Rowan Launches New Health Communications Program

Two years ago, Rowan University didn’t know the coronavirus was coming, but their communications department was preparing for the event of a global pandemic anyway.

So faculty and administrators in Rowan University’s Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts (CCCA) began work on a program to train aspiring journalists, bloggers, public relations professionals and others to tell science and medical stories with authority, clarity and conviction, according to the university.

Thus, a new Bachelor of Arts in Health & Science Communication, will be available to students beginning in the fall.

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“The B.A. in HSC will prepare students for STEM employment opportunities in a variety of fields, including media relations, public relations, health and science journalism, social media, new media, advertising, advocacy, technical communication and medical writing,” said Dr. Joy Cypher, a professor in the Department of Communication Studies who helped develop the new degree. “It will also provide students with a solid foundation for which to apply for graduate and professional programs in areas such as science communication, public health, scientific writing, pharmaceutical writing, medical school, health or environmental advocacy and genetic counseling.”

Cypher is also the coordinator of the new program, which includes new courses such as Introduction to Health and Science Communication and Developing Health and Science Literacy. They will both be available this fall, and the university is encouraging students interested in the program to take one or both of them.

Cypher said a longstanding public interest in health and wellness, the worsening climate crisis, an aging populace and a burgeoning need to explain these and other medical/scientific issues fueled the new program’s development.

“In the field of communication, health and science is big,” Cypher said. “There are a lot of jobs. “With COVID, we see how knowledge is a moving target. When we’re dealing with something like climate change or a new drug, it’s not often that we know everything. How we talk about science or environment helps demystify some of the things that science is and is not. Communicators need to clarify for their audience what is known and what is not known.”

Dr. Sanford Tweedie, dean of the Edelman CCCA, said while the new program was not created in response to COVID-19, the outbreak is expanding a need for communicators who understand science and who can explain medical, wellness and scientific issues to others.

“I can’t imagine much that is more relevant than health and science communication these days,” Tweedie said.

Students interested in pursuing the new program should discuss degree requirements with their academic advisor or Cypher.