Graduate

Students can choose from one of three concentrations: Pedagogical Studies in Diverse Populations, Health Disparities within Diverse Populations, or Context, Culture, and Policy.

Pedagogical Studies in Diverse Populations

The Pedagogical Studies concentration examines educational policies, curriculum, and instruction that support the needs of diverse learners in P–12 schools, language institutes, and teacher education settings.

Health Disparities within Diverse Populations

The Health Disparities within Diverse Populations concentration examines cultural, psychological, behavioral, social, and environmental influences that impact health and education.

Context, Culture, and Policy

The Context, Culture, and Policy concentration analyzes educational institutions and initiatives through the lens of geopolitical space, sociocultural studies, and global justice in relation to the experiences of diverse populations. This concentration is not available for the Fall 2026 cohort.

For more information about application/degree requirements, visit the Education and Human Sciences Graduate Application page.

The minimum 30-hour master’s degree in Educational Leadership prepares educators to improve teaching and learning in the school, whether as a classroom teacher or as the school principal. Upon successful completion of the program and a passing praxis score, students may apply for Alabama Class A Instructional Leadership (P-12) certification, a requirement for curriculum and instructional leaders, assistant principals, and principals.

Educational leadership courses are delivered online with evening classes meeting via Zoom. This format allows students to engage in real time discussions and meaningful learning, while building a professional network for the future. Courses cover a variety of topics, including leader theory, supervision, law, ethics, data-based decision making, and trauma-informed and restorative practices.

The 18-hour Post-Master’s Certificate (PMC) program, also known as the reduced-hour option, is designed for teachers who already hold a master’s degree in an instructional area but wish to acquire additional skills, knowledge, and certification necessary to lead an Alabama P-12 school as a curriculum and instructional leader, assistant principal, or principal. Upon successful completion of the program and a passing praxis score, students may apply for Alabama Class A Instructional Leadership (P-12) certification, a requirement for curriculum and instructional leaders, assistant principals, and principals.

All courses are delivered online with evening classes meeting via Zoom. This format allows students to engage in real time discussions and meaningful learning, while building a professional network for the future. Courses cover a variety of topics, including leader theory, supervision, law, ethics, and data-based decision making.

The minimum 30-hour Ed.S. in Educational Leadership will further sharpen the educators’ skills and develop new competencies with a focus on district-level leadership. Upon successful completion of this program, students may apply for Alabama Class AA Instructional Leadership (P-12) Certification.

All courses are delivered online through asynchronous and synchronous classes meeting via Zoom. This format allows students to engage in real time discussions and collaborate on problem-based issues and solutions. Every educational leadership course has meaningful, embedded field experiences and internship activities to provide the student with district-level leadership experiences.

Note: Students who completed a Class A Instructional Leadership program at UAB have a simplified admissions process.

This program is designed for individuals with bachelor’s degrees and who hold current Class B certification in early childhood education. 

Coursework takes between 30 and 33 semester hours to complete and includes courses in teaching reading and language development, critical pedagogy, effective assessment practices, as well as courses related to diversity and data literacy. Course-specific information may be found in the UAB Graduate Catalog opens a new website.

This PhD is one of only a handful in the country that is specific to early childhood education and not a more generic curriculum and instruction degree with an “emphasis” or “specialty” in early childhood. In contrast to a generic approach to training, candidates immerse themselves in doctoral-level experiences specially designed to focus on early childhood research, teaching, and service.

The program offers doctoral-level early childhood seminars, internships, courses, and experiences. Preparation focuses on successfully researching and teaching at the university level, advocacy, or becoming a state or district leader in early childhood education.

The Clinical Mental Health (CMH) concentration usually requires eight or nine semesters or about three years (including summers) to complete. It consists of coursework, supervised field experiences, and counseling internships. This concentration helps prepare students with the knowledge and skills necessary to serve a broad range of clients in a multicultural society, interact effectively with colleagues and referral resources, and conduct themselves according to accepted professional, ethical, and legal guidelines.

Note: Students in this concentration can add the Graduate Certificate in Marriage, Couples, and Family Counseling.

The Marriage, Couples, and Family (MCF) concentration usually requires eight or nine semesters or about three years (including summers) to complete. It consists of coursework, supervised field experiences, and counseling internships. This concentration helps prepare students with the knowledge and skills necessary to serve couples and families in a multicultural society, interact effectively with colleagues and referral resources, and conduct themselves according to accepted professional, ethical, and legal guidelines.

Note: Students in this concentration can add the Graduate Certificate in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

This 15-hour certificate is designed to increase the range and depth of the services offered by marriage, couples, and family counselors and school counselors. It is open to current UAB counseling graduate students concentrating in marriage, couples, and family counseling or school counseling and to practitioners with an MA in marriage, couples, and family counseling who wish to advance their careers. Students take five 3-hour courses in diagnosis, substance abuse, and advanced counseling techniques, among other subjects. Candidates either not enrolled in the UAB MA in Counseling program or who do not already hold a graduate-level degree in counseling or a closely related field are not eligible to apply.

This 15-hour certificate is designed to increase the range and depth of clinical mental health services. The certificate is open to current UAB counseling graduate students concentrating in clinical mental health and practitioners with an MA in clinical mental health or school counseling who wish to advance their careers. Candidates either not enrolled in the UAB MA in Counseling program or who do not already hold a graduate-level degree in counseling or a closely related field are not eligible to apply.

The online community health graduate certificates are all part of UAB’s Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies (IGS) program. Students successfully completing two graduate certificates affiliated with the IGS program will earn Master of Arts or Master of Science degree. 

The available graduate certificates offered in community health areas are:

Health Education (15 hours)

The online Graduate Certificate in Health Education enhances the knowledge and skills of professionals who oversee health-related policies and programs. Coursework is aligned with the nine areas of responsibility outlined by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC) for health education specialists, who must be able to assess community needs and capacities to address health challenges; plan, implement, and evaluate programmatic health interventions; provide management and leadership of health promotion efforts; and be a community resource, using research to inform evidence-based practices; and advocate for the health and well-being of individuals and communities.

Health Coaching (15 hours)

The online Graduate Certificate in Health Coaching prepares students to help individuals make sustainable lifestyle changes to improve their health and well-being. Students will receive the skills needed to design, conduct, and evaluate wellness-oriented coaching interventions. Students will also learn the fundamentals of chronic disease prevention and management to facilitate improvements in clinical health measures among coaching clients.

Thesis & Non-Thesis Tracks Available (39 hours)

Our online MAEd in Community Health has multiple options to fit the interests and career aspirations of those seeking to advance their careers in public and private health agencies, clinics, and schools. The program offers a thesis and non-thesis option to tailor your graduate school experience to your interests and passions in community health.

• Students in the thesis track are required to complete a research project under the guidance of one of the community health faculty members.
• The non-thesis option requires a student to successfully pass a comprehensive examination (see below) and complete a capstone experience.

Nonprofit Management Graduate Certificate Add-On (45 hours total)

Students enrolled in the MAEd in Community Health may opt to add a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management. This is ideal for students who are interested in learning the skills needed to succeed in a public, not-for-profit organization. Students in the track can learn valuable non-profit management skills such as grant writing, fundraising, and marketing while broadening their skill sets and improving their abilities to run health organizations effectively. The certificate is offered jointly by the Department of Human Studies in the School of Education and Human Sciences and the Department of Political Science and Public Administration in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Coursework for the certificate is not offered online and must be pursued on-campus.

Comprehensive Exam for Non-thesis Option

Comprehensive exams (COMPS) are the culminating event for our students in the masters program. The process requires the application of the core components of health education, health promotion, and community health. Successfully completing the comprehensive exam will require demonstrating an ability to communicate student mastery of the Responsibilities and Competencies for Health Education Specialists, including needs assessment, planning, implementing, application of health behavior theory, and evaluation of a health education/promotion intervention in a target community.

1. The MAEd in Community Health Comprehensive Exam is a case study for intervention planning/implementation/evaluation and is generally initiated during 8th – 11th week of a given semester. The COMP is take-home exam and students generally have about two weeks to complete the case study and submit a MS Word document and visual oral presentation to the CHHS program director. Students may only register for COMPS after completing CHHS 610, CHHS 631, CHHS 642, CHHS 689, CHHS 697, EPR 594, & EPR 607/8 with a letter grade of C or higher. Studying the learning materials, assignments and textbooks from these courses will benefit student preparation for COMPS. Students are also encouraged to re-visit final assignments/semester long projects in each course that simulate health intervention creation.
2. Typically, students will take COMPS during one of their last two semesters prior to graduation. Please note: Students will not graduate until successful completion of the COMPS. Additionally, if a student does not successfully complete a COMPS in two  attempts, students will not be eligible for graduation with a MAEd in Community Health. In this vein, students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the integrated preparation for the COMPS through their coursework with particular attention to course final products (i.e., theory application assignments, program plans, intervention plans, advocacy plans, social marketing plans, evaluation plans, and grant proposals). Of special note, students completing a thesis option in the MAEd program will NOT take a traditional COMP. Instead, a student completing a thesis option will complete a thesis-based comprehensive exam as part of the thesis process.
3. For questions or to register for COMPS, please contact the program director.

The PhD in Community Health Promotion offers a broad-based curriculum emphasizing biological, behavioral, and socio-cultural determinants of health, as well as interventions and policies aimed at improving community health. The curriculum provides students with the coursework, background, and practical experiences to become leading researchers and practitioners in the broad and rapidly growing field of health education and health promotion.

Students learn the skills needed to work with individuals and communities to assess health needs and then effectively plan, implement, and evaluate culturally appropriate and theoretically based interventions to improve and promote health and lessen unhealthy behaviors by addressing knowledge, attitudes, skills, and beliefs in various settings. This program is a blended format (online coursework with on-campus requirements).

By the conclusion of the program, students are able to conceptualize the theoretical and philosophical basis of health promotion clearly and conduct their own independent research projects. The curriculum prepares students for careers in academia, clinical research, and leadership roles in the community and public health promotion in private industry, as well as non-profit and governmental health organizations.

Curriculum

This program requires students to complete a minimum of 72 semester hours. The curriculum is comprised of five areas:

Health Promotion Core

There is an increased awareness of the impact of social determinants (ethnicity, income, housing, education) on health outcomes. As a result, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other health agencies have placed emphasis on social determinants of health (SDH) and health disparities through funding initiatives to promote improved research, policy and practice. By focusing on SDH, health education specialists can improve health outcomes and advance health equity. This program requires a Health Promotion core, infused with training in using the SDH as a framework for planning, implementing and evaluating successful health interventions.

Research and Statistics Core

Today, health promotion researchers must have training in mixed research methodologies to understand the complex issues that confront community health. Interest in mixed-methods research is growing among funders, as evidenced by recent calls for proposals using these methods from the NIH, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, as well as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This program requires mixed methods, qualitative and quantitative research methodologies.

Health Sciences Concentration

These courses allow students the flexibility to receive education and training in their particular area of interest from across UAB. This program provides a professional health promotion curriculum that brings together students from a variety of social/behavioral backgrounds to provide the appropriate training and mentorship to develop health-related research.

Supervised Research Core

This core allows students to gain valuable research experience under the supervision of faculty while earning credit hours toward their PhD. Students will work with faculty on research projects and grants, and/or the development of scholarly publications or professional conference presentations. In addition, students will work with their mentor to develop a dissertation proposal. A minimum of 12 credit hours are required, or until the successful completion of a dissertation proposal defense.

Dissertation

These hours are designed to provide students with significant research experience on their topic of interest and requires the completion of 18 credit hours, or until the completion of the dissertation.

Program Co-requisites

Students must enter the program with a master's degree in health education, or a closely related field. Students with a limited background in health education/health promotion may be required to take program co-requisites during years one and two, including CHHS 610 Foundations of Health Education (or equivalent), CHHS 631 Planning (or equivalent), and CHHS 697 Community-Based Approaches to Evaluation and Grantsmanship (or equivalent). These additional requirements will be determined from a review of transcripts by the Graduate Program Coordinator after admission to the program.

Become a music teacher by pursuing the alternative master’s program and receiving teacher certification from the ALSDE.

This degree is for those who wish to become teachers and did not receive an undergraduate degree in education. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college with a GPA of at least 2.5.

Music Education: Choral and Instrumental (42–45 credit hours)

This track is for applicants with a bachelor’s degree in music. To apply, you must have a passing score on the Music Praxis #5113 and on a juried audition in the Music Department. If needed, you will do a music theory assessment and take undergraduate prerequisites. Upon completing this program, you will apply to the ALSDE for Class Alt A Certification in Music-choral or Music-instrumental.

Become a visual arts teacher by pursuing the alternative master’s program and receiving teacher certification from the ALSDE.

This degree is for those who wish to become teachers and did not receive an undergraduate degree in education. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college with a GPA of at least 2.5.

Visual Arts Education (35–38 credit hours)

This track is for applicants with a bachelor’s degree in studio art, art history, or an art-related field. To apply, you must have a passing score on the Visual Arts Praxis #5134. Depending on your bachelor’s degree, you might need to share your art portfolio as part of the admissions process. You will take online art courses in summer and online education courses in fall and spring. Upon completing this program, you will apply to the ALSDE for Class Alt A Certification in Visual Arts.

Access Program Folder

Enhance your career as a music teacher and increase your earning potential in Alabama by pursuing a traditional master’s degree in music education. Take online courses for 18 to 24 months. This program is designed to lead to an ALSDE Class A Certification.

Music Education: Choral or Instrumental (30–33 credit hours)

To apply, you must hold valid Class B music certification from the ALSDE and pass a juried audition in the Music Department. Upon completing this program, you will apply to the ALSDE for Class A Certification in Music-choral or Music-instrumental.