Health Advancement and Promotion, M.A.

The department of family & consumer sciences at Fontbonne University offers the master of arts degree in health advancement and promotion to meet the needs of individuals, families and communities throughout the St. Louis metropolitan region, the state of Missouri, and beyond. The master of arts in health advancement and promotion is also offered in conjunction with the coordinated program in nutrition and dietetics (CP) which prepares graduates as competent entry-level registered dietitian nutritionists. The CP is offered in an accelerated master’s format (BS + MA) or graduate coursework only, for students who have already earned at least a bachelor degree and hold a DPD verification statement from an ACEND accredited program.

For additional information on the CP, please visit the program page.

Admission

For detailed information on university admission policies, please refer to Admission Policies .

The minimum requirements for MA admission are:

• a bachelor’s degree from an accredited, degree-granting institution of higher education;
• a minimum undergraduate cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale; and
• demonstrated effective written communication skills.

For students pursuing the MA as part of the coordinated program in nutrition and dietetics (graduate portion only):

• Bachelor’s degree and DPD verification statement from an accredited dietetics education program*
• Personal statement
• Resume
• Two professional letters of recommendation
• Interview

*Students with a closely related bachelor’s degree (nutrition or other similar degree) without DPD verification will be considered for graduate admission with conditional admission to the CP if the following conditions apply:

• Two semesters of Medical Nutrition Therapy were/will be completed with their bachelor’s degree
• No more than two CP prerequisite courses are needed (must be completed with a C- or better by the end of the second semester at Fontbonne)
• Missing no more than three other undergraduate major courses that are required in our curriculum
• Director determines that all knowledge requirements and competencies covered in missing undergraduate major courses will be met through graduate level coursework and/or rotations.

For students pursuing the M.A. as part of the accelerated (B.S. + M.A.) coordinated program in nutrition and dietetics: 

• Currently enrolled Fontbonne student 
• Completion of at least 60 credit hours (includes transfer coursework) 
• Completion of all required prerequisite courses with a C- or better 
• 3.25 cumulative GPA for all coursework completed at Fontbonne 
• Personal statement 
• Resume 
• Two professional letters of recommendation 

 Please see the CP program page for additional information on program admission policies and procedures. 

Academic Policies and Regulations

Coordinated Program students must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA and earn a B- or better in all of their graduate level courses to remain in, and complete the program.

Accelerated master’s CP students must maintain at least a 3.25 GPA and earn a B or better in all graduate level courses while still classified as an undergraduate student. 

For detailed information on academic policies and regulations, please refer to the Academic Policies and Regulations  or Registrar Policies  page in this catalog.

Degree Requirements

Students must successfully complete a minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate credit to earn a Master of Arts (MA) degree in Health Advancement and Promotion.

Students completing the MA as part of the coordinated program in nutrition and dietetics (CP) must successfully complete a minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate credit, plus a minimum of 1000 hours of supervised practice.