a summer program between your junior and senior year. Receive scholarships that support up to 25 percent of graduate tuition. Contact Stewart Auyash at auyash@ithaca.edu for more information.

Undergraduate Majors in Physical and Health Education - Teaching

Make a difference for youth by shaping their health and wellness habits early through teaching. Teachers make a difference, with visible results in the progress of students. You will likely learn just as much from your student's questions as they will from you! The teaching profession is versatile, and permits you to find employment and live all over the world. Also, if you like an exciting and varied work environment, no two days are the same in the life of a teacher.