Health and Community Studies
Health and Community Studies
Contact Us
Department of Health and Community Studies
Miller Hall 318D
516 High Street, MS 9091
Bellingham, WA 98225-9091
Mission Statement
The Department of Health and Community Studies values the identities, capacities, and histories of all individuals and communities. We advocate for dignity, equity, and self-determination for the public good. We facilitate strong, inclusive, participatory learning communities through anti-oppression work, ethical and critically reflective practices, scholarship, and community engagement.
The Department of Health & Community Studies is comprised of five programs, one minor, and one institute: a Bachelor of Arts in Human Services, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, a Minor in Palliative Care, a Master of Education in Adult and Higher Education, a Master of Science in Nursing, a Master of Arts in Rehabilitation Counseling, and the Palliative Care Institute (PCI). Each program is committed to an academic learning experience that integrates theory and practice and incorporates a strengths-based model of professional practice.
Human Services
Offering a Bachelor of Arts, the program prepares Human Services professionals work in a variety of settings, working to enhance the well being of individuals, groups, communities, and society and to be a proactive force in:
- creating systems that benefit the human experience
- sustaining systems that improve the human condition
- changing systems no longer benefiting people.
RN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
Bachelor's degree completion program for registered nurses who are graduates of associate degree registered nursing (ADN) programs. The program combines practical applied hands-on field work with rigorous academic coursework. The RN-to-BSN program fills an important role in meeting the increasing need for highly trained and educated nurse professionals in communities throughout Washington State.
Palliative Care Minor
Palliative care provides those with a serious or chronic illness care that optimizes quality of life by anticipating, preventing, and managing suffering. The minor provides students in a wide variety of disciplines with the knowledge to provide and support compassionate care to patients and families living with chronic and life threatening illnesses.
Adult & Higher Education
Offering a Masters of Education in Adult & Higher Education, the program prepares both entry-level and advanced practitioners as teachers, trainers, educators, policy-makers, consultants, administrators in diverse educational, business, and healthcare settings for adults. The approach emphasizes a social justice and a progressive approach to the adult and higher education field; academic, critical, and digital literacies; inquiry-based learning with action research; and issues of identity, reflection, and diversity.
Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Education
Empowers students to excel in educating future nurses, communities, nursing staff, and patients. Graduates are prepared to integrate health equity and inclusive teaching and design principles into nursing education, including online formats and simulation modules. The program combines online coursework with immersive face-to-face sessions three times per quarter on the Bellingham Campus and real-world practical experiences arranged by the faculty in clinical and educational settings.
Master of Science (MSN) in Nursing Leadership & Administration
Readies students to lead in healthcare organizations and community settings. Graduates are equipped to integrate health equity into nursing leadership and administration, including systems thinking, implementing effective change, and strategic financial management. The program combines online coursework with immersive face-to-face sessions three times per quarter on the Bellingham Campus and real-world practical experiences with nurse leaders arranged by the faculty in the community.
Rehabilitation Counseling
Rehabilitation Counseling is a systematic process that assists persons with physical, sensory, mental, developmental, cognitive, and emotional disabilities while emphasizing the holistic nature of human function.
This Masters of Arts program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs.
Palliative Care Institute
The Palliative Care Institute at Western Washington University is a partnership with Northwest Life Passages Coalition and other community agencies and volunteers to transform palliative care in Whatcom County and support our human responses to living and dying.